Start of the tour
The tour starts in the afternoon of the first day in the west of Homolje, near Despotovac (you will be given a waypoint to navigate to). From our meeting point, we will drive about 30 minutes to our first deep forest campsite, where we will set up camp under tall, towering beech trees, with plenty of firewood for our campfire and a pleasant introductory evening, well hidden from prying eyes.
We then continue along the ridges of the Homolje Mountains in a north-easterly direction. We cross a whole labyrinth of long-forgotten, overgrown forest paths, reach several attractive viewpoints and ride along river valleys before settling down for the night near the highest of the stone arches in eastern Serbia. If weather conditions permit, we can swap this camp for one at a viewpoint that offers one of the most spectacular sunsets in eastern Serbia.
Moving on…
Over the next few days, we will visit a beautiful waterfall and the Vratna Valley, which is unique in the world for its three natural stone arches on the same river! From there we continue our journey south and reach the lake on Mount Stol. We drive through perhaps the most spectacular 360-degree view in eastern Serbia, surrounded by imposing rocky ridges on all sides.
From there, we head south and finally into the Kučaj Mountains, the largest piece of uninhabited wilderness in Serbia. Of course, a camp in Kovej, the most impressive vantage point above the magnificent Lazar Gorge, is a must on this tour.
From Kovej, we continue south through Kučaj until we reach Lake Vrmdža on the southwest side of the Rtanj Mountains, the highest mountain in the area of the northern Serbian Carpathians (1565 m). After Lake Vrmdža, we will settle down in our secret forest hideaway in the middle of one of the largest contiguous forest areas in Serbia.
We will slowly close our circle through the Serbian Carpathians by tackling the Kučaj Mountains in a western to central direction, visiting all the remaining attractions if fitness permits — the Grza spring, the ruins of Petrus and the Crnica gorge, the Prskalo waterfall, until we set up camp for the last night in a fairytale forest in the geographical center of Kučaj. Our last half-day tour on Saturday takes us from there to the Beljanica plateau, which is also the highest point we reach on the tour (1339 m). We expect to reach a paved road shortly after midday on Saturday.
Many of the paths on which we will be traveling have long been abandoned, as depopulation in eastern Serbia is progressing at an alarming rate, as the nomadic mountain life of the people in the rural areas is only rudimentary and these paths are unused and forgotten.
As these were mostly used by ox carts and small, narrow tractors, these paths were never wide and still aren’t now. Therefore, we have to expect daily contact with vegetation — if you are not used to this, please consider whether this is acceptable to you or not. It is a great adventure to drive on these forgotten forest roads, but it will leave many scratches in the vehicle’s paintwork. If necessary, we recommend covering the vehicle with a protective film. We are not liable for any damage to the paintwork that occurs on our tours! Repeaters of our Balkan tours already know what we are talking about.
The weather in Serbia in May is usually already pleasantly warm (sometimes it can even be hot), but May is a time of year when we should be prepared for frequent, heavy rain showers. Although there are exceptions (such as the completely dry May in 2022), statistically May is the wettest month of the year. That’s why we recommend MT tires for this tour, because if the weather is rainy, we’ll need plenty of traction on some sections of the muddy forest trails. Our average daily distances will be around 80 km, which can be covered at a relaxed pace on a long spring day, leaving more than 2 hours to set up camp before dark.
Accommodation
Our campsites are located deep in the wilderness, sometimes close to mountain streams and rivers, far away from any signs of civilization. Firewood is plentiful, so we have the opportunity to make a campfire every evening, which can also be used for barbecues. We will try to arrive at the campsite by 17:00 at the latest each day so that we have enough time to set up your little nomad’s paradise and prepare for the night to enjoy the beautiful surroundings to the full. We usually leave the campsite at 9:00 am so that we have enough time for a relaxed breakfast and then to pack up the equipment.
The altitude of the campsites varies between 400 m and 900 m, which means that although it is still quite early in the season, we should have pleasant night temperatures. But take your warm sleeping bags with you, just in case you need them!
We can replenish our food supplies once or twice during the tour. Preferably once, so that we don’t have to drive through cities too often. Therefore, we recommend equipping your vehicle with a large capacity / good quality fridge so that you can keep your food fresh for several days. When we visit the supermarket, we will also have the opportunity to refuel. You should be able to cover at least 250 kilometers on one tank. Each day we will take a 45-minute lunch break between 12:30 and 14:00, depending on the route.
We look forward to ringing in the camping season in the Balkans with you!
