Zaovine - Tara planina

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Zaovine LOCATION

Don’t miss in Zaovine

Zaovine is located in western Serbia at the municipality of Bajina Bašta. Village Zaovine is made of 28 smaller villages on mountainous terrain covered with forest. There is lake Zaovine and canyon of white Rzav called „Sklopovi“.

It is in the southern part of Tara called the flat Tara. Geologically it is natural connection between Tara and Zlatibor and Mokra Gora valley. Its minimal elevation is 784 m and maximal is 1.412 m (peak Miloševac) It covers area of 5.593,61 ha

Zaovine is famous as the place where in village Đurići in 1875. famous biologist Josif Pančić discovered new kind of tree which gets name Pančić spruce (Picea omorika). Zaovine is the only place on which Pančić spruce can be found on serpentines. On location Kik – Sklopovi is its locus classicus

- Geological attraction in the valley of river White Rzav, in Luke: Grad, with ruins of medieval fortress. There is a legend about the ruler of this fortress and his unfaithful wife.

- Crkvine at the foot of Grad and remains of medieval church.

- Observation decks (Zmajevac, Bela Voda and Gavran);

Parts of cultural heritage of this area are the objects of ethnic architecture which witness architectural skills of people of this area: log cottages of stari vlah and other objects of a house hold; these objects were used by shepherds during summer;

Stock farming has long tradition in these parts – milk, cheese, meat and kajmak made here are the goods oh the best quality on domestic market.

Zaovine are ideal place for water sports, fishing, orientation, eating in nature…

Field trip suggestions

Lakes and fishing

Visit the place where Pančić first saw picea omorika. The marked spot is on the Lazići dam – see the photo

Picnics and field trips - Spajići Lake – in the place called Đurići - below the big lake – first turn before dam Lazići on the road Mitrovac - Zaovine. – Ideal place for picnic-Spajići Lake - photos

After building the Lazići dam, on the White Rzav River, the star shaped lake in the lowest part of village Zaovine has been formed. The dam is 130m high and the lake is 80 m deep. When on its maximal level, this lake on 892 meters above the sea with 150 hm³ of water is an extraordinarily beautiful site. Installed capacity of RHE is 614 MW.

There are 14 species of fish in the lake: crick and Californian trout, skobalj (Chondostroma nasus), chub, barbel etc. There is couple of natural fish mating places. The most important are Zmajevački and Popovića crick, and the part of White Rzav, downstream of dam „Spajići“.

There is also a big fish pond with trout owned by the National park ''Tara''.

Photos of the Zaovine Lake

The Flat stone or Grad

Flora of Zaovine

Beside beautiful nature and lakes in the valley of White Rzav in the place called Luke there is an attractive natural monument – the Flat stone or Grad. In medieval period there was a fortress and later the hiding place of famous rebel leader Kostres. It has only two entrances – on the southwest through a cave and on the north which is carved in stone. The peregrine falcon, a very rare species in the Balkans, nests there. There you can also find very rare species of yellow iris. This relict from the time of the Panonian Sea is valuable tourist attraction because it is not far from lakes in Zaovine and the place where Pančić spruce has been found.

Zaovine about 50 % of all Tara flora or 15% of Serbian flora can be found in Zaovine. So far about 600 plant species have been recorded in this area.

- Of that number 55 is on the red list of Serbian flora

- Among 330 Serbian plant species having international value 25 of them can be found in Zaovine.

- In the area of Zaovine 15 plant species are protected as natural rarities. For example: runolist (Leontopodium alpinum), and subendemith Nikolić columbine, Pančić field spurge, and representatives of Orchidaceae family that are in process of gaining state protection.

- 14 species are protected by CITES convention, which prevents over exhaustion of plant and animal life through international trade.