Željava Air Base, situated on the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina under the Plješevica mountain, near the city of Bihać, was the largest underground hangar and military air base in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY), and one of the largest in Europe. For further info: Željava Air Base - Wikipedia
The place is far, but easy to access. There were other tourists, mostly local youngsters, some bikers. At some point there was a Bosnian family with young kids (!!!). Torches are strictly necessary to explore. Bring a spare. I also recommend a mask for dust and mould spores - mould is king down there.
Inside, the facility is massive. It feels like another, darker world. Different temperature, another ecosystem. You'll walk alone in the eery dark vaults for minutes. I had never experienced anything like it... From time to time, you will hear another explorer or spot a blinding torch in the pitch black vaults.
Please be careful local police forces and the CPA currently use the area to train canines with actual land mines, given the extensive number of mines still in the vicinity. Because of the mines, extreme caution must be used when visiting the Željava complex. In November 2000, a Bosnian Air Force major died after setting off a PROM-2 anti-personnel mine while searching for mushrooms.
The base is a common waypoint for illegal migrants, which makes it quite dangerous, though when I went there I did not encounter any illegal migrant.
The place is far, but easy to access. There were other tourists, mostly local youngsters, some bikers. At some point there was a Bosnian family with young kids (!!!). Torches are strictly necessary to explore. Bring a spare. I also recommend a mask for dust and mould spores - mould is king down there.
Inside, the facility is massive. It feels like another, darker world. Different temperature, another ecosystem. You'll walk alone in the eery dark vaults for minutes. I had never experienced anything like it... From time to time, you will hear another explorer or spot a blinding torch in the pitch black vaults.
Please be careful local police forces and the CPA currently use the area to train canines with actual land mines, given the extensive number of mines still in the vicinity. Because of the mines, extreme caution must be used when visiting the Željava complex. In November 2000, a Bosnian Air Force major died after setting off a PROM-2 anti-personnel mine while searching for mushrooms.
The base is a common waypoint for illegal migrants, which makes it quite dangerous, though when I went there I did not encounter any illegal migrant.
