BALKAN CAVERS’ CAMP in 2014 will be held in Serbia, organized by the Federation of Speleological Organizations of Serbia (SSOS) and under the auspices by the Balkan Speleological Union (BSU) in the period from 24th to 28th September 2014, in the village of Mravinjci, close to the town of Valjevo. All cavers and friends of speleology are invited to participate and exchange caving experience. Welcome!
Dear friends,
as you have probably heard, Serbia has recently suffered an extensive natural disaster starting with extreme floods and continuing into numerous landslides all around the country. Valjevo has experienced flooding in the whole town center, after receiving about 100 mm of precipitation in just 24 hours, while the average quantity for the whole May is about 50-60 mm.
The caves and canyons are literally full of water, and we expect more rains in June, because here it is the month with maximum precipitation.
The planned arrangements for the Camp, which included the involvement of the local authorities of Valjevo, are now delayed because all the available time and funds are re-directed to flood relief.
Therefore, we are forced to postpone the date of the Balkan Cavers Camp to September 24th to 28th 2014. We are sorry if the new date is causing any inconveniences with your plans and schedules. We sincerely hope that you will manage to come and join the Camp in September!
General Information
Time and place
September 24th to 28th, 2014
Village Mravinjci, Lelic Karst, south-west of the town of Valjevo, western Serbia (about 100 km from Belgrade)
Organizer
The host is the Federation of Speleological Organizations of Serbia (SSOS), under the auspices of the Balkan Speleological Union (BSU).
PRELIMINARY PROGRAM
September 24 (Wednesday)
Arrival of participants
September 25 (Thursday)
Caves, canyons, evening presentations
September 26 (Friday)
Caves, canyons, evening presentations
September 27 (Saturday)
Caves, canyons
BSU General Assembly
Vertical sports competition, dinner, party
September 28 (Sunday)
Sightseeing tour of Valjevo
Exhibition of the winning photographs
Departure
Description of location
The majority of the Camp program will be held in Lelic Karst, south-west of the town of Valjevo in western Serbia. Participants will be able to visit the caves in the immediate vicinity (up to -183 m deep and up to 500 meters long) Dragov ponor, Degurić cave, Lenčina cave, Vrančev ponor, Filipov ponor, Orlovača, Ponara (Plandište), Petnica caveand canyons of the rivers Tribuća, Trešnjica and Dubašnica.
Caves will be fully rigged by the organizers. Canyons are equipped (rigged) with permanent anchors, and visitors are required to carry other equipment (ropes, carabiners and personal equipment).
Accommodation and food
The camp is situated in the village of Mravinjci, 30 km from the town of Valjevo. Coordinates of Mravinjci and the local school (location of the camp, registration, information desk) are 44.1404 N, 19.7936 E.
Tables and benches will be available. The registration fee includes one dinner, while other meals are on the participants to provide for themselves. Please bring your own food. There are several small shops in the nearby villages.
If you would like another type of accommodation (not the camping), there are possibilities to stay in one of the hotels in Valjevo (30 km from the camping) or in private accommodation in some of the surrounding villages. To book a room, please contact the Touristic organization of Valjevo (http://tov.rs, tovaljevo@open.telekom.rs,www.balkanik.rs, www.valjevozavas.net, www.domaciniva.org.rs)
Access to camp
By Car:
a) From Belgrade to Lajkovac (E763) then to Valjevo (road 4), Lelić, Donje Leskovice and Mravinjci (road 213)
b) from Croatia: road E-70, exit Sabac, then Valjevo (road 21), Lelić, Donje Leskovice and Mravinjci (road 213).
By train:
From Belgrade to Valjevo and Lelić (Belgrade – Bar railway), then by car.
Meeting and socializing space
At the location of the camp in the village of Mravinjci there will be two local school classrooms for presentations (ppt, movies) as well as for poster presentations. Places for stands will also be available at the school.
In the house of the Research Society “Vladimir Mandic Manda” in Valjevo, one conference hall (capacity 100 people) will be available for the BSU General Assembly on Sunday 27th September.
The registration fee
Early registration fee costs 15 Euros and includes visits to the caves and canyons, use of the camp and one dinner. Deadline for early registration is 1th September 2014. After this date, registration fee will be 20 Euros.
Purchase of t-shirts is optional and will cost 5 Euros.
Contact
E-mail: balkanspeleo2014@gmail.com
Phone: ++381 (0)64 25 16 209 Matija Petković
Download registration form