Balkan - Serbia - Five days in Belgrade, Djerdap, Uvac, Stopić, Kopaonik

River - Waterfall - cave - retro train - monastery - temple -  national park - fortress - canyon - village - cable car - museum - wine tours - city hall - Kneza Mihaila - Republic Square

Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport

International Airport

DAY 1 BELGRADE

Saint Sava Temple / Church of St. Sava

The Temple of Saint Sava is a Serbian Orthodox church which sits on the Vračar plateau in Belgrade, Serbia.

Nikola Tesla Museum

The Nikola Tesla Museum is a science museum located in the central area of Belgrade, Serbia. It is dedicated to honoring and displaying the life and work of Nikola Tesla as well as the final resting place for Tesla.
Next it it there is a railway museum, car museum etc

Kalemegdan

Expansive park featuring a historic fortress with a museum, a zoo, walking paths & river views.

Plaža Ada Ciganlija

Plaža Ada Ciganlija is The 8th Top rated Beach in Belgrade (river/lake side)

Kneza Mihaila

Extending diagonally through Stari Grad from the fortress to Republic Square, Knez Mihailova is a pedestrianised street and somewhere for Belgradians to shop and go out.

Republic Square

At the southern end of Knez Mihailova is Republic Square, with some of the city’s most important landmarks and a business district where Belgrade is at its most dynamic.

DAY 2 - EAST SIDE

Golubac Fortress

2hr/130kms from Belgrade | Spend 1hr

Golubac Fortress is one of the best preserved medieval fortresses in Europe. The fortress was built during the 14th century. The name of the fortress and the modern town in its vicinity can be translated as the "Pigeon city" or the "Dove city" (golub, "pigeon"). Golubac consists of three main compounds guarded by 9 towers, 2 portcullises and a palace, all connected by fortress walls 2 to 3 m (6 ft 7 in to 9 ft 10 in) thick. In front of the fortress, the forward wall (I) doubled as the outer wall of the moat, which connected to the Danube and was likely filled with water. A settlement for common people was situated in front of the wall.

Djerdap National Park

45min/50kms via [34] | Spend 1hr

The Djerdap National Park (the Iron Gates) lies in eastern Serbia, on the border with Romania.

Крупајско врело/spring

2hr/93kms | Spend 1hr

Woodland reserve in mountain foothills, with several ponds plus a waterfall, cave & thermal spring.

Accommodation nearby: 1hr

B&B Vodopad Lisine

Motel Stari hrast

DAY 3 - WEST SIDE

2:20hrs/150kms | Spend 1hr

Studenica Monastery

Studenica Monastery, located in the Raška district of central Serbia, is the largest and richest of Serbia's Orthodox monasteries.

Uvac Special Nature Reserve

2:15/95kms | Spend 2hrs

Uvac Canyon, Uvac brana/Dam, boating, Mountain park & preserve of the griffon vulture with a serpentine river & various eco-habitats.
https://uvac-krstarenje.com/en/pocetna-english/
For booking:
Danilo Paunovic (+381) 65 606 1616 / uvacadventure@gmail.com (Tue-Sun 9-6pm)
Ship / Catamaran ride through Uvac 16kms one side.

Ice cave

Below the steep limestone cliffs of the Uvac canyon, there is an entrance to one of the most attractive caves in Serbia – the Ice Cave. This cave in the Uvac canyon is one of the most beautiful in Serbia, and it is a real hidden pearl because it can only be reached by boat across Uvac Lake.

Viewpoint

For all adventure lovers, a walking tour to the lookout is a real challenge. Pedestrians take the 1300m long marked trail.

griffon vulture

– a rare species of vulture eagle, impressive in size, wingspan and up to 3 m

EL PASO CITY

41min/38kms El Paso City - Cow boy themed hotel

The theme park "El Paso City" is located in beautiful nature with pastures and pine forests all around it, only 14 kilometers from the center of Zlatibor, on the main road to the Adriatic coast. It was named after the city of the same name in the United States.

"El Paso City" has tents, caravans, a hotel and log cabins that can accommodate about 100 guests. Additional facilities include a restaurant, coffee shop, museum of old artifacts, gym…
El Paso City has 5 types of accommodation:
– accommodation in Wooden Cottages
– accommodation in rooms in the Wild West Town
– accommodation in Treehouses
– Wagons
– Tipis
https://elpasozlatibor.com/en/accommodation/
El Paso City is open from 9 am to 6 pm EVERY DAY AND HOLIDAYS!
You can book accommodation by calling +381.63.489.613

Entry fee 500RSD/15AED
Accommodation 75EUR/272AED
Tourist tax 120 RSD/4AED

COWBOY TOWN

In Cowboy Town, you can see authentic replicas of a salon, bank, post office, barbershop, sheriff's office, and even a replica of a prison – just like in western movies. In addition to the restaurant, there is a museum with an exhibition of old weapons, a mill, a billiard room, a windmill and other details characteristic of the Wild West.
Behind the Cowboy Town is the settlement named "Caravans by the river", with eight interesting caravans in which you can comfortably stay and spend the night. The caravans are named after famous actors from western movies (John Wayne, Gary Cooper...).

INDIAN VILLAGE

The village was named in honor of the most famous Indian chief – Sitting Bull. Six painted tents surround the area around the campfire plateau. In addition to visual enjoyment, you can also spend the night in these tents.

ZLATIBOR HAMLET

Zlatibor hamlet with its 12 architecturally different log cabins is a traditional settlement of this area from the 19th century. The log cabins are modernly equipped and perfectly integrated into the natural environment that surrounds them. There is also a church, a children's playground and a replica of a steam locomotive with freight and passenger cars.
It also have many fun games: https://elpasozlatibor.com/en/games/

DAY 4

Gostilje Waterfalls

30min/15kms | Spend 2hrs

Gostilje Waterfalls is considered to be one of the highest and most beautiful ones in Serbia. The beauty of this complex is that it consists of various cascades/small waterfalls and that it's situated in the beautiful Zlatibor mountains.
There is free parking. Buy ticket for around 150RSD and take 5 minute walk through the meadow to reach waterfall. There is paved path to follow waterfall to reach the the small river. There is one big waterfall (20 meters high) and lots of smaller waterfalls (around 10)!

Stopić Cave

22min/12kms | Spend 1hr

Impressive limestone cave offering a waterfall, natural "bathtubs" & 2 halls with colorful lighting.

Kopaonik National Park

Gold gondola Zlatibor - cable car

30min/20kms | Spend 2hrs

8:30to4pm everyday

Gold Gondola on Zlatibor was officially put into operation on January 11, 2021. With its impressive nine kilometers long route, it now has the title of the longest panoramic gondola in the world. Zlatibor's Gold Gondola connects the center of Zlatibor with the Tornik ski resort, which is also the highest peak of the mountain. With a current capacity of 600 passengers per hour in 54 separate cabins with 10 seats each, the gondola provides tourists with an unforgettable experience and 25 minutes, which is how long is a one-way ride, of enjoying the picturesque landscapes of Zlatibor.
https://goldgondola.rs/en/tickets
1200 dinar / person, cabin 7000 dinar (upto 5 persons)
Tornik Ski Center

DAY 5

Šargan Eight

|Spend 3hrs

The Sargan Eight is a popular and very picturesque heritage line operating on narrow-gauge tracks. The line between Mokra Gora and Šargan Vitasi stations is 15.5 km long, with 22 tunnels (the longest one is 1666 meters) and 5 bridges along the way.

The whole trip lasts for 2.5 hours and has 5 stops. 3 of those stops last only for 5 minutes and there you can see the view on the mountains around, but a big part of it was covered by trees. One lasts for 10-15 min, where you have a toilet and you can buy drinks/icecream. One was for a half hour where you could eat and drink as there is a very small restaurant.

Have in mind to come earlier to buy the tickets, or reserve your spot in advance, because there are huge crowds. 

In the high season, between April 1st and October 31st, there are two departures per day, at 10:30 and 13:30, the ticket price is 1000 rsd. Route: Mokra Gora – Shargan Vitasi – Mokra Gora

In the low season, between Dec 25 to Jan 16, it’s one departure per day, at 11:45 and the ticket price is 650RSD. Route: Mokra Gora – Jatare – Mokra Gora

You can book the ticket in the authorized agencies or via email address predrez@srbrail.rs or rezervacija.karata@srbrail.rs. (~ 8.5 euros).

From the air the tracks resemble a figure eight, but it is obviously quite difficult to tell this from the ground.

https://www.srbvoz.rs/en/nostalgija-2/

Drvengrad

is a traditional village that the Serbian film director Emir Kusturica built for his film Life Is a Miracle from 2003 to 2004.

Vinarija Tarpoš

Winery

Quick facts about Serbia Serbia is the largest producer of raspberries in the world. In fact, almost 95% of the world’s raspberries come from Serbia. Serbia’s capital Belgrade is the only European capital situated on the banks of two international rivers. The clock-making industry of Serbia is older than that of the Swiss. More than 31% of Serbia’s territory is covered by forest and there are 22 nature reserves and 5 national parks in the country. Serbia has a total of eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Serbian language is written in both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets. The Djerdap Gorge, a gorge on the river Danube, is Europe’s largest gorge and is in Serbia.

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UNESCO’s World Heritage List

Stari Ras and Sopoćani, Studenica Monastery, Gamzigrad−Romuliana, Palace of Galerius, and Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards.

Major waterfalls

Kaluđerski Skokovi - tallest

Mirusha Waterfalls

Сопотнички Водопади

Gostilje waterfalls

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Wine tours

town of Sremski Karlovci 

-- famous Bermet wine

Vinarija Tarpoš

Wine cellar Bajilo

About Serbia

Sunrise & sunset

DEC 7am - 4pm (9hrs day)

JUNE 5am - 8pm (15hrs day)

Currency & exchange rate

1 aed 32 Serbian Dinar /RSD

1 usd in 119 Serbian Dinar

Timezone

GMT+1 (DST GMT+2)

VISA

https://www.mfa.gov.rs/en/citizens/travel-serbia/visa-requirements

proof of a paid reservation of a hotel

proof of possession of sufficient funds to sustain - 50 euros per day of stay

paid health insurance in the Republic of Serbia - around 12$

proof of a paid return flight ticket

Abu Dhabi to Belgrade

2pm ->4:50pm (5:45hrs journey)

5:25pm -> 01:40am (5:15hrs)