Deep in Serbia’s Tourist Trap – Zlatibor
Welcome to Zlatibor. This is one of the most visited tourist destinations in Serbia, and now, we will check if and now, we will check if this is really
a place of elite tourism or just a farce. Zlatibor is located in the southwestern part of Serbia and belongs to the municipality of Čajetina. About 4,000 people live in the town itself, and about 15,000 in the entire municipality. The main asset of Zlatibor is its winter tourism. Since we were here in the winter, we had to come back in the summer because we couldn’t visit everything we wanted to. We could not visit some viewpoints and some other places located outside the town. So, during this episode, we will include those parts from the winter period, so we don’t have to visit them again, and I will show you some of the old footage. The biggest change from the last year, that I can see is the construction. The town has grown a lot. Buildings are popping up everywhere, it’s like we’re in a big city. I might even compare it to Belgrade or Novi Sad. There’s constant construction going on, everywhere. Construction is booming on Zlatibor, to the point where the sheer number of buildings being built makes the entire area look like one massive construction site. Although this is the most popular tourist destination in Serbia, there are some serious questions to be asked: Is there really such a need for accommodations? Do the buildings need to be so tall? Is there a long-term plan for the expansion, or is everyone just doing as they want? According to the municipal plan, there will be capacity for about one million tourists a year, but will they actually come? If you are looking for an escape from the city, will you come to Zlatibor when the nature is replaced by concrete? As always, we are begining from the town center. In this case, on my left there is this huge fountain, and on the other side, over there, is a small park where you can relax, and over here, on the other side, there is a promenade with various shops where you can buy food and various other souvenirs. In 1893, King Aleksandar Obrenović stayed in the village of Kulaševac, and again in 1905, King Petar I Karađorđević did as well. Their visits were the main driving force behind the construction, so only a few years later the first hotel was opened. After that, construction expanded rapidly, and at the end of the 20th century, the town changed its name to Zlatibor. We just left that part. Now we are on the other side of the fountain, and we are going to this part where the boutiques and some other shops are located. There are many cafes and restaurants, and the market is also in that direction. The large number of boutiques and other shops selling various clothing and shoe brands shows how much and how fast is this place developing. You have the feeling that you are in a big city, and the sense of being in the mountain is completely lost. In this part here, not far from the promenade, is the entrance to the market. There is a strong smell of meat, kaymak and cheese in the air. These are the main products that are sold here. Apart from that, you can buy rakija, honey, jam and various other similar products, but the most dominant are prosciutto and kaymak. This is what this region is most famous for. And here we have a section with woolen socks, sweaters and other handmade items, which can keep you warm during the winter. Now is the summer season, but you can still buy some really nice products. Here we are on the other side of the fountain. Here you can buy various souvenirs, toys for children and similar. As I said, this is an extremely touristy place. And there is a lot of tourist trash in a sense of various cards, keychains, signs, and magnets, that you will buy and never use. It’s really nice and might even be relaxing. However, there is one problem, and that is the speakers around the fountain that play some music. On the other side, there is a stage where probably was a concert or will be, and beside is a cafe. So, where is the problem? The problem is that one music is playing here, and the other there, and they are competing to be louder. It’s like a fair. So, you can’t even relax in this beautiful ambience. If you remember from the winter period, when we were here. This is where many people and children used to sled and slide down the hill, but now it’s a completely different scene. And as I said, Zlatibor should be seen when everything turns green, so you can really enjoy this beautiful colors, except for the constructions and cranes that spoil the pleasure a little bit. That’s why we’ll soon head out of the town, away from this crowd, which I’m really excited about. Here we come to the end of this path. On my right, in this direction. Over there is a Dino Park. Since we visited it in the winter, we won’t go again. Here is the video. Here we are in the Zlatibor’s Dino Park. Let’s explore it. The ticket price was 9 euros per person. The models are very good and almost all of them are moving or making sounds. In the park, there are many small attractions for children, playhouses, and a lot of other activities that require an additional fee, such as riding toys, ziplines, and similar. Besides the dinosaur models, you’ll also find real animals and a beautiful lake. This is supposed to be the dino stable, however there are no horses now. If you are coming with children, feel free to stop by. The kids will enjoy it, but you’ll likely get bored quickly, as there isn’t much for adults, especially in the winter. But, you can kill some time, and see some funny animals. When you get here, at the end of the path, on the opposite side of the fountain, you’ll find a Ferris wheel you can ride, a Luna park, a playground, and other attractions for kids. We also rode it in the winter, so here’s a video. Before leaving the town center, you should also visit the monument on the Šumatno Brdo, which we also have recorded. Halfway from the center we are crossing this bridge and following the path. If you continue, you’ll reach the monument and a beautiful view in all directions. The monument was built in 1967 to honor the fighters who were shot by Nazi soldiers. In 1941, Nazi soldiers set out to conquer this place. The Partisans were retreating and were forced to leave their wounded behind, hoping they would be treated as prisoners, but the Nazi army shot them all. These words are written on the monument: I will not give this sun in the eyes,
I will not give this bread on the palm of my hand. Apart from the monument itself, the view from this place is incredible. There’s a beautiful view all around, with Zlatibor visible below. If you come to Zlatibor, this is the first thing I recommend you visit. I hope you are enjoying as much as I do. And now, let’s get the car and head out of the city. First, we’ll visit the northwestern part. We are going to the memorial fountain Oko, and then to the village of Semegnjevo. This is what I’m talking about. This is Zlatibor for me. These landscapes and nature. Not the concrete and thousands of square meters of rental space. You can find that in every other big city. While this you can find only here. We also came to this memorial fountain called Oko. Legend has it that a blind girl dreamed that she should wash her face at the spring of White Water in order to regain her sight, and she did it, right here. Soon after that she got her sight and the spring got a new name, the Eye. That’s a legend, and now, let’s taste the water. The monument is above the spring, and the water is clear and cold as ice. I would say that it’s about 8 or 9 degrees. It’s very cold. The fountain was built in 1930 in honor of the soldier from the villages of Brenažac and Semegnjevo, who fell in the wars for liberation and unification from 1912 to 1918. What can be seen as one of the biggest problems in Zlatibor, as well as in many other places we visited, is that there are dumpsters and beside them is a trash. It has been left there to be blown away by the wind. And, here is a truck. We are currently heading towards the village of Semegnjevo and here, along the entire length of the road, we are followed by a stream, or a small river. Now it looks like a stream, but I don’t know how does it looks in the winter. We have already passed three restaurants with beaches, where a lot of people were swimming and sunbathing. So if you want to swim and enjoy beautiful nature, it’s not too crowded or popular. All around are these mountains, hills, greenery, a stream, and you can swim in clear mountain water. So you don’t have to go to sea. Here, somewhere halfway to the village of Semegnjevo, we came across this sign that says Zlatibor is behind us. And here, we are turning left for the railway station of Zlatibor. I think trains still stop here, but many people say that this station doesn’t go anywhere because the town is a little farther away. It is about 8 or 9, maybe even 10 kilometers away. Let’s see what the station looks like. There are graffiti. Some more graffiti. We can see the name, up there. Let’s look inside. Of course, as always. Everything torn, broken, scrawled with graffiti. Once upon a time, all of this was in operation and full of people. Today, due to progress, everyone has a car. People drive, and there is no longer a need for the operation of this train station. We also have some papers here. Monthly cash register report. 18.11.2001. Let’s check the balcony This is the view. We continue on, following the navigation that takes us along this narrow and steep road straight to the village of Semegnjevo, where the Skakavac waterfall is located. After you get over the bridge and reach this sign, follow the stairs to the right . It’s not for everyone because there are a lot of stairs to climb down. I just saw a little lizard. I just saw a little lizard. At the bottom, there is a bench and a small table where we can rest. There is not much water now. It’s a dry period, and it probably looks better during the rainy season. Now, let’s climb back up, and then we will return to Zlatibor because we are going to one very beautiful place. We have passed through Zlatibor and are now descending to the other side, towards Čajetina, which is only 4 km away. Here we are in the municipality of Čajetina, and behind me is the Laguna restaurant. So, let’s check it out. To begin with, I decided to go with veal goulash. As we can see, it looks and smells very nice. There are carrots, meat, and macaroni. It’s very tasty. It is nicely seasoned and cooked. It’s really great. Next up is Komplet Lepinja, and this is the Zlatibor variant with prosciutto. It’s not like the traditional one, but since I’ve been here before, I know it’s excellent. I’m going to cover it back and remind myself of what it tastes like. It’s crusty on the outside, and inside, as I said, we have eggs, kajmak and pretop. It’s very tasty. I also like that it’s not soaked with too much egg and kajmak. Not too salty. So, it’s just perfect. Next thing is Gypsy style grilled chicken. Here we have some pepper, onion, and grilled chicken. The pepper is nicely roasted, tasty, juicy, not dried out, sweet, it’s excellent. Let’s try the meat. The meat is also soft, juicy. I really have no complaints. Here we have cevapi, cream, french fries, and here we have this little bowl with garlic… no, with onions. Let’s taste the fries. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and what’s more, the fries soaked up the juices from the ćevapi and kajmak, giving them a richer and more complex flavor. And cevapi? Quite nice. Soft. Delicious. Kajmak. It’s really good. In addition to a variety of grilled dishes,
they also serve excellent pizzas here. And how do I know it’s good? Because I tried it about two years ago, and it was really, really good. Look how thick it is. It’s very soft. The crust is crunchy but also soft. It is not dried. There is a lot of filling. By the way, this is Capricciosa. It’s great. If you ever come the municipality of Čajatina, I highly recommend visiting this park, which is excellent. There is a small pond, a bridge, a little playground. The park is really nice. There is enough shade and benches so you can rest in a truly peaceful and quiet environment. There’s no noise or crowds like in Zlatibor. It’s a really nice and pleasant environment. We are returning to Zlatibor, and our next destination is the nearby viewpoint. Navigation led us down a terrible road, and then, right in front of the viewpoint we found brand new asphalt. And here we are at the viewpoint of Gradina. Take a look. It’s beautiful. We can se the construction on Zlatibor, hills and mountains. And in this part here, on the other side of the viewpoint, you can see Čajetina. Here is also this panorama from where we can look down. Unfortunately this is broken so we won’t be able to look trough it. After the viewpoint, we are heading southeast from Zlatibor in search of Tosina Banja. And here we come across this green bottle. It’s a spring where we are going to fetch some water, and then we will go there, behind the fountain, straight to Tosina Banja. This was the wrong way. We are back. Lets try the next one, here. And here, we have found Tosina Banja. This is it. It’s a beautiful building. Unfortunately, the owner passed away before it was completed, and it was never finished. Therefore, it remained frozen in time. We’ll see what’s inside, and what awaits us there. Tiles. The tiny yellow ones, which were very popular in the 80s. As we can see here, it either started to leak or someone was tearing it down. This is the exit on one side, and this is the exit on the other side. As we can see, someone even took out the power cables. We have climbed one flore up. Here is the exit to the terrace, and we are out. Here is the outside exit and stairs to the ground. Should we go higher? Here are the birds’ nests. We can hear them. Here we are at the top. It’s really a shame that no one has stepped in to finish it, because they say that the water has healing properties for various skin diseases. The construction of the spa was started by Toša Lazović in the 70s, but he passed away in 1999, so the spa remained unfinished. During the editing of this video, the news came out that the spa had been sold, so it might open sometime in the future. Let’s go down. Look how narrow those stairs are. I don’t know how they imagined people climbing here. And here is this pool with water. It fills up there, and here is a small opening where the water flows out into this nearby stream. Which means that the water we have drank at the spring comes all the way from here. So, there is a pipe that takes the water from here to there. And this spring here is where everyone is taking the water because they say its the cleanest one. It’s really a shame that this has been left in ruins. As you saw, the water is good and clear. I have tasted it. It’s drinkable. It has no aroma. It’s completely neutral. The ambience is nice. Nature, conifers, forest. Now, let’s move on. Just 2 km from here is the Stopića cave, which we visited in the previous period, and here is the old video. We’re following this path, going downhill. It’s quite steep, but the path is made of stone, so we won’t slip. And we can hold onto these rails. It seems that the descent is still dangerous, so you have to be extremely careful. We’re buying tickets and heading inside. Somewhere in the middle of the cave, there’s this beautiful section with basins, and it’s the main attraction. We have reached the end of this section, i mean, this branch of the cave, and now, let’s go to the other one. I couldn’t vlog in the second part of the cave because the gurgling of the water was too loud. The ticket was around 2 euros per person, and in the end, was it worth it? Yes, it was. It’s not that expensive at all. You just need to be careful not to fall, as I have slipped twice. Once while we were going down these stairs, and once inside the cave itself. Finally, at the top. We still have a bit more to walk to the car. I really don’t recommend this to the elderly, unless they can handle climbing. You’ll get down easily, but going back up from the cave will probably take some time. Here we are not that far from the cave. We are in the village of Sirogojno, where there is an open-air museum Staro Selo, and a museum of knitters. First, let’s go to Staro Selo. We are passing through this wood. It’s really nice. I can only imagine what it’s like in the spring or summer. The houses are arranged in the form of two households, with many other facilities that existed in a village hundreds of years ago. There are various workshops, a bakery, a dairy, a barn, a granary, and more. So, here we have houses from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, brought from all over Zlatibor. This is not a small at all. There are several buildings. There are two big households, and the entrance fee is about 2 euros, so it’s not much. This here is a ‘trap’ basically a space where food is stored over the winter, mostly things that grow in the ground, such as potatoes, beets, and similar. And here is the ‘uljanik’ or bee hive storage. It’s a place where hives were stored, and it’s named after the old word for honey. Let’s go to the next location, which is the knitter’s museum. The museum consists of just a few items of clothing and a bunch of newspaper and magazine clippings. There is literally nothing to see. This is where we’re ending this video. Subscribe if you want to join me on the next journey to the western part of Zlatibor.
Zlatibor is a town in the southwestern part of Serbia located on the mountain of the same name. It is considered the most visited tourist town in Serbia, and is currently undergoing massive construction. In this video, I guide you through all its attractions, whether popular or hidden, in order to find out whether Zlatibor is really a place of elite tourism or just a scam, and what you should see.
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CHAPTERS:
00:00 Zlatibor
01:15 Massive construction
02:32 History of Zlatibor
03:33 Local market
06:09 Dino park
07:20 Ferris Wheel
07:49 Monument at Sumatno brdo
09:01 Memorial Fountain Oko
10:39 Train station Zlatibor
13:21 Waterfall Skakavac – Semegnjevo
14:31 Restaurant Laguna – Cajetina
17:39 Park – Cajetina
18:03 Viewpoint Gradina
18:49 Abandoned spa Tosina banja
23:08 Stopica Cave
25:16 Open-air museum Staro Selo – Sirogojno
26:59 Knitting museum – Sirogojno
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