Western Serbia it starts with a fertile Macva plain on the north, goes further over Cer, Povlen and Maljen mountains, rising towards the mountain beauties –Tara, Zlatibor and Zlatar.Defiant people of this area had always fought against the invaders (this part of Serbia had been constantly occupied), so the war history of Western Serbia is its main characteristic. Each settlement possesses a rich epic tradition, and the geographical position and natural beauty  they turned into  modern tourist destinations. A unique feature of this region are the terrains for canyoning.

The nature of this region has been extremely generous: it’s rich in pastures, meadows, forests, hills, mountains, rivers and lakes. It is also famous for exquisite cuisine and mouth-watering specialities; prsut and kajmak are inevitable part of each table, as well as gastronomic ’’atmosphere boosters’’, sljivovica and klekovaca  rakijas. Due to an extraordinary architecture of houses, many villages as: Sirogojno, Kostunici, Kremna are turned into  open-air museums of the national architecture. A particular attraction represents Mokra Gora, a mountain village famous for its Sargan eight, a narrow-gauge heritage railway attractive to visitors. Kremna village is known for the Tarabics family of prophets who unerringly ’’sensed’’ many events throughout the history. A unique attraction of Mokra Gora  is an ethno-village Drvengrad on Mecavnik hill, built by a famous director Emir Kusturica. Each year at this place occurs Kustendorf film festival, gathering world famous celebrities from the film industry. Another famous festival in this region is Guca-it lasts for 5 days and it gathers more than 100 000 visitors. This region guards one of the most picturesque Serbian areas-Ovcar-Kablar gorge where the Zapadna Morava river penetrates between the mountains Ovcar and Kablar. The beauty of this area complete the monasteries creating an inseparable  whole with the gorge. In the eastwestern part of Serbia lies Raska region named after the Raska river and the former Serbian state of the same name. Sandzak is another name for this region, which means :’’a flag’’ in Turkish, which implies that the Ottoman empire  remained in this region the longest. The blend of Orthodox and Muslim tradition is a distinct feature of this part of Serbia. As we noted, Raska was the center of  the medieval Serbian state, where many Serbian rulers left behind a priceless cultural heritage: Sopocani, Mileseva and Studenica monasteries. Raska is located  in the heart of the Dinara mountains (the highest reaches 1600 m), and the central part is dominated by Pester plateau. The climate conditions are very unfavorable due to harsh mountains and long and cold winters, but the people of this region are hospitable and they will embrace warmly every visitor. Besides the beauty of the mountains, from the north to the south, Raska offers  deep gorges of : Lim, Ibar and Uvac, and the brave ones can try rafting on the Ibar river. In the vallies of these rivers you can find churches, monasteries, ruins of the medieval castles (Maglic, Koznik and Milesevac), and the old fort of Ras.

Sumadija

Sumadija and Pomoravlje are rightfully called ’’the pulse of Serbia’’, being the part of Western Serbia. The plain around the watercourse of the Velika Morava river is the largest valley in Serbia, preserving interesting and modern cities with rich history, and outstanding cultural heritage. This region is ’’the heart of Serbia’’ in the historical terms, since the Serbian state at the end of XV century, attacked by the Ottomans, moved towards the North. Smederevo is a developed industrial town today, recognizable for its fascinating Fortress, built by despot Djuradj Brankovic, which he appointed for his capital. The largest at the time in Europe, it didn’t succeed  to resist the attacks of the Ottomans, so it was finally defeated in 1459. and that was oficially the end of medieval Serbian state. However, exactly at this area, Serbia as a state was also renewed. The First and Second Serbian Uprising started in Sumadija, so the towns: Orasac, Topola, Arandjelovac, Takovo,  are  sort of historical monuments  of the beginning of ’’Serbian’’ revolution and the guardians of  its rich cultural heritage. Besides the natural beauty, this area prides of  significant monasteries raised by influental Serbs and  churches of extraordinary  beauty consecrated to saints and patrons. So the most famous are: Manasija monastery, the foundation of despot Stefan Lazarevic, which had been the cultural center of the despotate and the source of manuscripts and translation; Ravanica  monastery, the foundation of prince Lazar Hrebeljanovic, and Ljubostinja monastery,the foundation of his spouse, princess Milica. The largest city of Sumadija is Kragujevac, an economic, cultural, and university center, lying on the bank of the Lepenica river, at the foot of Rudnik and Crni Vrh mountains. It had been the capital of Serbia during the reign of prince Milos, and the center of young Serbian state at the time, where the Assembly had been making important political decisions. Krusevac  is a small town on the banks of the Zapadna and Juzna Morava , which prides of its glorious  history, because prince Lazar  chose it for his capital. He built there  a strong fortress and the court with a church. He set off for the Battle  of Kosovo with his knights from this place. This part of Serbia is abundant with natural beauty, of which many are easily accessible, such as: Resava cave near Manasija monastery. The entrance of the cave is inaccessible, covered with thick overgrowth, so it was late discovered in 1962. It enthralls with it colorful speleothemes of different shapes and with magnificent hallways. For the lovers of spa tourism, this region has one of the most beautiful spas in Serbia.  Vrnjacka Banja spa is a place to relax and enjoy in many cultural and entertaining events. The surroundings of Banja are arranged  for recreation: it has many cycling and hiking trails, and Goc mountain above the spa is fit for climbing, skiing and trekking.