Kotliči springs and Rak river (Rakov Škocjan)
In the Rakov Škocjan karst valley, water from the Javorniki hills rises in the Kotliči springs and soon joins the Rak. The two spring basins, called Očesi ('the eyes'), connect at about 7 m under a submerged natural bridge and share one spring cave, where you can safely reach about 10 m without cave training before it narrows and the upwelling current pushes back. From there a narrow, fast passage leads into the Rak, which is about 3 m deep over an old sunken wooden weir and can be drifted for up to 100 minutes towards the Great Natural Bridge. The sheet notes plenty of litter in the river, and the local club DPD Rak holds a traditional Easter dive here every March or April.
Facts
- Region: Slovenia – Lakes, Rivers & Caves
- Area: Notranjska & Brkini (Cerknica, Postojna, Pivka)
- Depth: 0–10 m
- Level: advanced
- Current: moderate
- Type: drift, channel, cave
- Coordinates: 45.79114, 14.29353
- Highlights: two spring basins (Očesi) joined under a submerged natural bridge at ~7 m, karst spring cave with strong upwelling, oddly shaped rocks and side passages with big fish, sunken trees, old submerged wooden weir in the Rak, drift towards the Great Natural Bridge
- Unverified: Unverified: Rakov Škocjan is a natural monument within Notranjska Regional Park. The park decree (Odlok o Notranjskem regijskem parku, Uradni list RS 2002) contains no diving ban, but Art. 32 bans visiting caves 'without appropriate expert or authorised guidance'; it is unclear whether this applies to the submerged Kotliči spring cave. The open-water part (basins and the Rak) is not restricted by the decree. Later amendments (current text on PISRS) were not reviewed. Ask the park management before diving into the spring cave.
- Tips: Leave the Postojna–Ljubljana motorway at Unec, take the old road towards Postojna and turn south on the gravel road to Rakov Škocjan; park near the Kotliči springs and enter at the shallow spring by the forest road. Study the two dark basins and the underwater bridge from land first. The vertical upwelling affects buoyancy; do not push into the narrowing spring cave without cave-diver training and kit. Surface often for orientation (compass, torch). From the old weir the current speeds up towards the rapids under the Great Natural Bridge – exit early onto the meadow on the left bank rather than at the cove just before the bridge. About 1 km walk back to the car. Best in March–April at suitable water; 3–15 °C, and the Rak can dry out. The sheet dates from 2012.