Serbia, and the Balkans in general, are rich in beautiful landscapes and untouched wilderness but nothing could prepare me to the amazing spectacle I found in Kamena Gora.
Kamena Gora is a mountain in Prijepolje, which acts as a natural border between Southwest Serbia and Montenegro. It is an idyllic scenario with miles and miles of green landscapes, mountains and natural water springs. The few people who live here are farmers and shepherds. In the morning you can see them leading the sheep and cows to the vast green meadows surrounding the small agglomerate of houses that compose the village. They are disconnected from the modern world. Cell phones don’t work well here, there is no internet, sometimes even the energy goes out, so all that is left to do is explore wilderness and enjoy the starry skies at night. It's more than enough.
Greenland Festival
Every last weekend of July, Serbia 4 Youth, an organization focused on promoting young tourism in Serbia, organizes Greenland, a festival set in this green heaven, combining adventure sports during the day and music at night. It's a great experience to disconnect from the stressful city life, do some sports and have fun.
Getting There
Starting on Thursday morning, we left Belgrade for a long, yet entertaining, bus ride to Prijepolje. There was singing, there was drinking, everything you can expect of a bus tour in Serbia. On the way, we stopped in a road-side diner and tasted the regional delicacy that is a “Komplet lepinja”: Scrambled Egg, Kajmak and meat juices, mixed together inside the fluffiest bread and put in the oven for a little crisp. Not the lightest of dishes but a definite must try in Western Serbia.
Setting up Camp
Arriving to Kamena Gora, and after all the excitement over the impressive movie-like view of a valley covered in a shallow mist, we set camp on a green meadow, one of many around, which we would call home for the next four days. Every morning we were to wake up to a stunning view of pine tree covered mountains and blue skies.
Once the camp was set, we sat down, watched the sun set behind the mountain and enjoyed the night sky over some local beers and rakija. The clearly-visible Milky Way hanging over me while I sip down a shot of homemade Šljivovica is something I'll never forget.
Fun and Games
Friday morning brought a small orienteering competition to camp as teams set out to find the spots marked on the map. After all the fun and games there was nothing better than having a wonderful goulash waiting for us back at camp.
In the afternoon we took off to the woods to practice several sport activities such as Zip-lining and rock climbing.
Later in the night, to finish it off in style, we enjoyed the beats and drops the DJ's had to offer under a gazing starlight.
Row Row Row your boat - Lim River
On Saturday morning we travelled down the mountain to do rafting on the river Lim. The super professional folks at Rafting Klub Eko Lim guided us down the river for about three hours of extreme adventure, an occasional dive in the cold river water and a whole lot of fun.
We ended our Rafting Tour on a small river beach where some audacious young souls challenged heights for some cliff diving.
Came back to camp this time to find “Pasulj” a beautiful bean stew, prepared in Serbian style.
After lunch, some decided to rest, some used the opportunity to explore the surroundings and others enjoyed more rock climbing and Zip-line.
At night, once again: party under the stars. I took the time to do a time-lapse of the starry sky.
Into the Wild
Sunday, our last day in heaven. Before we leave back to our confusing lives, we take the opportunity to go on a long hiking tour. Guided by a local man, we reached and climbed up Sveti Bor (Holy Pine), a nearly 400-year-old tree.
The tree sits at the top of the hill and with a height of 13m and a crown of 18m, it is easy to imagine that the view is incredible. It is also said the old inhabitants of Kamena Gora left a message inside the tree explaining why they abandoned the region, adding a little bit of mysticism to the whole experience.
We couldn't find the message but close to the tree, a small baby owl, which appeared to be in a sleep walking state, was sitting in the grass with its eyes closed.
Careful not to scare it, we took some pictures and continued on our hike, enjoying, once more, the amazing green landscapes Kamena Gora has to offer. On our way back to the camp, deep into the woods, we discovered some Lisičarka, a sort of wild mushroom, which we later put on the grill to everybody's delight.
Kamena Gora is a spectacular place where you can run away to if you feel like refueling your nature levels or just need some peace and quiet.
This whole article was written by a very good friend of mine. The more Facebook likes and shares he gets on this article's webpage the bigger the chances of him winning a prize trip and who knows even getting a permanent job at the website writing more similar stuff. All the pictures in the article were taken by him, since he is a professional photographer and cameraman. Like and share folks :)
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