Lazar's Canyon or Lazar's Gorge () is located at about 10 kilometers from

Bor Bor may refer to: Places Populated places * Bor (Tachov District), a town in Plzeň Region, Czech Republic * Bor, Petnjica, Montenegro * Bor, Russia, the name of many inhabited localities in Russia * Bor District, a district in Serbia ** Bor, Se ...

. This is the deepest and longest

canyon A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency t ...

in eastern Serbia. Because of its steep rocky

cliffs In geography and geology, a cliff or rock face is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are com ...

, the canyon has not yet been fully examined. The canyon is famous for its numerous caves and pits. The best known are Lazareva Pećina (also known as Zlotska) and Vernikica and Dubašnička cave (also known as “Zlot caves”). Entire Lazar’s canyon is under state protection, and because of its unique beauty and rich

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

and

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

, represents a challenge to all lovers of wilderness and unspoiled nature. The canyon is quite inaccessible, and passing through it is a real adventure, at times quite challenging and arduous. In many places it is necessary to clamber over the rocks. Lazar’s Canyon, up to 9 km long and between 300 and 500 meters in height, is the longest canyon in eastern Serbia. It is cut in the limestone massif of the South Kučaj mountain, and through it flows the river of the same name. On all sides there are sheltered rocky reefs: from the south and southeast rises Malinik (1087 m) from the North Strnjak (720 m) and Kornjet (696 m), and from the west Pogar (883 m) and Mikulja (1022 m). The

of the canyon are vertical and straight, and the width at the narrowest part of the canyon is less than seven meters.

History

Lazar's canyon, through which flows the river of the same name, was during the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...

, one of the most important refuge place of

Homolje Homolje ( sr-Cyrl, Хомоље, ) is a small geographical regions of Serbia, region in east Serbia south of the Danube river. It is centered on the town of Žagubica, with smaller parts belonging to municipalities of Kučevo, Majdanpek and Petr ...

brigand. This canyon to outlaw meant salvation, because the

have never dared to follow them. Legend has it that after the battle of Marica in 1371, the cavalry of Lazar of Serbia came to this area, and stayed in the canyon for some time.

Location

The entrance to the Lazar’s canyon is in front of the Lazareva Pećina, which is a convenient place to raise the camp, since that is the only source of drinking water in the canyon. You can reach the spring if you go to a suspension bridge, then turn left and you pass an abandoned motel. The canyon is quite inaccessible, in it there are walking tracks and the terrain is extremely difficult because of the large number of big rocks and fallen trees. For this reason it is necessary to have hiking shoes, and other mountaineering equipment. The canyon is full with poisonous snakes (the most common is viper) so caution is therefore needed, since it takes about two hours to get to help. After 5–7 hours walk, Lazar’s Canyon branch. At this point there is a signpost on the left to Malinik, and on the right to the river Demizlok. Water from the river Demizlok is good to drink, at least judging by our experience. About 1 hour walk after the abyss, after moving to the right side of the river you exit the canyon. Across the fields one reaches a road which leads back to the Zlot village. After a 1-hour walk in the direction of Zlot, on the right side of the road there is a source of drinking water, which is not marked by any benchmark. The spring is located on a large meadow, downhill from the main road, in a small alcove. Beside the spring there are several houses in which farmers keep livestock in the summer. Along the way there are some fantastic vantage points overlooking the canyon. The time required to cross the canyon is 8-9h.

Wildlife

Native to Lazarev Canyon are rare plants such as the Crimean pine and relict species of

Taxus ''Taxus'' is a genus of coniferous trees or shrubs known as yews in the family Taxaceae. Yews occur around the globe in temperate zones of the northern hemisphere, northernmost in Norway and southernmost in the South Celebes. Some populations ex ...

and Serbian ramonda, and

animals Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, have myocytes and are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and grow from a ...

Chamois The chamois (; ) (''Rupicapra rupicapra'') or Alpine chamois is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope native to the mountains in Southern Europe, from the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Apennines, the Dinarides, the Tatra Mountains, Tatra to the Carpa ...

Golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of pr ...

True owl The true owls or typical owls (family (biology), family Strigidae) are one of the two generally accepted families of owls, the other being the barn owls and bay owls (Tytonidae). This large family comprises 230 living or recently extinct species ...

Peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...

s, endemic

arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

s, and

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

Picture gallery

File:Kanjon Lazarev.jpg, Lazar's Canyon File:Lazarev Kanjon 3.jpg, Lazar's Canyon River File:Lazarev kanjon 5.jpg, Lazar's Canyon File:Lazarev Kanjon.jpg, Lazar's Canyon entrance File:Jungle, Lazarev Kanjon.jpg, Forest in Lazar's Canyon

References

External links