DOLINE DE VELIKI SAMOGRAD

This doline of collapse is the most spectacular of the country. The dolines are the typical "holes" of the karst regions that can be found in the whole south of the country. But we are here in a particular place: the plateau of Grabovica. With an area of 125 km2, it rises to 1,058 m above sea level between the poles of Duvno (northeast) and Livno (west). The plateau "sucks" part of the streams of the Duvno polje and brings them out to the west in the Buško lake. The erosion has caused such large collapses that the sinkholes here are called samogradi ("self-made"). To discover the "big samograd" (Veliki Samograd), there is only a track made during the installation of a wind farm. This one is not adapted to classic cars. It is therefore on foot, mountain bike or 4 × 4 that you must travel the last few kilometers to the most beautiful abyss of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Hiking. Arrive by car on the M6.1 road that connects Livno to Tomislavgrad via Lake Buško. From Livno, 7 km after the bridge, you reach an observation point with a beautiful view of the lake. Continue 150 m to the crossroads (GPS: 43.701264, 17.125797). Turn right on the track that crosses the Grabovica plateau and leads to the Mesihovina wind farm. Unless you have a sturdy vehicle, you should leave your car and continue for 6.7 km to Veliki Samograd. On your left you will see the Mali Gradac Mountains (1,045 m) and then Veliki Gradac (1,058 m). After 6 km, on your right, a path leads to the Arnautovac sinkhole (GPS: 43.665143, 17.178111): a hole filled with vegetation 250 m long and 135 m wide with cliffs 90 m high and even a well that goes down to 135 m deep. Be careful not to get too close to the edges, as there is no protection. Go back to the track and continue for another 600 m to find, on your right, the sinkhole of Veliki Samograd (GPS : 43.662838, 17.185630). In spite of its name, it is in fact smaller than the previous one : 180 m long and 100 m wide. But here, the collapse is sudden, with steep walls sinking in one go from 40 to 70 m deep. Even with the necessary safety distance, one can see the whole chasm. The contrast between the nakedness of the cliffs and the vegetation that covers the bottom is striking.

Further on the plateau. The track continues towards the south in the direction of the wind farm. About 700 m after Veliki Samograd, on the right, there is the Dahna cave (GPS: 43.660342, 17.194774). The cave is 720 m deep and is reserved for cavers. Then, 4 km to the south, you reach a paved road with a crossroad. If you turn left, towards Donji Brišnik, you leave the plateau and find the M6.1 road from Tomislavgrad to Posušje. On the right, you can continue 1.5 km westward through the windmills to Gornji Brišnik. Here the statue of the most famous outlaw of the region is waiting for you. This is the birthplace of the haidouk Mijat Tomić (c. 1610-1656). There are other caves and sinkholes in the area. To explore them contact the environmental association Naša Baština or the caving club Mijatovi Dvori, both based in Tomislavgrad.