Uvac National Park in Western Serbia is a perfect place to spot griffon vultures and other birds, from the magnificent Uvac river and the vantage point high above.
On a same boat trip you can visit a huge ice cave, which is a small section of the largest cave network in Europe.
Nenad parks the car almost to the riverside, between some buildings. He’s also for the first time in Uvac National Park.
We’ve come for a river cruise but there is brief time before the boats leave, as Nenad tells us after asking about it from the staff.
The day before we got to know the ethno village Küstendorf built by film director Emir Kusturica and the mountain village of Mokra Gora with its famous museum railway the Sargan Eight.
We also crossed border to Bosnia to see the famous Drina River Bridge in the town of Visegrad.
Today’s program includes a river cruise in Uvac and then a drive back to Belgrade.
On the way here we grab breakfast bureks from Zlatibor, which is the most famous winter sports center in Serbia, along with Kopaonik.
Even in summertime there are plenty of tourists who have come to hike in the mountains.
Nenad is annoyed because the original small mountain village has turned into an impersonal tourist cluster.
And it’s true: when you look at the main street of the village you could imagine you’re actually in any major ski resort in Europe.
Of course there are country-specific differences in building styles but here they’ve been effectively eliminated.
Only cash is accepted in Uvac National Park
We look around and wonder where to buy river cruise tickets.
We find out out that you don’t need to buy them in advance, the trip is paid in cash to the guide at the end of the trip.
Apart from the small waiting room there are hardly any other services, so bring your own snacks, if you’re hungry.
However, there is a guide board that tells about the area and its abundant fauna.
We admire the emerald green river which slowly flows in front of us.
The color reminds us of the Neretva, which flows under the famous Mostar bridge in Bosnia.
Here the river is flanked by high forested mountains, between which it has dug its incredible meandering channel.
After waiting for some time the boats pull up to the pier. We, along with other foreign tourists, are directed to the one whose guide speaks English and then off we go!
The boats are simple: wooden benches go around the sides with a canopy above.
You can only visit Uvac in the summer, starting in May, so there’s little need for windows in boats.
Life jackets are located under the benches.
Uvac National Park is a destination which sights you can’t visit on your own, except for a few viewpoints that can be reached by car.
We’ll soon admire the scenery from up there too, but certainly not by a vehicle.
The griffon vulture is a handsome bird
Our boat starts moving along the wide river at a leisurely pace.
We eat our breakfast bureks, take pictures and wonder the surrounding mountains.
Suddenly Tanja and some passengers sitting opposite to me shout and gesture towards the mountain peaks. Vultures!
I look over there too and there they are, sitting in a row. The view is gorgeous even from this distance, because the griffon vulture, the pride of the Uvac National Park, is a huge bird.
Its average weight is 7.5 kilograms, its length is up to 122 centimeters and its wingspan is almost three meters. Therefore those white-headed creatures stand out remarkably even from a distance.
Although the griffon vulture is relatively common in the world it almost extinct in Serbia. However, after the start of protection measures its population has risen to around 300 individuals in Uvac alone.
Our guide shows the concrete way in which the stock has been raised.
Near a mountain peak vultures fly in the sky in a large flock.
Guide tells us that there is a bird feeding place where animal carcasses are thrown to them.
Safe and secure food and, of course, stopping hunting has guaranteed the survival of the species.
Naturally they also eat any carrion they find in the terrain.
There are a total of 140 bird species in the area, such as eagles, owls and kingfishers.
The population of otters is also abundant.
The ice cave is part of Europe’s largest cave
The journey continues and the river begins to bend for the first time.
The whole river is actually curve after curve and at its wildest it bends 270 degrees.
After a couple of turns, we stop for the first time. We are preparing to advance to Usaki’s ice cave.
The knowledgeable Serbs have prepared in advance. They have light jackets and gloves in their backpacks, because it’s an ice cave, it’s really cold there.
We are equipped with shorts, skirts, tops and a short-sleeved collared shirt. All long-sleeved clothes are in our car.
The guide asks, a little worried, if we’ll be okay.
– Of course, we are from Finland, we announce boldly, and the guide laughs.
We climb up to the mouth of the cave and the coldness hits us outside the entrance.
We’re actually not quite as confident in our coping with a cold as we say, but what can we do?
We don’t want to miss the cave visit.
Facing familiar faces?
We get flashlights and we’ll start following the guide in line.
The cave is not only cold, but also extremely large.
The route goes hundreds of meters into the ground between stalactite columns.
Suddenly the guide stops and points something on the wall with his lamp.
We look up there and we are looked back.
On the wall of the cave is an obvious image of a man’s face, created by nature.
A little further away you can see a woman’s face.
We stare around and up, dumbfounded.
The stalactites form wild works of art that are up to ten meters high.
We are as frozen as the cave, but the cold is forgotten when looking at these natural wonders.
I don’t know how far the cave would continue, but it’s our time to get back.
We pop out and hurry away from the mouth of the cave. The temperature of 30 degrees Celsius outside feels unbelievably comfortable.
Although the cave is gigantic, it still forms only a fraction of the Uvac cave network.
It’s the largest in Europe and is approximately 6,000 kilometers long, i.e. half the diameter of the Earth.
Fortunately it’s a network, and not a straight pipe directing to the center of the Globe.
Otherwise out of the mouth would come quite hot air instead of cold.
Of course this ice cave is not the only entrance to the network but probably the most popular for visitors to the Uvac National Park.
From the vantage point you can see vultures from the upper slope
If the climb to the mouth of the cave has made one to sweat, at the second stop of the boat trip sweat will literally flow.
Now we are climbing up to the viewpoint to a height of almost 900 meters.
From the starting level on the surface of the river there will be 370 meters of ascent by foot and the time for the round trip climb is limited.
Uvac National Park is located quite high; the highest peaks rise to 1900 meters.
The beginning of the route, or actually most of it, is quite steep and sometimes you have to resort to four-wheel drive.
Up on the mountain it turns into wide paths in a fresh forest landscape.
Suddenly we hit a sandy highway that ends in front of a cluster of buildings.
So you can get to this lookout point by car, if the boat trip and climbing along the steep mountain path is not your cup of tea.
It’s apparently for quite a few since there are a lot of cars at the end of the road and people who obviously haven’t shed a drop of sweat to get here.
There’s a simple bar near the lookout point, practically a wooden hut with a terrace and a group of tables scattered under the trees.
There are two viewing platforms and they indeed are lookout points.
Almost 400 meters below the entire Uvac river meanders in green. The mountains bordering it are suddenly at eye level.
On top of that, we see vultures flying directly below us!
Uvac can also be reached by public transport
The viewing area is crowded of course. Situation is not made easier by tourists who want to take around a dozens of selfies with their friends or take just that blog photo where no one else is visible.
There’s perhaps not a beautiful harmony between people who want to see the view, but we have time to enjoy the view sufficiently.
I believe we didn’t take any usfies.
We still have time to have drinks in the forest bar before climbing down.
On our boat the most adventurous ones have even had time to swim in the Uvac river.
We jump right into the boat, which immediately leaves for the return trip. It goes a little faster than when we came here because the scenery is the same.
The next passengers are already waiting at the pier, eager to see the wonders of the river.
We pay to the guide, head back to the car and the return journey to Belgrade can begin.
The three of us had rented a car with a driver and stayed in the Mokra Gora village the night before.
However, the Uvac National Park can also be reached from Belgrade by bus with one stop and you can ask for private accommodation in a nearby village.
Pack along
- water
- snack
- sunscreen
- jacket
- cash (the price of the trip is 2500 RSD (around €22 pp) + possible drinks in a mountain bar a couple of euros)
Want to know more about Serbian destinations?
Continue here.