Golija

Golija stretches in north-south direction, in an S-shape between Novi Pazar and Raška on south and Ivanjica on the north. It covers an area of about 750 km². The highest peak is Jankov kamen (1,833 m), followed by Radulovac (1,785 m), Bojevo Brdo (1,748 m) and Crni Vrh (1,725 m). The peaks offer sightseeing to Golija's forests and pastures, as well as the peaks of nearby Kopaonik, Komovi and Prokletije mountains.

The Moravica and Studenica rivers of have their headwaters at this mountain. Studenica breaches through the mountain, in its deep valley with several shorter gorges. The Izubra tributary has three waterfalls of total height of around 20 m, and several cascades.

The Golija area has a population of 6,600 within the 42 dispersed rural communities characteristic of these mountainous regions. The main economic activities are livestock raising, farming, and collection of forest products such as mushrooms and medicinal herbs.[2]

The reserve contains Studenica Monastery, a cultural World Heritage site and a popular tourist destination. The monasteries of Sopoćani, Stari Ras and Klisura lie at the outskirts of Golija.

View of Golija landscape

Golija has three distinguishable climate areas, valley climate below 700 m altitude with moderate continental climate, transitional (700–1300 m) with short sharp winters and heavy snowfall, and the mountainous area (over 1300 m) with severe winters and short summer.[3]

Nature park Golija-Studenica covers and area of 538.04 km² (207.74 sq mi). Golija's plants account for 25 percent of Serbia's flora.[4] There are recorded 1091 plant species park, including 117 types of algae, 40 species of mosses, 7 lichens and 75 species of fungi. Many of the species are relict and endemic. The Heldreich's maple is the symbol of the mountain , which constitutes deciduous and mixed-type forests, some of the best preserved in Serbia.[3][5]

Golija is one of important mountainous European ornithology reserves, with 95 registered bird species. The 22 mammal species include the rare and protected wolves, brown bears, least weasels, dormice, red squirrels and water shrew.[3]

In September 2001, the UNESCO declared part of the Golija-Studenica nature park as the Serbia's first biosphere reserve.[2][4][5]

View from Golija

The mountain has several skiing facilities, with two hotels built on the mountain itself and several resorts in the vicinity of Ivanjica and Novi Pazar.[6] There are hunting grounds in Čemernica, Grabovica, and Golija with roe deer, boar, and hare.[3]

• List of mountains in Serbia

Golijainfo - Tourist center