| Golija | |
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Golija in winter |
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| Elevation | 1,833 m (6,014 ft) [1] |
| Location | |
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Golija
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| Range | Dinaric Alps |
| Golija-Studenica | |
|---|---|
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IUCN Category Ia (Strict Nature Reserve)
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| Location | Raška, southwest Serbia |
| Nearest city | Ivanjica |
| Area | 53,804 ha |
| Established | 16 September 2001 |
| Governing body | Ministry of Health and Environment of Serbia |
Golija (Cyrillic: Голија, pronounced [gɔ̌lija]) is a mountain in southwestern Serbia, between towns of Ivanjica and Novi Pazar. It belongs to the Dinaric mountain range. The mountain is heavily forested, with significant biodiversity and it hosts the Golija-Studenica Biosphere Reserve, the first UNESCO-MAB registered biosphere reserve in Serbia. It is also a ski resort, with several historical monuments and monasteries.
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Golija stretches in north-south direction, in a S-shape between Novi Pazar an Raška on south and Ivanjica on the north. It covers an area of about 75,000 ha. River and creek valleys separate numerous hills. The highest peak is Jankov kamen (1833 m), followed by Radulovac (1785 m), Bojevo Brdo (1748 m) and Crni Vrh (1725 m). The peaks offer beautiful sightseeing to Golija's forests and pastures, as well as the peaks of nearby Kopaonik, Komovi and Prokletije mountains.
The rivers of Moravica and Studenica River have its headwaters at the mountain. Studenica breaches through the mountain, in its deep valley with several shorter gorges. Its right tributary Izubra has three waterfalls of total height of around 20 m, and several cascades.
The area of Golija has 6,600 inhabitants within 42 dispersed rural communities which are characteristic of these mountainous regions. The main economic activities are livestock raising and extensive farming, and collection of forest products such as mushrooms and medicinal herbs. [2]
Within the reserve is Studenica Monastery, which is a cultural World Heritage site and a popular tourist destination, while monasteries of Sopoćani, Stari Ras and Klisura lie at Golija outskirts.
Golija is an aerial spa, with three distinguishable climate areas: valley climate below 700 m altitude has moderate continental climate, the transitional (700–1300 m) has short and sharp winters with a lot of snowfall, and short and chill summers, with hot days and fresh nights. The mountainous area (over 1300 m) has severe winters and short summer. [3]
The northern wind blows along the Moravica valley throughout the year, causing refreshment in the summer, as well as snowdrifts in the winter, when it's more severe. Occasional southern breeze in early spring contributes to snow melting.[3]
Golija's plants account for 25 percent of Serbia's flora.[4] The total of 1091 flora and fauna species is recorded, among which 117 types of algae, 40 species of mosses, 7 lichens and 75 species of fungi. The symbol of the mountain is Heldreich's mountain maple (Acer heldreichii), building beautiful and well-preserved deciduous and mixed-type forests. 95 registered species of birds make it one of important mountainous European ornithology reserves. 22 species of mammals include rare and protected wolves, brown bears , least weasels, dormouses, red squirrels and water shrew.[3]
In 2001, the UNESCO declared Mount Golija as the Serbia's first biosphere reserve.[2][4] The nature reserve covers the area of 53,804 ha.
Two hotels are currently built on the mountain itself, and several resorts exist in the vicinity of Ivanjica and Novi Pazar. Hotel "Golijska reka" has 106 beds, lies 40 km from Ivanjica at altitude of 1408 m. In the hamlet of Odvraćenica, 31 km from Novi Pazar, a new hotel "Golija" [1] replaced the old mountain home, with three pistes and two ski lifts in the vicinity, at the Kula peak. [5] Another ski lift operates at the location of Dajića brdo. Building of a new ski lift, 2 km long, at the Jankov kamen peak is planned, as well as a system of 5 ski lifts at the location of Odvraćenica.[5]
The mountain is suitable for biking and hiking, and there are three hunting grounds: Čemernica, Grabovica i Golija, offering the hunt of Roe Deers, Boars and Rabbits.[3]