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| Hiking | 8.00 Miles |
2,820 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.00 Miles | 5 Hrs 45 Mns | | 1.39 mph |
| 2,820 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | For what is probably my last hike in Serbia for this trip, I made a very good choice. Rtanj village sits at the base of Rtanj mountain in southern Serbia. I found a few different GPS tracks to get to the peak on Wikiloc, but it seems like one I chose was the only one that had a real trail to the top.
We had an hour and a half drive to the trailhead from my in-laws' house. On the main highway that we took for a portion of the trip, there was a huge traffic jam from all the Turkish tourists driving home from Germany. The backup was seriously 10+ miles long.
Once you get to Rtanj village, look for a road merging from the left, and turn 300 degrees onto it (from north to SW). That road will take to an honest to God trailhead. Kind of. We parked there and checked it out. the plan was for my wife, father-in-law and kids to drop me off and then return 6 hours later. While we were checking out the scenery, a lady was waving at me to park our rental car under a tree in her yard for shade. I was amazed at the friendliness of this act. I pointed her out to my father-in-law since my Serbian isn't all that great and he explained everything.
My wife and kid joined me for the first 200' and quickly turned around for an easier day. Soon after, this trail gets STEEP. Rtanj village is in the inner part of a canyon next to the mountain. The trail takes you up to a shelf, and then climbs to a meadow, and then west around the mountain until it switchbacks up the western side. Normally I stop for a breather here and there while standing and taking pictures. For the first portion of this hike, I had to stop a few times and sit and rest. and this was only the first mile. Once I got to the shelf, things got better, but I was still drained from the initial climb.
The first 2 miles or so up to the shelf and a little beyond are the usual "green tunnel" for this part of the world. After that, the meadow made things more pleasant with less humidity and more breezes. but there was still a steady climb. for the switchbacks to the top, it got steep again and made me wonder if I would ever get to the peak. The initial steep climb had no switchbacks, and now I couldnt wait for them to end.
This was also the first hike in Serbia that I actually saw other hikers. I saw a total of 8 people, but 4 of them were carrying burlap bags full of plants and flowers. I found out later that the people who live in the village harvest wild plants everyday and sell them to make tea. My wife and father-in-law even bought some before we went home.
There is some kind of structure at the top that seems like it might have been a church. Not really sure. an internet search will produce more info that I can do right now. Local legends have it that aliens visit the peak because the shape of the mountain from severeal angles seems very pyramid-like. All I saw up there were a huge amount of flies. And a peak register (another personal first for Serbia). I ate lunch, signed in, and started the slog back down.
Once i was done my wife hadn't shown up yet at the trailhead so I started walked the road back the way we came. I met everyone right in front of an abandoned coal mine where we had a lunch of Serbian rostilj sandwiches and took pictures of the mine and associated buildings.
This was definitely one of the nicest hikes I've done. absolutely awesome peak bagging experience in another country. It was exhausting getting to the top (longest 8 mile hike I've ever done), but it made the stroll downhill that much sweeter. |
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