31 August 2011
31.08.2011 - A new cave has also been discovered in the territory of the Municipality of Malishevë. The cave is located in the village of Temeçinë in this municipality and was discovered by the young man Fatmir Zabelaj while he was extracting stone. Upon hearing information about the discovery of the cave, a team from the Kosovo Environmental Protection Agency visited this location and entered the cave to document the condition of the cave's natural values. The cave is located to the west of the village, at an altitude of 638 m in the Shkozë area. The area surrounding the cave is covered with vegetation of black oak and hornbeam. The team found that the area above and around the cave is highly degraded by anthropogenic factors as a result of stone extraction by the residents of the village of Temeçinë and surrounding villages.
The cave does not have a natural entrance. At the entrance of the cave, there are two corridors, one corridor continues to the west with a length of about 10 m, while the main corridor descends to a depth of about 4 m. After 4 m from the entrance, there is a very narrow passage about 50 cm wide, and after this narrow passage, the corridor widens and it is possible to move freely on foot, with about two meters in width and height. This corridor continues to the southeast with a length of about 12 m, then the corridor widens to a width and height of about 3 m, which continues east with a length of about 20 m.
This corridor is rich in stalactites and stalagmites, while the floor of the corridor is rich in calcium crystals that have a reddish color. The cave is quite cool, and water constantly drips from the crystals. About 10 meters from the entrance, there is a narrow corridor that continues north for about 3 meters, then this corridor continues west of the cave. This is a rather narrow corridor and further deepens up to 2 meters. The length of this corridor is about 25 meters, it is not rich in crystals, while the floor is filled with clay.
Based on the values of the cave and with the aim of preserving these values, AMMK suggests initiating the procedure for the protection of this cave, prohibiting all activities in the cave locality with an area of about 2 hectares, and that all research in the cave be carried out by experts.
Otherwise, the territory of the Malishevë municipality is also known for other caves such as the Flladi Cave in Panorc, the Ngucati Cave, and the Shkoza Cave. The Kosovo Environmental Protection Agency has documented these caves in the register of natural monuments with special natural values and has initiated procedures for their legal protection.