Overlanding Through Serbia- Aleksandar Veljković

Overlanding through Serbia

A wild-camping heaven

As much as the rest of the Balkans is a favorite overlanding destination for Europeans, Serbia, situated in the very heart of the Balkans, is some kind of a black hole in most overlanding charts. It’s hard to explain why most if not all itineraries of overlanders go around, but extremely rarely through, Serbia. Lack of information? Prejudice based on media reporting from the past? Absence of some record-breaking landmarks? Maybe a little bit of each. But for those who get to know Serbia, it’s a real revelation.

Serbia doesn’t feature the extreme rugged and rocky, sky-high mountains of Albania, Montenegro or Bosnia, nor does it have the coastline of Greece and Croatia, or the huge freshwater natural lakes of North Macedonia. You don’t find it in any of the overlanding guidebooks, you don’t read much about it in the internet forums, and open-source GPS maps of Serbia feature the lowest level of detail of all Balkan countries. So, it’s close to impossible to discover its wellhidden secrets without an experienced guide. But one who invests an effort to truly explore Serbia keeps returning again and again.

What is so captivating about this landlocked country in the heart of the Balkans?

Aside from the great Panonian Plain in the far north, Serbia is a mountainous country. Although Serbian mountains don’t reach much more than 2.000 m of height (2.170 m at the highest peak, Midžor), they are beautiful and diverse, very rich in forests of all sorts, from some of the largest beech forests in the Balkans to most beautiful pine tree forests in the higher areas. The longest European river, Danube, flows through Serbia and forms the Iron Gate gorge (called Djerdap in Serbian), the most impressive part of its entire waterway towards the Black Sea. And that is not the only gorgeous canyon in Serbia. Lazar’s Canyon in the Kučaj mountains is also a must-see, as well as Uvac, Vladikine ploce, Temstica, Drina, Brnjica … it’s a long list. And the list of Serbian underworld is equally as impressive, featuring some of the most stunning caves in the Balkans, the longest one being more than 12 km long! There are also impressive lakes (Vlasina, Zavoj, Uvac, Zaovine), and medieval ruins peeking from some almost unreachable hilltops.

But a very special phenomena which marks the Serbian Carpathians are the natural stone arches hidden deep in the river valleys in Vlach land full of legends and sorcery. Often surrounded by jungle-like terrain, with no clear signs leading to them, they just emerge like miracles in front of your eyes. Vratna River has three of them, making it unique worldwide.

ABCs of overlanding Serbia

Before you enter wild Serbia, you have to be ready to encounter heavy vegetation. If you’re sensitive about your rig’s paintwork, better not even approach the Serbian jungles. And if you do enter, don’t do it without a chainsaw, because every season you encounter some new fallen trees and branches on trails that may have not been used for years.

Serbia is a sparsely populated country, and in some parts (especially in the east) you can drive through the wilderness for hours (maybe even days) without encountering a human settlement. The maze of forest roads and trails is very extensive, offering you tremendous creative possibilities to explore. Very few areas are off-limits for being natural reservations, and outside of those areas you’re completely free to roam and camp in the wild practically in any spot that you like. Private land that is surrounded by fences and no trespassing signs is very rare in Serbia, as the local culture is friendly towards visitors. So, you will be relaxed about wild camping in Serbia like nowhere else in Europe. The local people that you meet are very friendly and hospitable, usually inviting you into their houses to taste some domestic plum brandy and sheep cheese. Overlanding tourists are not a common sight in Serbia, so the locals didn’t get a chance to get very much irritated by their numbers. So, there’s no negative attitude towards strangers approaching them in their Jeeps, rather just a somewhat surprised reaction.

But what’s so special about overland driving through Serbia?

Most of all, it is the tremendous opportunity to improvise and explore in a dynamic geometry landscape that is just perfect for off-road driving, full of surprises and discoveries at every bend. In countries with more rugged mountains, you don’t have such choice. You can enter a valley in most cases along the only existing road, and you have to return the same way, because there’s no way out over the high, rocky ridges on the other side. But not in Serbia. In Serbia every forest and ridge trail will offer you junctions galore to take you in any direction you desire. So even if you return to the same area over and over again, it will never be boring because you can improvise a

completely different trail every time. And the endless grassland ridgeways of the higher mountains in the southeast and southwest of the country are a special treat if you’re looking for wide open views over stunning vistas.

Regarding the wild campsites, some are simply so beautiful that you will want to spend several days there before you move on. And there are all kinds of them – deep forest campsites, riverbed campsites, open grassland ridge campsites, beach campsites … in most cases with overwhelming amounts of firewood freely laying around for your campfire.

That is a tough one, because the entire country, apart from the northernmost flat part, is full of extraordinary landscape and attractions. And you certainly won’t be able to cover them all in just one visit.

If you prefer the more populated areas with tourist resorts everywhere, you will want to roam the western parts of the country (Tara National Park, Zlatibor, Zlatar, Jadovnik and Golija mountains). Those in search of true uninhabited wilderness with almost no tourist infrastructure will head straight eastward, where it will take a few weeks for a journey starting from the dense forests of the Iron Gate (Djerdap) National Park southwards, gradually making your way towards the 2000 m mountains of the southeast. The very dynamic terrain of Homolje mountains, full of steep sides and deep river valleys, seamlessly integrates with the misty plateau of Kučaj Mountains (which hosts the magnificent Lazar’s Canyon), continuing over the holy mountain Rtanj until you reach Stara Planina. And Stara Planina is a world of its own. Not

only does it feature the highest peak of Serbia, but it is also the home of two-thirds of the waterfalls in Serbia, including not only the highest (200 m), but also many truly amazing looking ones. Once you start exploring Stara Planina, there is a high chance that you won’t make it anyplace further. And that would be a pity, since the Jerma Gorge, Vlasina Lake and spectacular ridges of Dukat Mountain are waiting for you further south.

Have we tickled your imagination? Then start planning your Serbian journey right now!

Author/Photographer: Aleksandar Veljković

Overland Expeditions Manager Rustika Expeditions

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