In this episode of Balkan Trip we discover Serbia's hidden gems as we travel through the Uvac Canyon and the Pešter Plateau.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Welcome, this is the show Balkan trip, in which we discover hidden treasures and the beauty of the Balkans.
00:15In this episode we are taking you to the south-western Serbia.
00:22First we will show you the canyon of the river Uvac, where is the biggest apartment of Beloglav soup in the Balkans.
00:29Then we will visit the cave Visoravan, where we will try culinary specialties of this area.
00:39The canyon of the river Uvac in the south-eastern Serbia is recognizable by its meanders.
00:45In addition to the natural beauty, it is specific because it is a home for a rare species of eagle-owl.
00:51Right in this part of Serbia, about 250 kilometers from Belgrade, there is the second largest colony of eagle-owl in Europe.
01:01It is a bird, which is about 1,10 meters high, with a wingspan of about 2,80 meters.
01:07It has eight times better vision than a human, so it can notice a red eagle-owl from a height of 8 kilometers.
01:17This rare species of bird, 30 years ago, was before extinction.
01:22In 1990, only seven pairs of eagle-owl survived.
01:27Today, this canyon in Serbia has more than 500 individuals.
01:32Stevo and his colleagues regularly count them and take care of them.
01:37We are on the water 24 hours a day, so me and my colleagues regularly start with their first flights.
01:45During the first flights, they can fall into the water or get injured.
01:57They are usually nested on limestone rocks, caves, trenches, terraces, wherever they find a comfortable place.
02:05They are nested at the end of January, at the beginning of February, when the temperature here is minus 25, minus 30 degrees.
02:13They lay only one egg, literally on a clean rock.
02:19This colony is getting more and more numerous every year.
02:22It exists thanks to the food that rangers bring from five surrounding municipalities.
02:31Monastery food court has existed since 1994 and is a real restaurant for white-headed eagles-owls,
02:39on whose menu there are all kinds of catfish, but also insides that are donated by certain clans.
02:46If somewhere on a farm or somewhere there is an abandoned animal, they have all our numbers and veterinarians,
02:51then we come, take the abandoned animal and throw it on the food court.
02:55The abandoned animal would have to either be burned in the incinerators, which are few in Serbia,
03:02or to be buried, to be simply removed, so that it would not get infected.
03:06Instead, white-headed eagles-owls work, as far as the cleaners are concerned, who regulate it in nature.
03:14Not only are they cleaners of nature, these eagles are a real attraction and attract a large number of tourists.
03:22The canyon of the river Uvac is located between the mountains of Zlatibor and Zlatar, about 250 km from Belgrade.
03:28And on its tour, they usually go by boat, whose trips are limited to only a few cruises a day due to the protection of nature.
03:52It's beautiful. I am very happy that we find this place and we stopped here.
04:00If I had more time, I would stay more days here, because I enjoy it.
04:11We found out how eagles, eagles and eagles nest, and we also saw the way they are fed.
04:16And now we continue our journey to the Pesterska plateau, where cows, horses, goats and sheep carelessly graze on one of the largest pastures in the Balkans.
04:30Pesterska plateau is the largest plateau in Serbia, but also on the entire Balkan Peninsula.
04:36It is located at an altitude of 1150 m and is known as Serbian Siberia, because the winters here are very cold,
04:44and the lowest measured temperature was minus 39 degrees.
04:50In the spring and summer, this is a real paradise for animals, which on pastures can find as many as 3,700 different species of plants.
05:00There are literally medicinal plants on all sides here.
05:04In a way, it is a human therapy for a human, while he walks in this space.
05:09I often know that these cows here have high quality meat, milk and all other products,
05:17so they are medicinal plants and teas that grow in this area.
05:25Milk products from southwest Serbia are very high quality and very sought after.
05:31Serbian production started ten years ago with one product, while today they process about 3,000 liters of milk.
05:39The most famous product is hay cheese, known for its long ripening.
05:45Hay cheese is known because it should stand for at least 45 days.
05:51Because cheese is made today, it is sold tomorrow.
05:55It stands for 45 days and it gets that specific taste.
06:05Not only milk, but also from hay area in southwest Serbia, lamb meat is famous, too.
06:12Here, hay sheep is produced, a breed that gives meat of exceptional quality.
06:18It is a hay sheep that has been bred in this area for more than 200 years.
06:24It is resistant to our climate and living conditions, because temperatures drop below minus 25 degrees.
06:34We have a good plasma of our lambs on the market, because we are looking for hay lambs,
06:39because the quality of the meat is good and the quality of the meat is good because it has a good stomach.
06:45Hay meat is known for its quality of meat.
06:49Between ribs there is some ferment that gives sweetness and taste of quality meat.
06:56His lambs are usually finished in one of the famous restaurants all over Serbia.
07:02Lamb roast is a specialty of hay area.
07:05How it is prepared, we will find out by a cook who prepares meals for over a hundred guests every day.
07:11First we wash it, salt it and put it in the oven.
07:17Here it is roasted.
07:20Then it is turned on one side and on the other.
07:24And that's it.
07:25This is our famous lamb roast.
07:31A lot of people come to try lamb in hay area and guests are always satisfied with lamb.
07:42Food from the canyon and tour around the canyon of Upac are just some of the many natural beauties of Serbia.
07:52We'll see you soon with more Balkan adventures!
07:57Food