Amfora is one of Croatia's deepest caves and the second deepest on Biokovo mountain - a place that impresses with a single number: -788 metres. This is no casual tourist stop, but a legend among cavers, hidden just below the summit of Sveti Jure.

The cave entrance lies in the summit area of Biokovo, roughly 1000 metres in a straight line from the mountain's highest peak, Sveti Jure. The opening sits on the south-eastern side of the bottom of one of the many sinkholes typical of this part of the range. The surrounding landscape is stark and rocky, typical of Biokovo's high-mountain karst - treeless, windswept, with distant views over the Adriatic Sea and islands. The cave itself is an entirely different world - narrow meanders, vertical shafts and total darkness, where researchers found an underground leech and microscopic needle-shaped crystals known as cave cotton.

How to get there

• Sveti Jure summit area - reached via Biokovo mountain trails, high-mountain terrain, demanding route requiring good fitness and navigation skills
• The cave entrance and its interior are accessible only to experienced cavers with proper technical equipment

Practical information

• The cave entrance is not adapted for tourist visits - this is a purely speleological site
• Exploration requires permits and experience with vertical caving
• A strong air draft was detected at the cave's bottom, suggesting an unexplored continuation beyond a rock blockage

Amfora was discovered in 1998 by cavers from Makarska, and its exploration continued over several seasons until reaching its record depth in 2002 - a fascinating example of how many secrets Croatia's karst still holds.