Adventure in Serbia

Whether your passion is climbing, caving, flying, skiing or watersports, if you have a thirst for adventure, you’ll find Serbia willing to oblige Sponsored Content

Details: Written by: Mike Walker; Last Updated: 08 Jul 2015

Caving

Serbia has more than 4,000 caves, with the depth of the largest ranging up to 280m. If you simply want to experience something new, then you can visit ‘arranged’ caves such as the 9,818m Lazareva Cave near Zlot, (the longest in Serbia) or the famous 775m Ceremošnja Cave near Kučevo, or you can hire a potholing guide and explore wild ‘unregulated’ caves, such as the Ušac Cave System near Sjenica (length 6,185m).

Flying

Serbia has a long tradition of aerial sports dating back a century. Travellers can choose from gliding, paragliding, microlite flying, ballooning and tandem skydives. Many resorts and spas are beginning to offer their guests paragliding adventures under the guidance of experienced paragliders from local clubs.

Orienteering

If you like nothing better than running round a remote spot with a map and a compass, ticking off control points in the right order in the shortest possible time, Serbia will greet you with open arms. The sport is phenomenally popular in Serbia, which has around 180 specialised orienteering maps covering many tourist locations as well as the area around Belgrade. You can also go night orienteering, ski orienteering and MTB orienteering, making it a true year-round sport.

Freeclimbing

Hanging off a rock face takes a lot of courage and physical ability and in Serbia, you can channel your inner daredevil on both natural and artificial rock faces. The vast majority of Serbia is dominated by mountains, and renowned sports climbing centres include Borski table, Gornjačka Gorge, Jelašnička Gorge, Ovčar and Kablar Gorge, Sićevo Gorge and the Valjevo mountains. And in urban areas, such as in Belgrade, Kladovo, Kikinda, Novi Sad, Niš and Kopaonik, there are an ever-growing number of modern, artificial climbing walls.

Skiing

Serbia’s most developed and popular ski resorts are Kopaonik, Tornik on Zlatibor and Stara Planina. The beautiful Mt Kopanoik was a popular destination for British skiers before the nineties, and is on the rise again. Its 70km of pistes cater for all levels, from beginner to expert, are set between 1,650m and 2,017m and served by 24 ski lifts. It is certainly the best place to ski in Serbia – on a par with many smaller alpine resorts. Gentler slopes and cross-country skiing are on offer at Zlatibor, while the ski centre on Stara Planina has a relatively modest 13km of ski trails – but bags of potential for future development.

White-water rafting

Plunging over rapids on a rubber raft is an ideal way to get closer to nature and feel the beauty and power of Serbia’s wild and restless rivers. Hot spots for rafting include the River Lim – one of Serbia’s most exciting rivers. Powerful, fast, cold and strong, it stacks up loads of challenges that you can take on during the traditional three-day tourism and sport event the Lim Regatta, which is held during the last week of May. The River Ibar offers thrills and spills on its 25km long route boasting rapids and waterfalls, and is especially popular during the last week of June, which is set aside for the Veseli spust (Joyous descent) tourism and sport event. The River Drina is a powerful, emerald beauty that’s suitable for dinghy rafting. And the Tara is one of the most beautiful and interesting rivers in Serbia, with 100km suitable for rafting descents. You can start in Splaviste, near Djurdjevic Tara in the upper canyon, and from there rafting tours will take you through the entire Tara canyon. In the lower canyon, the 25km stretch from Brstanovica is famous for its high-adrenalin wild rapids.

Canyoning

A comparatively new sport for Serbia, with locations such as the Tribe Canyon, the second highest canyon in Serbia, Dabrova Canyon in the Valjevo mountains, Trešnjica Gorge, near Ljubovija, Seoski Potok and Brusnice Canyon in the Tara National Park. Canyoning reaches the parts of Serbia’s mountain rivers that ordinary hiking can’t – usually some of the most beautiful. Most canyoning adventures take place in the period from May to late September. Participants receive rubber suits and all necessary equipment. Beginners receive a short training session, then it’s time to explore.

Water sports

Serbia’s rivers and lakes are teeming with water sports enthusiasts. While the fast-flowing rivers are great for rafting, dinghy sailors, rowers and flat-water kayakers should head for the wide waters of the Danube, Lake Sava at Ada Ciganlija, Lake Palić, Bela Crkva lakes or Silver (Srebrno) Lake.