Ceremošnja Cave

Ceremošnja Cave is located on the northeastern slopes of the Mountains of Homolje, at 533 m above sea level, at the foot of their highest peak of Veliki Štubej (Big Štubej) (940 m above sea level). It is located 15 km away from the town of Kučevo and can be accessed by the asphalt road. In the vicinity of the cave, there is Ceremošnja village, after which the cave was named in the first place. It was arranged for visiting tourists in 1980. The total length of the cave channels that have been researched so far is 775.5 m, whereas the tourist path is 431 m long. Since 2007, it has been the protected monument of nature. When its rich ornaments are concerned, the cave of Ceremošnja is one of the most beautiful caves in Serbia. It is known for its spacious halls decorated with cave ornaments of various shapes – the stalactites, the stalagmites, the cave columns, the drapery, the petrified waterfalls, the galleries etc. Given the fact that Ceremošnja Cave is a sinkhole-type cave and that it is open, it is exposed to the influences from the outside. In the winter period, the temperature is 6oC, and the relative humidity of the air is within the range from 72% to 78%. There is no flow of air in Ceremošnja. Morphologically viewed, there are five natural wholes that can be singled out in Ceremošnja Cave: The entrance channel is 87 m long and runs from the entrance to the cave all the way down to the “Arena” Hall. It is poorly ornamented. The Arena is the biggest and the most attractive hall in Ceremošnja. The hall is of an irregular circular form and it very much reminds of the amphitheaters of Ancient Rome, for which reason it was so named. The total length of the Arena’s system is 105 m. The Arena has from 40 m to 50 m in width and is 20 m to 24 m high. The cave ornaments in the Arena are of the uttermost quality. The following monumental forms are especially singled out: - “On Eternal Guard Duty” – a dynamic cave column, which is also the emblem of Ceremošnja Cave - “The Waterfall” – a massive over-10-m-high calcite cascading column - “The Beautiful Wallachian Girl” – the fluttery snow-white column of crystal sparkling white calcite, symbolizing the woman of this climate. In the vicinity, there is also a stalagmite “The Groom”, and two cave columns “The Friends”, awkwardly grown into one. The Sinkhole Hall is entered from the Arena through the opening in the tall partition drapery wall. The opening was named “The Doorway”, since it reminds of the entrance to the altar. The Sinkhole Hall was named after the funnel-like sinkhole in it. The system of the Sinkhole Hall is 99 m long. The Hall is 36 m long and 18 m wide. In the plethora of ornaments, “The Fissured Sphere”, a huge half-sphere of ribbonlike tufa of different colors, fissured and with the separated spherical pieces. This sphere has a semi-diameter ranging between 3.5 and 4 m. The Andesite Hall is entered from the Arena through a wide corridor. It was named after Andesite, which is in the basis of the whole Hall. The Hall is of an elliptical shape, 60 m long and 15-20 m wide. The total length of its system is 76 m. Of several attractive groups of ornaments, the specially singled out are “The Roadside Tombstones” – a group of unusual stalagmites. The snow-white ornaments on the ceiling are especially attractive. The Southern Channel is the final segment of Ceremošnja, at which end there is an exit from the cave. It begins in the place near “The Beautiful Wallachian Girl” in the Arena. The Southern Channel is 107.7 m long, and together with its dead-end channels – 172 m. It is poorly ornamented, but there is a certain number of interesting shapes. The Southern Channel has its two extensions – the two long, but somewhat narrower, Eastern Channels. At the end of the first of the two channels, there is an opening – the exit from the cave. The tourist path in Ceremošnja is one-way, circular, which provides tourists with the most favorable conditions to take a tour of the cave. In the cave, the remains of the cave bear, which had lived about 100,000 years ago, were found here. Strugarski Spring sinks into the Cave. After the first kilometer of its subterranean flow, it reappears as a strong spring from the nearby Tufa Cave (Bigar Cave). It is presumed that between these two caves there is a cave system of several kilometers in length – it is namely the older system of the cave channels, which would appear from under the karst vault about 20-30 m above the Tufa Cave in past, not today’s younger fluvial horizon through which Strugarski Spring flows. Anyway, an entrance to the cave covered with earth by the peasants is known to have existed in this place in the past. The surroundings of the cave are so beautiful. Within just a few kilometers, tourists can see a larger number of interesting localities. On the slopes of Veliki Štubej, there are the Tufa Cave and Golubanjska Cave, the Siga Waterfall as well as the remains of the Celtic fort of Arsa’s Town (Arsin grad). A road was built from the cave of Ceremošnja to Veliki Štubej, so that this peak is a perfect belvedere, from which there is an unforgettable view of the flat Morava River Basin, the wavelike region of Šumadija and the precipitous slopes of the Southern Carpathians in neighboring Romania.