Tara Mountain - a favorite spot of a Hollywood star and an ancient God

The Tara Mountain endows its visitors with the power of nature and inspiration. The generations of people have found their peace right here, between the shadows of evergreen trees and Tara’s rocky slopes overlooking the mighty Drina River and Perucac Lake. Located at the very west of Serbia, the Tara Mountain is a natural border with neighboring Bosnia & Herzegovina. The unrivaled local favorite, Tara Mountain even has a famous Hollywood star and an ancient god in its long list of admirers. It spreads over 220 square kilometers of attractive rocky hills atop the lush green forests and numerous lakes, rivers, and streams, as blue as the sky.

For its outstanding natural properties, many protected species that inhabit the area, and clean, fresh water and air, **the Tara Mountain is a protected National Park in Serbia. City people will find here a perfect easily accessible nature. Hikers will find an array of well-marked trails suitable for both beginners and professionals. Adrenaline addicts will discover many adventure sports spots.

The best viewpoints on the Tara Mountain

The must do for anyone visiting Tara is to check its fantastic viewing points overlooking dreamy forested hills, and nearby lakes and rivers. One with the best views and quite easily accessible, by taking a relaxing 2-hour walk through the woods, is Banjska Stena. The views from there take you straight overlooking the course of the Drina River, with Serbian hills on the left and Bosnian on the right side of the stream, looking like they just separated recently to make a space for tiny, deep blue rivercourse to pass through.

The Biljeska Stena viewing point will take you towards similarly amazing views, capturing your attention and thoughts with a landscape combining the artificial Lake Perucac, green-covered hills and the nearby town of Bajina Basta.

The Sokolarica viewing point offers more exciting views, like the clash of the trees and rocks. Some of the hills are covered in a soothing green, while the others fearlessly stand with its shiny unreachable rocks. This is one of the reasons why this place is a favorite spot for local alpinists, also suitable for beginners.

The attractive lakes and rivers

The landmark of the Tara Mountain National Park is the Drina river. It served as an inspiration for songs, poems, even a novel by a Nobel prize winner Ivo Andric. It tells enough of how a natural monument can quickly become a cultural one as well, and even a national symbol in the struggling times. The Drina River is a home of an interesting annual festival “Drina regatta” that includes rafting, live music, lots of happy faces, and local traditions. Drina is also a place where, you can find one internet sensation, a small house on the rock, in the middle of the river. The house is real, quite easy to find, and often visited by local and international tourists likewise.

The Perucac Lake is an artificial lake of the river Drina, and it is close to the town of Bajina Basta. There is a touristic complex on the lake, securing its mark on the touristic map of Serbia. Visiting the Perucac Lake offers the same amount of amazing scenery and unique sights towards the Tara Mountain, only this time from the other perspective - from the down up.

The Zaovine lake is quite unique. With its water tentacles going deep into the land and in between modest Tara hills, it hides some of the most scenic views that you will find across Serbia, and the Balkans. Best spot for kayaking, or just relaxing and swimming, you could come for a day trip, but could also easily decide to spend a whole summer holiday here. The Zaovine Lake is situated very close to the touristic complex Mitrovac, near the viewing point Banjska Stena and the lake Perucac.

In the area, and just as awesome

One of the honorable mentions of the natural must-visits in the Tara National Park is the Carpet Meadow, a part of the natural reserve Red Creek, a sight unique to the park. It was named after a natural phenomenon – the meadow “breathes” under your feet giving you a sensation of walking barefoot on the soft carpet. This phenomenon is a result of water preserved under the first layer of soil, that moss, lack of oxygen and acidic base keep in place.

The Tara Mountain also hides one of the deepest caves in Serbia, "Pit at Chech house,” which is still a subject to research, and according to the discoveries, deep around 270 m.

While taking in the power of nature at its purest, and giving your lungs, eyes, and mind a real treat in the wilderness of Tara, make sure to embrace its most exclusive inhabitant - the Pancic’s spruce. This evergreen tree is an endemic and relic plant that lives in only 60ha on the whole planet. The wonders of the Tara Mountain in Serbia don’t stop here. It carries a captivating blend of peaceful nature, strong tradition, and many legends. One says that Robert De Niro named his daughter (Drina) after falling in love with this area in the 70s. The other tells a story of an ancient Slavic God Tar who chose Tara for his home, as the most beautiful and divine of all the mountains. No wonder it’s called the Queen of the Mountains, the place that can equally amaze a Hollywood celebrity, an ancient God, and regular people.