Photo: ASVITIC · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Предраг Божић · CC BY-SA 4.0
Balkana is a pair of artificial lakes at the foot of Lisina, about 5 km from Mrkonjić Grad, among pastures and forests of oak and conifer. A dam with a paved path separates the larger upper lake from the smaller lower one, and the place is the favourite bathing and picnic spot of the area.
How it formed
The two lakes were made in the 1950s, with very little difference in level between them. Mountain springs and two small streams, the Cjepalo and the Skakavac, fill them, and the outflow, the Crna rijeka, runs north through Mrkonjić Grad to join the Vrbas.
Nature
The Big Lake is known for its fish, above all trout. The woods around the lakes are at their best in autumn, when the leaves turn.
Visit
Getting there
Nearest settlement: Mrkonjić Grad
Swimming
No reliable information
Tips
Swimming and sunbathing belong to the Small Lake, which has a bathing area and reaches about 20 °C in summer, and fishing to the Big Lake. There are courts for basketball, handball, indoor football and beach volleyball, a fitness trail, picnic and camping areas, a restaurant and bungalows.
A walk round the lakes is the classic outing, in winter snow as well as in summer. Mrkonjić Grad lies about 60 km from Banja Luka, and the region is known for its folk gatherings, among them bull-fighting contests.
Nearby lakes
Show on mapPhoto: ASVITIC · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Whitepixels · CC0Bosnia and Herzegovina · Central Bosnia
Veliko Plivsko jezero
Dam-regulated, Karst · natural, regulated
~15 kmaway
425 metreselevation
Bosnia and Herzegovina · Central Bosnia
Malo Plivsko jezero
Karst · natural
~16 kmaway
418 metreselevation
Know Balkana well?
Suggest a beach, viewpoint, trail or amenity, or tell us if something has changed. We read every message.
Sources & data
- English Wikipedia: Balkana Lake, Wikimedia Foundation
- OpenStreetMap: Jezero Balkana (way 86210924), OpenStreetMap contributors
- Wikidata: Balkana Lake (Q4851099), Wikimedia Foundation
- Čudovito jezero, ob katerem dopustujeta princ in princesa Karađorđević (2023), N1 Slovenija
- Balkana is one of the most beautiful artificial lakes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Adria.fun