River Tara – Tear of Europe

Just as it enters Bosnia and Herzegovina, river Tara joins Piva and makes an extraordinary green river Drina. Not far from the birth of Drina, our DMD Camp is located in a picturesque valley.

Do you know that Drina is one of the most pure watercourses in Europe? Situated in the wild mountain massives, glens and canyons, this natural watershed has 346km long stream. Because it holds a high concentration of dissolved limestone, Drina’s water is know by its green color, and people call it Zelenika or Zelenka. Drina is considered one of the most beautiful rivers of the Balkans region, because in the upper stream it creates numerous meanders, that pace through gorges and valleys. It flows from South to North and instils in Sava.

Flora and fauna of this part of the Balkans is not only rare, but wild and rich, representing one of the most important characteristics of the beautiful Tara canyon and Drina rapids. River Tara flow saved numerous species from the impact of time, so we can find specimens of tertiary flora from the ice age. A great part of Tara canyon is covered with softwood, and the most important one is certainly Black Pine. There are pines of this sort up to 50m high and around 400 years old.

Tara canyon is a natural habitat of mountain goats, and the same goes for roes and wild boars. Tara has an extremely rich water life, there are a lot of different fish species: trout, huchen, grayling, chub and carp.

The bridge on Đurđevića Tara, between the villages Budečevica and Trešnjica, tried to overleap a breathtaking nature of this region. For this magnificent architectural work, Mijat S. Stojanović, one of the greatest architects from Kingdom Yugoslavia, was held responsible. The bridge was built in the late 30s of the 20th century, and at the time it was the biggest road bridge in Europe made of ferroconcrete.

Drina takes the middle position on the Balkan peninsula, with its 346km long stream. Drina’s basin holds several endemic and relict species of plants and animals. In National Park Tara, 53 different species of mammals have been recorded and over 1.000 plant species. If we sum up this data, Tara holds one third of the whole flora in Serbia. Since Drina transforms from the mountain river to the lowland one, it hold 47 species and 14 fish families.

What are you waiting for? :) We are expecting you on Drina banks, in DMD Camp!