Tara Nature Reserve is located in western Serbia, close to the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Tara is a wild place with minimum human intervention. There are around 80 brown bears in the reserve and the most poisonous mushrooms in Europe! In terms of accommodation – sleep in one of the scattered huts in the reservation, there is no one central area.
Day 1: On the way to Tara we stopped at a house on the Darina river (see photo). It was really funny when my daughter was sure it was our hotel… There is an excellent restaurant that overlooks the house and the river. The river actually serves as a natural border between Serbia and Bosnia, which feels close at hand. Link to the location: shorturl.at/qFGU8
We continued to our cabin and had a little trouble finding it because we arrived in the dark. It is really better to arrive when there is light because when it is dark then it is really dark (and you can also see stars and the milky way which is stunning). We slept in Villa Tijana, which is actually a 2-story cabin – lower floor living room, kitchen, bathroom and fireplace (which was definitely active) and an upper floor with 3 bedrooms.
Day 2: We set out on foot from our cabin to the cute little town of Mitrovac. We tried to find a path that Google Maps showed but in reality there was only tangled forest. Google Maps makes a lot of mistakes so you should pay attention. It was worth it because we saw a deer! It’s really scary to walk alone in the forest because of the bears… although they will usually run away from people, so it is recommended to make noise when you walk…
So far we have seen a fox, 2 deers and lots of friendly dogs and really furry cats. (probably wild cats)…
As soon as we opened the door of the cabin – a cute puppy arrived who just lay on his back and we patted his belly. The girls were everything he dreamed of… and that’s how we got a walking dog that walked with us the entire route.
We arrived at an information center that weren’t very helpful, but on the second floor there is a free mini-museum about brown bears that is really worth going into. We stocked up on sandwiches and sausages in the small grocery store and got ready for breakfast. We continued to the cute path of the educational forest which is full of explanations about the flora and fauna in the reservation. No less important – when we were there, 2 crazy cute puppies ran to us from the forest and the girls were overjoyed…
Link to the location: shorturl.at/FLW79
From there we continued to the Banjska Stena Viewpoint on Lake Zavina, which for me was the highlight of the trip. We parked in a parking lot in the forest and from there it’s a walk of about a kilometer in the magical forest to the lookout. I strongly recommend to continue going up and see 2 more stunning views further on, just a few minutes’ walk away. The view is spectacularly beautiful!!
Link to the observation location: shorturl.at/frAJN
Another stop we made was the waterfalls – which is really easy – a 15 minute round trip walk. Of course, there I was also closely accompanied by a bunch of cute dogs. Link to the place: shorturl.at/aoQX0
Day 3: We went to Mokra Gora – a really cute town. We entered the old train station to schedule a train tour for the next day. It is very important to check in advance – because there was a load of schools. They only have 3 tours a day at 10:30am, 1:30pm and 4:00pm. We were told that there was only room left at noon. My daughter did not feel well and stayed in the room with Yonny. I went out with my other daughter and my brother for a walk in their old town which resembles a town from the beginning of the 20th century. The place is full of cabins that you can walk around in. We arrived late so the market was already closed. There are cafes and a restaurant. The restaurant was a great success! All in all it was strange there but worth it if only for the restaurant. Link: shorturl.at/jLMNT
Day 4: We decided to give up the train tour and continue home, that’s how it is with children – you have to be flexible according to the situation. But a few minutes after that we saw a sign to Zaltibor and Ori asked us to go to the adventure park there and completely forgot that she wasn’t feeling well. Unfortunately, they didn’t let us in because Roni didn’t reach the height of the swing, so instead the girls did wheel surfing – 10 rounds… (Don’t worry – there is already a height marking on the wall at home and when Roni gets there we will go to Zaltibor again).
We continued walking on the Zaltibor pedestrian walkway around the lake which is full of attractions. The girls enjoyed the inflatables and we left again towards Belgrade.
This time we were surprised by a sign with goats, and where there are animals – that is where we go! We traveled without knowing what awaited us and were surprised to discover a piece of heaven!! A charming place with lots of goats that roam freely and you can also feed them, full of special and creative amusement facilities, a variety of transportation vehicles for children, a huge inflatable balloon, special swings, slack line and more? A simply magical place! I wish it was close to Belgrade… link to the place:
http://shorturl.at/dgAC5
That’s it, those were the four days of our trip. We didn’t get everything done and things changed along the way, but we fulfilled our mission and that is to have fun together!
Waiting for our next trip to magical and beautiful Serbia!
