Vlach magic - hiking and visiting the ritual places

26.maj 2024.

Dates

1 day

Duration

12+

Years

easy-moderate

Eastern Serbia has always intrigued with its mystique. Vlach magic is part of the cultural heritage of the Vlachs people who are the old population that inhabits the area between the Morava, Timok, and the Danube. It is believed that they are the descendants of the Illyrians who inhabited the area of Serbia in the Stone Age. They belong to the Orthodox religion, but many pre-Christian, Indo-European, and Paleo-Balkan elements have remained in their religious and ritual life to this day.

The Vlachs respect the forces and laws that apply in nature. On this hiking tour, we will visit ritual places that play a significant role in their customs and mythology.

The path goes through the rainforest Felješana, where you will see a preserved Moesian beech forest that is more than three centuries old. Then it leads to Danilo's source, a spring with a cascading waterfall and the Gaura Ursuli stone bridge, which means "bear's cave" in the Vlach language. At the top of Breza, a beautiful view of the valley awaits you: Valja Fundata, Starica, Veliki Krš and Stol. The adventure continues with a descent to the Black River canyon and a tour of the Kršior cave.

DEPARTURE LOCATION	Novi Sad, by agreement Belgrade, the parking lot at the municipality of New Belgrade
DEPARTURE TIME	5.30 h (Novi Sad) 7 h (Beoograd)
INCLUDED IN THE PRICE	Transportation by minibus from Belgrade Guide, sightseeing according to the program and organization of the tour Accident insurance
NOT INCLUDED	Lunch Other individual costs Transportation from Novi Sad (surcharge is 1200 dinars)

Additional notes:

Equipment for the tour Vlach magic: Deep hiking boots with a vibram sole or deep sports shoes with stronger sole, backpack, layered wardrobe, adapted to weather conditions, we recommend trekking poles, bring enough water and some food (snacks, sandwiches, fruit).
Information about a hiking trail:
- Length: 18 km
- Total ascend/descend: around 450 m
- Category: easy-moderate, hiking forest trails and dirt roads
- Duration: around 8 hours with breaks
For the realization of the tour, a minimum of 19 registered passengers is required.
In case of changes in the monetary market, as well as changes in the prices of carriers and other service providers, the agency reserves the right to adjust the price of the tour.
Price is for members of "Explore Serbia". You can find membership information here. For those who do not have a membership card, the price is 5500 dinars.
Own transportation: in case you come by your own transport, the price of the tour is 3100 dinars (with Explore Serbia membership cards) or 4100 dinars (for those who do not have a membership card).
Transportation from Novi Sad: the surcharge is 1200 dinars. Another option is to take the train to the Novi Beograd railway station, where you can wait for our transport. You can see the timetable here.
Accident insurance: in order for this type of insurance to be active, you need to send us your personal number (JMBG) when registering.
In case of insufficient number of registered passengers or unfavorable weather conditions, the deadline for notification of postponement or cancellation of the tour is 2 days before departure.

The organizer of the tour is the travel agency Explore Balkans doo. With this program is valid Rulebook on conducting tours by Explore Balkans doo.

According to Article 79 of the Law on Tourism, protection is not provided for one-day tours in terms of travel guarantees.

Novi Sad - Belgrade - Kučevo - Majdanpek

Departure from Novi Sad at 5:30 am. Departure from Belgrade at 7 a.m.
Travel by highway through Požarevac and Kučevo to Majdanpek, where we arrive around 10 am. We will make one break.
Going to the starting point of hiking.

Hiking tour Vlach magic: Felješana – Danilov's source – Gaura Ursuli – Breza – Kršior cave – Crna reka canyon

The hiking tour starts near the village of Debeli Lug, then continues through the rainforest Felješana, where there is a preserved forest of Moesian beech more than three centuries old. We go to Danilov's source, a spring with a cascading waterfall and the stone bridge Gaura Ursula, which means "bear cave" in Vlach.
Next is the ascent to the ridge of Breza and then to the peak Breza where a beautiful view of the valley awaits us: Valja Fundata, Starica, Veliki Krš, and Stol... The adventure continues with the descent to the canyon of the Black River and sightseeing of Krišior cave.
Before entering the canyon of the Crna Reka, it must be crossed several times. The river is not particularly wide and deep (width about 3 meters and depth about 20 cm; in some places it can be significantly narrower).
During the hike on the route, we will see the places where they were performed and where they are performed rituals of the Vlachs - passage to another world (a place where destiny was prophesied and where mermaids fell into a trance), Black wedding, Bonding, a cave in which orgies were held once a year - Strndžanje. We will hear the story of mythological creatures from this area (Muma Paduri, Zmeu, Tartor...)
Information about a hiking trail: easy-moderate, 18 km long, with duration about 8h with breaks.

Majdanpek-Belgrade

After hiking, it is possible to organize catering or stop for a late lunch at one of the restaurants in Majdanpek.
Return to Belgrade where we arrive around 10 pm.