Balkans Tour

A wonderful morning drive through dramic seanery along a winding narrow road following the Tara River assending a fabulous limestone canyon. We stopped briefly at the Tara River Bridge. When it was built in 1940, this bridge was declared an engineering marvel, among the largest reinforced concrete bridges in Europe, with an incredible arch span of 116 m. Two years after it was finished in 1942 a local engineer named Lazar Jauković who worked on the construction mined one of the arches in order to prevent the transfer of enemy units to Montenegro. In retaliation over the diversion, the occupying authorities arrested and shot him on a cliff in front of the bridge.
The next stop was the town of Zabljak, the highest urban settlement in the Balkans (1.450m above sea level), surrounded with 23 mountain peaks over 2.200m high, 18 mountain lakes and at the top of the canyon of River Tara. The first name of the town was "Varezes water", from the strong source of fresh, drinkable water. Later on, it was called "Anovi", a place were trading caravans used to stop and rest. From 1870 it became known as Zabljak. According to legend, the name Zabljak comes from the frogs (zaba a Montenegrian word for frog) that live in the region. Today it is a ski and winter sports region. Here were many resort hotels, ski lodges and cabins with steeply pitched roofs. Also some alpine cows and rolling green meadows. Very picturesque and stunning, dispit the light rain and low clouds.Читать далее