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Prokoško jezero

Photo: rejflinger · CC BY-SA 2.0

Bosnia and Herzegovina · Central Bosnia

Prokoško jezero

Directions

Prokoško Lake lies high on the Vranica mountain in the municipality of Fojnica in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, beneath Nadkrstac, the highest peak of Vranica. Thousands of tourists visit it every year. It is home to the Bosnian alpine newt, a rare, protected subspecies that keeps its larval features as an adult, and it is fed by springs on the slopes and by snowmelt that lasts until late spring. Shepherds' wooden huts stand around the lake in small summer settlements.

History

The lake was first protected as a regional nature park in 1954 and declared a natural monument in 2005. The shepherds’ summer settlement around it has grown into hundreds of cottages, many of them built without permits. Sewage and diverted streams have lowered the lake and damaged its water, and the canton has promised stricter protection.

Nature

The lake is the home of Reiser’s alpine newt, an endemic amphibian protected since 1954, which grows up to about 12 cm and feeds on water insects and snails. Pollution has put it under pressure. Shepherds still bring their flocks up here in summer and gather forest fruits and plants.

Visit

Getting there

Nearest settlement: Fojnica

Swimming

No reliable information

Tips

Prokoško, one of Bosnia’s mountain “eyes”, is reached from Sarajevo via Kiseljak and Fojnica, then by a forest road of about 20 km, mostly unpaved, that is drivable from the second half of May to the end of October, when tourist services run. There is no public transport, but a taxi can be had in Fojnica. An entrance fee is charged per car and per person. Food and rooms are available in the lodges and cottages around the lake.

Nadkrstac, the highest peak of Vranica, is a hike of about three hours from the lake, loops run 10–15 km, and Mali Prokoško is 30 minutes away; the mountaineering club Vranica of Fojnica can provide guides. As a natural monument the lake is protected: hunting and fishing, open fires, picking medicinal plants and leaving rubbish are not allowed.

Nearby lakes

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More lakes in Central Bosnia

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Sources & data

  1. Bosnian Wikipedia: Prokoško jezero, Wikimedia Foundation
  2. OpenStreetMap: Prokoško jezero (way 33227844), OpenStreetMap contributors
  3. Wikidata: Prokoško Lake (Q1572368), Wikimedia Foundation
  4. English Wikipedia: Prokoško Lake, Wikimedia Foundation
  5. The most beautiful mountain eye: Prokoško Lake, Live the World
  6. Natural monument Prokoško Lake, Centre for Investigative Reporting (CIN)
  7. Prokoško jezero (2022), Radio Slobodna Evropa
  8. Prokoško jezero, MBV (rural tourism, Central Bosnia)

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