Or Bošnjački Vjerovi. The Virovi stream is a natural landmark of the Spačva Forest. In Otok they call it Virovi, and in Bošnjaci Vjerovi.
The slow-moving swamp-type stream with very rich flora and fauna is a sort of phenomenon of the Spačva Forest. Its area is 79 km², it is 18 km long, 60 m wide on average (there are parts wider than 100 m!), and its deepest point is at the depth of 7 meters. Although the water is slow, the water level of the Virovi stream rises significantly in spring and autumn, when there is a lot of rain.
But even during the other times of the year, the Virovi will not dry up because groundwater is high and abundant, but will turn into almost stagnant swamps, a kind of miniature Kopački rit (a nature park in eastern Croatia), with many aquatic plants. The water edge is overgrown with reeds, rushes and sedges. The water surface is covered in water lilies, pond lilies, common duckweed, buttercups and water caltrop. Lush meadows of hornwort, spiked watermilfoil and other plants grow underwater.
The Virovi has always been a favourite excursion spot for the residents of the Tourist Board of the Spačva Forest Area, and since the opening of the Bioekološko-edukacijski centar “Otočki virovi”, it has become the outdoor tourism centre in the Spačva area.
There, one can rent bicycles, kayaks and canoes, and explore the Spačva Forest and its streams.
The restaurant within the building offers authentic local food, and since accommodation is also available in the “Otočki virovi”, one can book an overnight stay in the very heart of the Spačva Forest.
Not far from the Bioekološko-edukacijski centar “Otočki virovi”, there is also a medieval site “Virgrad”, which is an example of a medieval lowland fortress of the “Wasserburg” type, located by the water, whose defence was based on a system of earthen embankments and moats filled with water. The site can be reached by foot (Poučna staza Virovi; the Virovi educational trail) or by a solar-powered boat.
