Serbia

A Town on a Cold Plateau

Sjenica stands at about 1,000 metres on the Pešter plateau, a high, open plain of pastures known for the coldest winters in the country: Serbia's lowest temperature on record was measured there. The region is famous for its sheep's cheese and its lamb. The town's cameras watch the central crossroads and the main road past the gymnasium, busy on market days and white for much of the winter.

Tara and the Drina

Further north, Tara National Park, protected since 1981, covers a forested mountain range that falls steeply into the canyon of the Drina, on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its forests shelter brown bears and the Serbian spruce, a tree that grows wild almost nowhere else, and a camera looks out over this sea of trees.

Long Winters

Snow can lie on the Pešter plateau from November to April, and freezing fog is common. In summer the same landscapes turn green, and Tara fills with walkers and rafters heading for the river.