While human civilization has been hurtling towards modern world achievements since the mid-18th century, the underground world has kept the patience characteristic of the action of water and complete darkness.

The absolute silence of caves was occasionally broken by the sound of water which encapsulated various climate periods in the shape of unique formations.

Throughout history, caves had different purposes. Today, among other things, they remind us of the original warmth of a home, the incentive to explore, endemic species’ habitats, while the walls of certain caves represent first art canvases

The first documented touristic visit of a cave took place in Mesopotamia over a thousand years ago when the king of Assyria, Tiglath Pilesar, visited the so-called Tigris Tunnel, a cave near the source of the Tigris river. His portrait is carved into a stone at the entrance of the cave. Another cave that keeps records of early visits is the Reed Flute cave in China, also known as the Palace of Natural Arts, which welcomed its first visitors in 792 AD. Today, there are over 500 touristic caves worldwide with over 250 million visitors.

Since 2015, Lipa cave has popped up on the world map of speleological tourism and expanded Montenegrin touristic offer.

The 17th century represents the beginning of detailed explorations and descriptions of speleological objects. Since the 18th century and onwards, famous explorers have visited Lipa cave and left written records of its beauty and significance. Among others, Lipa cave was visited by archeologist Austen Henry Layard, geographer Pavel Rovinsky, Édouard-Alfred Martel – the father of modern speleology, as well as numerous German and Austrian speleologists. Peter II Petrovic Njegos recognized the significance of Lipa cave and ordered it be explored. The most detailed exploration of Lipa cave was conducted in the 1970s when hydrological, geological, seismological, and climatological characteristics of Lipa cave were examined. The research center of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts conducted a topographic survey of the cave.

Lipa cave was valorized per high standards of environmental protection and international guidelines for valorizing speleological objects. Dedication to preserving the protected natural area of Lipa cave resulted in publishing the Brochure on biodiversity, school education project, raising awareness on the significance of speleological objects in general, producing a touristic map of Montenegro, and taking part in the European INTERREG Adriaticaves project.

Lipa cave visitors have the opportunity to find out all about its origin, discovery, and history from our trained guides, and in a contemporary way feel the same admiration while they walk in the footsteps of those whose adventurous spirit and curiosity paved the way of modern speleology.

Visit us and experience 6 million years on a one-hour cave tour.