Archive - September 2021

GOLIJA MOUNTAINS (Голија)

We left Studenica Monastery in rainy and foggy weather, we drove (105 km / 3 hours) through serpentines of the Route 30 and 21 via Golija Mountains through Ivanjica town to Sjenica. The mountain is part of the Dinaric Mountain range and is heavily forested with significant biodiversity...

STUDENICA MONASTERY (Манастир Студеница)

The curvy road brought us to one of Serbia’s most sacred sites, UNESCO-listed Studenica Monastery. It was established in 1196 on the slopes of Mt. Radočelo near Studenica River by the founder of the Serbian empire (and future saint) Stefan Nemanja and developed by his sons Vukan...

NOVI PAZAR (Нови Пазар)

Novi Pazar, town, southwestern Serbia. It lies in the Raška River valley, in a rough and hilly country near the site of Stari Ras, which was the capital city of the medieval Serbian state in the 12th–14th century. The town was rebuilt by the Ottoman Turks after their conquest of the...

ĐURĐEVI STUPOVI (Ђурђеви Ступови)

This Serbian Orthodox Monastery was built in 1170 on a hill surrounded by woods above the city of Novi Pazar. It was commissioned by Stefan Nemanja, who dedicated this church to St. George for letting him out of the dungeon cave, in which his brothers put him. The monastery represents the...

SOPOĆANI MONASTERY (Манастир Сопоћани)

The Sopoćani Monastery, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, is an endowment of Serbian king Stefan Uroš I (1243-1276). The monastery was built around the year 1260 near the source of the river Raška, 17 kilometers from the town of Novi Pazar. The church has a form of the Romanesque three-nave...

STARI RAS (Рас)

We stayed overnight below Gradina hill near the city of Novi Pazar. In the morning we walked the steep trail (950 m) to the Stari Ras, a 12th-century fortress. It was built there to defend the capital city of the first Serbian state on the accession of the Nemanjić dynasty in 1159. The...

KOPAONIK (Копаоник)

On the way to Stari Ras we have crossed the largest mountain range in Serbia Kopaonik (162 km / 5 hours). Its highest peak is Pančić’s peak that is 2,017 meters above sea level. One section of the mountain is a protected zone of the National Park Kopaonik (car’s eco-fee 700 RSD)...

ĐAVOLJA VAROŠ (Ђавоља варош)

The narrow road brought us to The Đavolja Varoš (Devil’s Town) situated on the south slopes of Mt. Radan, on the right bank of the Tuta reka (Yellow River). Đavolja Varoš is a unique example of the action of erosion. It is a complex of stone pyramids (entrance 350 RSD) located in...

DONJA LOKOŠNICA (Доња Локошница)

It was not easy to find the “narrow hole” in the metal guardrail to be able to take a dusty road to Serbia’s Paprika Paradise. The small Serbian village is the self-proclaimed paprika capital of the world, and every autumn it turns a deep shade of crimson. What makes Donja Lokošnica...

NIŠ (Ниш)

We spent day and night at the birthplace of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. City, located in southeastern Serbia, on the Nišava River, probably succeeded a Celtic settlement and was mentioned as an important place in the 2nd century BC by Ptolemy, in his Guide to Geography. Niš...