Temenica at Luknja near Prečna
The Temenica is a Dolenjska sinking river that disappears underground several times; it resurfaces for the last time at Luknja, then flows past Prečna into the Krka. The spring is dammed for a small hydropower plant and a fish farm. The main dive is an hour-long out-and-back in the river channel below the fish farm, deepest (about 3 m) just below the farm and getting shallower towards the mouth of the narrow valley. A shorter, roughly 15-minute dive is possible in the lake at the spring, which has somewhat different plant and animal life but is full of litter from the fish farm and power plant. This entry covers only the open-water river and spring lake, not Lukenjska jama, the cave about 150 m away.
Facts
- Region: Slovenia – Lakes, Rivers & Caves
- Area: Dolenjska & Bela krajina (Krka, Kolpa, Kočevje)
- Depth: 0–3 m
- Level: intermediate
- Current: low
- Type: channel, bay
- Coordinates: 45.81753, 15.09823
- Highlights: karst spring lake dammed for a small hydropower plant and fish farm, river channel below the fish farm, about 3 m deep, cold karst water around 12 °C in midsummer, gravel bed with overgrown boulders, debris on the bed, some of historical value
- Tips: From the Novo mesto zahod exit follow signs for Prečna / Straža, drive through Prečna and turn left just after the bridge over the Temenica onto a narrow road that becomes a cart track. Park at the information board on the bend, as the track then drops very steeply to the small power plant; the gravel road along the left bank to the fish farm is closed to vehicles by the farm's barrier at the start of the valley. Kit up at the car park on the right bank and walk down. Entry and especially exit are difficult everywhere because the right bank is steep, slippery clay – this is why the sheet rates it P2; entry at the spring lake is even harder. Dive at low water, when the current is barely noticeable and visibility better; bring a compass and thermal protection for about 12 °C water. The lake is part of the fish-farm and hydropower installation, so ask the operator before diving there. Lukenjska jama beyond is a cave protected under the Cave Protection Act (ZVPJ) and is not part of this dive. Local club: KPA Novo mesto. The sheet dates from 2017; conditions may have changed. No specific diving ban was found, but check locally.