Photo: Vitek · CC BY-SA 3.0Deransko Lake, also called Deransko Blato, is a lake in Herzegovina near the village of Svitava, in the Hutovo Blato Nature Park near Čapljina, and the largest and richest lake of the Upper Marsh, the part of Hutovo Blato made up of several smaller lakes. The river Krupa flows out of it, and when the Neretva rises, the Krupa reverses and flows back towards the lake. Reed and sedge grow along its shores, and its area varies with the season.
How it formed
Karst springs fed by the Trebišnjica supply the Upper Marsh and Deransko, and a limestone massif, Ostrvo, separates it from Svitavsko jezero. The Krupa, with no true source of its own, is really an arm of Deransko; because high water on the Neretva can push it backwards, it flows in both directions.
History
Before it became a nature park in 1995, Hutovo Blato was known mainly for hunting and fishing; since 2001 it has been a Ramsar wetland of international importance, forming one site with the Neretva delta across the border. In 2008 archaeologists found an Illyrian trading post at Desilo in the park, with a harbour, a settlement and sunken boats carrying amphorae of the 1st century BC.
Nature
Hutovo Blato lies on the migration route from northern and central Europe to Asia and Africa, and it is one of Europe’s largest wintering grounds for birds, with tens of thousands gathering in winter. Pygmy cormorants, squacco, purple and night herons, ferruginous ducks, whiskered terns and white storks are among the birds to look for, and a trout, Salmo dentex, lives in the marshes and the Krupa.
Visit
Swimming
No reliable information
Tips
Deransko is one of the two largest lakes of Hutovo Blato Nature Park, and the wetland is best seen from the water, by boat safari booked at the visitor centre at Karaotok (reported daily from April to November). Early morning or late afternoon is the best time for birds, and March to May and September to October the best months. See the Hutovo Blato pages for more.
From Sarajevo or Mostar, take a train or bus to Čapljina and a taxi to the park, or drive: it is signposted from the M-17 road. The park rents boats, canoes and bicycles and offers guided tours in English, and narrow, easy trails and at least one bird hide let you explore on foot. Bring binoculars; a telescope helps.
Nearby lakes
Show on mapPhoto: Vitek · CC BY-SA 3.0
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Sources & data
- Croatian Wikipedia: Deransko jezero, Wikimedia Foundation
- OpenStreetMap: Deransko jezero (way 39342720), OpenStreetMap contributors
- English Wikipedia: Deransko Blato, Wikimedia Foundation
- Wikidata: Deransko Blato (Q1567656), Wikimedia Foundation
- Ramsar Information Sheet: Hutovo Blato (BA1105), Ramsar Convention Secretariat (Ramsar Sites Information Service)
- Birding places: Hutovo Blato, Birdingplaces.eu
- English Wikipedia: Hutovo Blato, Wikimedia Foundation
- Hutovo Blato, Birdingplaces.eu