People tend to throw all of ‘The Balkans’ together into a box, sweeping over this European peninsula swiftly without stopping to savour all the fine ingredients. Serbia is one of those ingredients, but one that is often listed in very small print, in comparison with the heady flavours of neighbouring Croatia, Hungary or Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, it is slowly creeping higher up the list of go to places, as travellers realise that Serbia is not to be sniffed at. Most tourists are beckoned by Belgrade and then give a tertiary nod to the Danube, ignoring the Dinaric Alps, the Ottoman influences in Novi Sad or the rural architecture and traditional foods of areas like Mokra Gora.
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Serbia was traditionally a place where people came to take healing waters, with over 30 thermal spas or ‘banja’. Indeed, the power of healing is tangible all over Serbia now.
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Yes, Serbia’s history is turbulent, but tourism is tranquil. Get out onto it ancient mountain trails, take moments of sanctuary in a riverside monastery, or sip a local white wine with local salamis and cheese. Before people start to read the small print.
