The cave is located on the steep cliffs of Mount Romanija, at an altitude of 1515 m. Below Novak’s cave are the Imperial waters, the most famous spring in the vast area of Romanija. Next to the wellspring , there was Constantinople road, which once was one of the most important roads of the Ottoman Empire in Bosnia.
Speleomorphologically, the cave consists of a horizontal and a vertical channel (chimney), which connects the cave with the Romanija plateau. The total length of all channels of the cave is 60 meters.
In the upper part of the cave entrance, there is a stone wall, for which the legend says that it comes from the time of hajduk (figure who steals from, and leads his fighters into battle against, the Ottoman or Habsburg authorities) Starina Novak.
The first study of the Novak’s Cave was performed by mountaineers of Mountaineering Club “Željezničar” from Sarajevo, on the 2nd Novenber,1958, when they penetrated the second part of the cave, and climbed the chimney to the plateau at the top of the rock.
This was carried out once again, on the 11th November, 1962 when it was also decided that the iron gate should be installed at the tranisition point from the first to the second part of the cave, which is in a few years later and realized.
The cave is named after the national hero Starina Novak. Starina Novak is a historical figure from the second half of the 16th century, originating from Smederevo. He became a hajduk (outlaw, a hero figure who steals from, and leads his fighters into battle against, the Ottoman or Habsburg authorities) because of the oppression of Despotess Jerina.
Tourist destination starts from the hunting lodge at Majdan, located only 4-5 km from Pale. The hiking trail that is duly marked leads to the cave. Path leads to the Novak’s Wellspring, which is a large mountain trough. They say that after washing up in the trough, one becomes five years younger. The path to the cave is marked and reinforced with cables, because it is quite steep.
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