Petelinjsko Lake (Pivka intermittent lakes)
Petelinjsko is smaller than Palško (about 55 ha, 1 km long and 0.5 km wide) but holds water longer, sometimes half the year. It is fed from the Javorniki hills and from Palško through springs on its eastern side and drains through sinkholes towards the Pivka river; there are no underwater caves. At high water the rocky karst bed with field tracks lies up to about 10 m deep (the description cites 7 m in the middle), and visibility is much better than at Palško. Its special feature is a tiny crustacean that completes its life cycle within a month and multiplies to over a hundred per cubic metre, attracting flocks of water birds in winter.
Facts
- Region: Slovenia – Lakes, Rivers & Caves
- Area: Notranjska & Brkini (Cerknica, Postojna, Pivka)
- Depth: 0–10 m
- Level: beginner
- Current: low
- Type: bay, night
- Coordinates: 45.70356, 14.22546
- Highlights: intermittent lake of 55 ha, flooded meadows, shrubs and moss-covered rocks, field tracks on the lake bed, millions of tiny crustaceans (over 100 per m³), water birds in winter, ice diving in winter, better visibility than Palško
- Tips: Legal status: the lake is in the lake protection zone of the Pivka Intermittent Lakes Landscape Park (Odlok o Krajinskem parku Pivška presihajoča jezera, Uradni list RS 43/2014; manager: Občina Pivka since the 2023 amendment). The 2014 decree does not mention diving or swimming; in the lake zone it bans motor boats, model boats, camping, fires, picnic sites and mass events, and organised events need the manager's consent. The 2018 and 2019 amendments (Uradni list 48/18, 70/19) were not reviewed, so check with the Municipality of Pivka before diving, especially with a group. From Postojna head towards Pivka; in Petelinje turn east to Slovenska Vas and follow the signs past the Eco-museum of the Pivka intermittent lakes along gravel tracks to the southern end; park at the track junction and enter there. Other shores are not reachable by land when the lake is full and the banks are hard going in kit. Navigation over the uniform bed needs a compass and the field tracks; the full length is about an hour each way. Semi-dry or dry suit (up to 10 °C); check your BCD for a long surface return. Water-level news on pivka.si. The SPZ sheet dates from 2012; river gravel, banks and access roads may have changed since.