Speleologic explorations of the Vele？ mountain and Podvele？je plateau

Sa？etak Podvele？je is a typical karst plateau on the sunny side of Vele？ mountain, stretching in NW - SE direction in length of about 21 km. It is located in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as part of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, near Mostar. A total of 31 speleological objects were investigated, 21 pits and 10 caves. The longest and most complex explored cave is Prose？enica(347 m long). The deepest caves are Golubinka on Svetigora / Pit on Svetigora II (149 m) and ？elju？kova？a (90 m). Both pits and Prose？enica cave have perspectives for further exploration. Considering the configuration and morphology of the terrain, geological base and a large number of caves, there is a great potential for finding more. During the research, information was gathered on other caves, but they were not explored due to the complexity of access and more demanding logistics. The major problem in the exploration were numerous mines and explosives left behind and abandoned after the war