In Djerdap’s national park you can hike along the Danube river valley among ravines and forest areas, and the impressive Golubacki fortress from the 1300s. In the wetland region of Carska Bara you can look at the beautiful landscape from a boat tour with a guide and see some of the 200 bird species holding houses in the area. If you want to explore the caves, you should definitely go out to the cave Lazareva, a place where many archaeological finds have been made and many strange formations have been formed. Just over two hours from the cave you will find Nis, and here you will find the monument with skulls, Cele Kula. This macabre monument is a tower built by the skulls of Serbian rebels who fell in the Battle of Cegar in 1809.
Serbia is very well known for its monasteries which you will find all over the country. Many of the monastery buildings are very beautiful, one of the most beautiful is undoubtedly Orthodox Studenica. It was built in the 12th century and is built with two different architectural styles, the Roman and the Byzantine. The monastery has two churches built in white marble and there is a large art collection of Byzantine fresco paintings from the 13th century. When in Serbia you should not miss the chance to go Sargonsca Osmica, a three-hour train journey that takes you from Mokra Gora to Sargan Vitari. The train winds on a narrow old railway that takes you through mountainous areas and places that give you a fantastic view of the Tara Nature Reserve, you also pass sweet old train stations, old churches, historic buildings and small houses.
Belgrade has been destroyed many times by terrible bombings, today the situation is safe and quiet, and you can consider the interesting combination of architectural styles after all the reconstructions that were characterized by their time. To get a really good view of the whole city, head to Kalemegdan, a magnificent fortress that also serves as a calming oasis in the middle of the city. Here you can look out over the city and the river Danube and Sava, which meet. There is also a rooftop bar, Kalemegdanska Terasa where you can take a drink of something cool. If you visit the bar in the evening, you can enjoy the sunset and romantic live music.
To get a little closer to the Serbs, head to the Skadarilja neighborhood, which is a bohemian place where you get the chance to hear their beautiful and emotional folk music, eat authentic Serbian food and taste rakia, a fruit brandy made on various fruits such as plums, pear or apricot. If you want to visit a museum, the museum built in memory of Nikola Tesla is well worth a visit, where you can see an extensive collection of objects and about 160,000 original documents.
If you want to take a break from the big city and let body and bud rest, you can stroll around at your own pace in the Jevremorac Botanical Garden in the Stari Grad district. It has been around since 1874 and has an arboretum with many different plant species and an oak that is 150 years old. You will also find a Victorian greenhouse with over 1000 tropical and subtropical plant species.
