Mountain Tara
At the very edge of Serbia, in its western part, where Drina River makes the greatest bend, there lies the most beautiful Serbian mountain, which makes it one of the most beautiful European mountains – the mountain Tara. You will not find many places which carry same peace and quiet as Tara does…
There are many legends about the origin of the name Tara. One of these legends says that Celts (people who inhabited most of Europe) had their goddess of beauty – Tara. As they were trying to find one of the most beautiful places to build a temple for their goddess, they walked and sailed all around Europe. When they came to this mountain, they were dazzled by its beauty and silence, and decided to build the temple dedicated to their goddess of beauty Tara there on the spot near the today’s hotel “Omorika”.
The mountain Tara spreads across 19,200 hectares and due to its extraordinary natural rarities a great part of the mountain was declared a national park in 1981. Average altitude between 1000 and 1200 meters and untouched nature are ideal combination for rest and recovery. The highest peak Zborište is 1544 meters high and it is situated at 4-5 hours of walking distance southwest from the hotel “Omorika”. Out of the total area Tara takes, more than 70% is covered by coniferous forest. Inside there are glades, peaceful, green and full of scilence. The mountain shelters and feeds extremly diverse animal habitat. More than 300 roes are grazing on the glades of Tara, and more than 300 chamois climb the canyon of Drina River, wheras about 40 bears inhabit the mountain. As you walk around, as your nostrills sense the scent of mountain herbs, and as the whole mountain smells with resin, you will be followed by birds singing, and there are more than 150 bird species.
What also makes Tara famous is the tree of vast beauty – Serbian spruce (Pančić’s omorika). Our famous botanist Josif Pančić searched for the tree for 20 years. He heard that it existed, but he didn’t know where. After years of wandering, he found it on the 2nd of August 1875 on the Vis hill, in Zaovine village, where a beautiful mountain tirquose lake can be found today.
Serbian omorika could be found in many parts of Europe, but it survived the ice age only on Tara, in canyons of River Drina, thanks to warm currents of the Panonian sea which used to reach the mountain sides. Each tree of Serbian omorika, anywhere in the world, their roots or seeds originate from Tara.
Tara is more than 40 km long and the hotels of MF "Tara" (hotel "Omorika" and hotel "Beli bor") are situated in Tara's most beautiful eastern part. Aside from its vast beauty which will take your breath away, there aren't many mountains with landscape like the landscape of Tara. Under the slopes there are River Drina and the beautiful lake Perućac (52 km long) made by the construction of HE "Bajina Bašta". It floats through ravines of third in size canyon up to the famous bridge on Drina in Višegrad. There is a lovely town Bajina Bašta in the immediate vicinity, and under the mountain itself there is the endowment of King Dragutin from the 13th century.
On the southern slopes lies comfortably Mokra Gora, through which Šarganska railway meanders, one of the most attractive and preserved railroads in Europe, and which shelters our greatest director "professor" Emir Kusturica in his Wooden city, away from it all. Near the hotels of MF "Tara" lies the village Kremna, where a few of the greatest world prophets were born, raised and where they made prophecies - famous Tarabićs. Only about 40 km from the center of Tara also lies Zlatibor (southeast) and Višegrad (southwest).
They say that the mountain Tara has the most positive energy and extraordinary concentration of negative iones which are vital for people's health. The main role of "transportation" of the oxygen into our body have these so-called negative iones. That's why we are sure that you will forget all your worries when you visit Tara, and that it will become your peaceful green harbor and the mountain for life.
