National Park Djerdap

Djerdap National Park in northeastern Serbia is a great destination for all. It’s the country’s largest national park and was established in 1974.

Doesn’t matter if you are a free-spirited adventure-seeking individual or a couple that would love to spend a magic few days in a fairy-tail land, or even a family seeking refuge from the stress of everyday life, all of you will be equally impressed by it.

If you’re someone looking to explore a new part of the world and enjoy it by yourself or with family and friends you’ll just adore it.

Then hop along and read about what makes Djerdap so amazing.

Entrance and prices

There’s no entrance fee for the park. However, you have to contact the park administration beforehand. You can contact them via e-mail: office@npdjerdap.rs

Things to see at Djerdap

The main attraction is Đerdapska klisura, the longest and largest gorge in Europe, which was created by the flow of Danube river. It’s 100 km long and some of the cliffs that surround the river are over 300 m high, which makes the whole horizon breathtakingly beautiful.

For thousands of years this gorge presented a challenge for travelers, traders, warriors and messengers. They considered it a gate between two culturally and economically very different parts of the world, the lower and middle Danube region.

Because of its strategic value throughout the ages Đerdap has gained a nickname, Iron Gate. Here, you can enjoy many different activities such as: walking, biking, kayaking, hiking, bird-watching, swimming…

Strikingly beautiful and mystic horizons are just a bit of appeal that this place has. The flora and fauna of this national park are really diverse and there are a lot of endemic species among these natural riches.

Over 1100 plant species grow in this area and if you decide to take a walk in the woods you can see the bear, lynx, wolf, jackal, white-tailed eagle, owls, black stork and a variety of other species. But please do not wander around without proper guide and equipment.

NOTE: If you want to go hiking at Djerdap national park, you are obligated to inform the national park before doing so.

Another wonderful attraction of this area are many archaeological sites you can visit. The most known archaeological site here is called Lepenski Vir. It was discovered in 1965. It’s located on the right bank of the Danube, 15 km from Donji Milanovci village.

This site is so impressive that the whole prehistoric culture of that area was named after it. Prehistoric habitants of Lepenski Vir were among the first builders in Europe.

Their village is considered to be one of the biggest and most complex settlements which are dated to Mesolithic and Neolithic. The site was continuously inhabited for more than 2000 years.

The most recognizable artifacts from this site are stone altars and stone sculptures that represented their deities. These artifacts are the oldest example of this kind in Europe.

There are many impressive fortresses in this area. The most famous one is called Golubački Grad or simply Golubac (eng. pidgeon). It stands on top of high cliffs that form the beginning of Danube’s famous gorge and it’s only 4 km downstream from the present-day settlement. This part of the gorge is also known as an entrance to the Iron Gate.

The old fortified town on the Danube called Diana is also a very popular site. It’s one of the main attractions in this area because of its complex history.

The fort was built during the Dacian Wars as an attempt to secure navigation on the Danube. It’s located in Karatas, below the Djerdap I power plant.

Djerdap I power plant and Djerdap Lake are an attraction on their own. This artificial lake was formed in 1972 when Yugoslavia and Romania built this hydropower plant. The lake is located in the Djerdap gorge.

How to get to Derdap National park

Djerdap National Park is located in the northeast part of the Republic of Serbia which borders Romania. You have to travel 182 km from Belgrade or 185 km from Niš by car or bus.

• It has three main entrances. Two are located on the M 25-1 Djerdap highway (near Golubac and Diana – Karataš) and one is the bridge on the regional route Poreč – Klokočevac.
• You can also get there by boat because Djerdap National Park is located on Corridor 7 of Rajna – Majna – Dunav waterway system. The port is in Donji Miljanovci village which is 990 km upstream from the Danube Delta in a bay of the Black Sea.
• The nearest airports are in Belgrade and Niš.

Where to stay?

In Djerdap National Park it’s possible to stay in hotels, numerous private facilities, as well as in the youth hostel and auto-camp.

• Hotel “Lepenski vir” (3 *) is located in Donji Milanovci
• Hotel “Golubački Grad” (2 *) is located next to the river Danube in
• There are hotels “Aquastar Danube” (4 *) and “Iron Gate” ( 3 *) in the town called Kladovo.

Useful information

If you need more information about Djerdap national park, restaurants, hotels etc. here are a few resources:

• https://www.golubac.org.rs – site of the Tourist Organisation of Golubac (in Serbian)
• http://www.tookladovo.rs/ – site of the Tourist organisation of Kladovo
• National Park Đerdap
  Kralja Petra I 14a, 19220 Donji Milanovac, Serbia
  Tel: +381 (0) 30 590 788, +381 (0) 30 590 778
  Email: office@npdjerdap.rs
  Web: https://npdjerdap.rs/