Ribnica springs (former fish farm pools)
The Ribnica stream rises from several karst springs at the foot of Velika gora south of Ribnica, meanders across wet meadows and sinks into the karst. Its two largest springs were dammed long ago for a fish farm, whose remains are still visible, and the two small pools behind the dams hide a magical underwater landscape with plant growth even richer than the lush banks. The 2017 PAS sheet gives just over 3 m in the lower (northern) pool and about 2 m in the upper one, with water around 7 °C all year. Dives are short and best done slowly to watch the fish.
Facts
- Region: Slovenia – Lakes, Rivers & Caves
- Area: Dolenjska & Bela krajina (Krka, Kolpa, Kočevje)
- Depth: 0–3 m
- Level: intermediate
- Current: low
- Type: bay
- Coordinates: 45.71453, 14.70845
- Highlights: exceptionally lush underwater vegetation, fish in clear karst spring water around 7 °C, two dammed spring pools of a former fish farm, rocky bottom below the forest road
- Tips: Legal status: ownership of the former fish-farm pools and any protection status of the Ribnica springs (natural value/monument) could not be confirmed. Sheet from 2017. From Ribnica take the road towards Sodražica, then turn right towards Zadolje/Ugar; after the bridge over the Ribnica a gravel forest road branches right down to the springs. One car fits in the passing place by the first pool; more can park in the clearing beyond the second. Use a small 5 l cylinder, precise buoyancy and no more than two divers per pool; the shallow centre of the lower pool is only for snorkelling without weights. No services nearby. Sheet from 2017.