A 4×4 journey along the Danube, the cradle of Europe
It was the Iron Gate gorge on the banks of the mighty Danube river where Lepenski Vir civilization sprouted 7000 years ago. In the meantime many have passed through those jungles, making a living from the big river, and building trade routes along it. During the demanding offroading tours some of our guests called this biggest continous forest in Serbia “Serbian Amazon jungle”. No wonder – passing along it is very similar to an exotic jungle adventure! Rocks protruding high above the Danube offer some amazing scenic points, and wandering inland reveals hidden river valleys, canyons, caves and waterfalls. And of course, the famous stone arches of eastern Serbia!
Early springtime mud fun in the mystical eastern Serbia
The Homolje mountains are a place where green pastures and rich forests on steep slopes were home for shepperds for centuries. And the hidden valleys, like a maze well tucked away from civilization, inspired people to resort to magic and sourcery, so it’s full of legends. But one of the strongest local traditions is that of gold panning in the rivers! So the locals will teach us that art, in the midst of touring caves of breathtaking beauty (also known as places of hidden gold), and conquering demanding offroad trails that surpass everything that you can expect in those, seemingly tame and pastoral hills. Embark on a unique early springtime 4×4 adventure!
Serbia, not Siberia… But there’s not much difference!
When the wind starts howling, wave after wave of snow blizzards encase the Kučaj mountains in white, everyone flees them as fast as possible, knowing that they can be stranded there until springtime. Everyone, except us. That is when we buckle up our snow chains, pack up our winter recovery gear, and engage on the snowdrift surfing tour through that vast kingdom of the wolves… And when we conquer Kučaj winterscapes, it’s time to move over to western Serbia, for a whole different flavour of snow adventure! And inbetween our daily ice games, we’ll bask in the warm thermal pools and enjoy the spicy Serbian cuisine. There’s no better way to experience the Balkan winter!
The strongest Serbian offroad competition is only the beginning of our quest!
Serbian Trophy is one of the toughest offroad competitions in Europe. Even the best prepared vehicles in hard class often return home defective as a result of the challenges, and winning it requires top skill, and guts. But we’re not taking you there to compete (unless you insist on it, of course). Participants of this tour will attend Serbian Trophy in tourist class, a non-competitive convoy that will take you to all the trial grounds of Kopaonik mountain, seeing all the action at short range! And after Serbian Trophy is over, a true magical journey of discovering the mountains of southern central Serbia begins…
When talking to our friends abroad about coming over for an offroad tour in Serbia, we often come accross misconceptions – “facts” which are exactly the opposite from what the situation really is, but which make people hesitant about coming to Serbia very strongly. In this article I’d like to address the most common ones. Most of them, actually, are security related – and all of them are utterly unfounded. Some are connected to the recent political developments, and some are misconceptions that date decades into the past. Ok, lets go!
Building on the success of Eastern Serbian Nomad’s Adventure, we take the journey further south. Stara planina left the participants in true overlander’s extasy – the sheer beauty of the mountain, the rich experience of the landscapes, combined with demanding trails, make you crave to return! So we’re starting our south Serbian journey from there. Southeast Serbia is the home to all the highest Serbian mountains, giving you the opportunity to float on endless grassy ridges. The kind of landscape typical for Stara planina goes on for an entire week in this tour, revealing to the participants mountains such as Ruj, Vardenik, Suva, Besna Kobila and Dukat.
The thing that makes eastern Serbia so special is the fact that it’s one of the few remaining sparsely inhabited wildernesses in Europe. It’s the kind of place that you’re dreaming about when you want to break all your ties with everyday life and find silence and unspoiled nature somewhere. And freedom, yes, that is the key factor. Because, unspoiled nature throughout Europe is in most places actually spoiled by guards, cameras, rules, which are there to, allegedly, “protect” that nature, but actually keep reminding you of the things you want to forget about. And you every move is closely monitored. But not in eastern Serbia, no. You can really wander for days there without meeting a single human being, without being forced to obey any regulation or rule, except the natural, logical ones. You can really forget about the place where you’ve come from. You can be relaxed, and FREE. Continue reading Through the wilderness of eastern Serbia→
Kod Kaca kamena na Bugarskoj granici (foto Dragan Ćirković)
I 4×4 učesnici priključiće se pohodu na Staru planinu koju KAUP organizuje prvog vikenda jula (pogledajte detaljnu najavu ovde). Idemo do nedvosmisleno najlepšeg dela Stare planine, doline Dojkinačke reke, odnosno Arbinja, gde ćemo kampovati. Pešaci će odatle, krećući se uz reku, obići najatraktivnije vodopade i popeti se na Tri Čuke, a nama motorizovanima će se pružiti prilika da na relativno lak način stignemo do najnepristupačnijeg i najvišeg vodopada Stare planine, Koprenskog, visokog čak 100 metara.
Koprenski vodopad, gornja kaskada (fotografija preuzeta sa sajta pirotskevesti.rs)
Ovaj vodopad nalazi se visoko nad prašumskom dolinom reke Jelovice, pod samim gotovo 2000 m visokim zaravnjenim platoom vrha Koprena. Mi ćemo našim terencima stići do Kaca kamena, na samoj granici sa Bugarskom, a onda ćemo, probijajući se pešice grebenom preko ne baš lakog terena (strmina, kleka, kamenjar) uložiti dodatni napor kako bismo stigli do samog vodopada (za to će nam sigurno trebati još par sati pešačenja).
Drugog dana ture, kada pešačka ekipa bude išla do Rsovaca i prolazila kanjon Vladikine ploče, mi ćemo krenuti na vrlo atraktivan uspon ka Vrtibogu preko Kovačeva, odakle ćemo se spustiti na Zavojsko jezero i sa ostatkom KAUP-a ponovo sastati u Pirotu. Prelazak grebenom do Vrtiboga je uvek izuzetan doživljaj, nešto u šta se neizostavno upuštaju svi ofroud karavani i ekspedicije koje posećuju Staru planinu.
Napomena: Uspon preko Kovačeva spada među tehnički zahtevnije, tako da nije za “lite” terence. S obzirom da tu po pravilu ima manje ili više blata, veoma je poželjno da imate MT gume (ili vitlo kojim biste se izvlačili u slučaju potrebe).
U širinama grebena koji vodi ka Vrtibogu
Iz Beograda krećemo u petak, 3. jula u 16 h sa parkinga iza Sava Centra, a vraćamo se u nedelju 5. jula u večernjim časovima. Obe noći kampujemo u Arbinju. Ukoliko ste zainteresovani da nam se pridružite, molio bih da mi to javite na telefon 064 1159852 ili mejlom na sale@serbianoutdoor.com.
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