Krupaja Spring

Tucked beneath the western limestone cliffs of Beljanica, between the villages of Milanovac and Krupaja, Krupajsko Vrelo is one of the strongest karst springs in Serbia and a protected natural monument. The turquoise pool you see from the shore is only the entrance: until 1946 the water burst out of an open cave mouth, until a concrete dam was built ten metres downstream, forming the 40 × 17 m lake and submerging the original spring.

Below the surface the site opens into a classic vauclusian system. Cave-diving exploration in 1998 revealed an inverted siphon branch more than 70 m deep, feeding the spring from inside the Beljanica massif, with later surveys suggesting the system may reach around 130 m — still not fully explored.

Diving conditions

• Water temperature: 9–11 °C year-round — drysuit strongly recommended
• Visibility: excellent in the basin, dropping sharply with silt disturbance
• Profile: shallow open-water basin leading to the cave entrance and the descending siphon
• Overhead environment beyond the entrance is cave-trained divers only, with proper line, redundant gas and lights

Access

About 2 km from the centre of Milanovac, roughly 35 km from Žagubica, at ~220 m elevation. Easy shore entry from the basin, parking and facilities nearby. Diving requires prior arrangement with the site management.

Why dive it

Serbia's flagship karst spring dive: crystal clear water, challenging cave passages, endemic subterranean fauna, and one of the country's most photogenic surface settings — all within a two-and-a-half hour drive of Belgrade.