DBB Gravelux

The riders of the EPIC are supported by car to make sure everyone can make it to the finish. If, however, you are in doubt if you should make an attempt, there is an option to ride the easiest route of the week instead, that leads to Banjska Stena viewpoint.

Or, use one of the camp cars to drive to Perućac and hop on to a full-day boat cruise to Višegrad and back.

EASY POI:
• beach at Zaovine, 6 km
• snack at Mitrovac, 18 km
• viewpoint Banjska Stena, 24 km

A ride to recover from yesterday. The route leads to not one, but two featured observation decks: Sokolarica and Osluša, followed by a stop for drinks at Vagon cafe — based in a railroad carriage.

POI:
• viewpoint Sokolarica, 25 km
• viewpoint Osluša, 30 km
• snack at Vagon, 31 km

Intricately-shaped Zaovine lake is the first thing that one notices when looking at Tara from above, so we’ll circle it on the first day. But before, a scenic gravel loop with a tough ascend leading to the newest prominent viewpoint in Tara, Zmajevac. Be careful on the downhill back to the lake!

Before making the asphalt circle around the water, we’ll wash off the gravel dust at a beach — Zaovine is the second place out of three where we’ll have opportunity to swim (not counting camp pool and jacuzzis).

The lunch is at the nicest restaurant in the area, which has it’s own viewpoint, so that makes it two for the day if not to count the Zaovine dam that also shows quite the view to the opposite side from the beach.

POI:
• viewpoint Zmajevac, 16 km
• beach at Zaovine, 26 km
• lunch at Tarvil, 33 km

The wildest of the routes brings us to a couple of viewpoints, the latter of which, Janjač is located in literally a couple of meters from Bosnia & Herzegovina. There is no need for border patrol, as the only way to cross is to jump from the rock.

If not a parachute, bring a backpack with some snacks & drinks — there is no cafes or shops around for the entirety of this route. Inconvenience, but the view is more than worth it.

POI:
• viewpoint Sjenič, 18 km
• viewpoint Janjač, 26 km

The route leads to the farthest accessible point in Tara National Park — to Bilješka Stena, immediately after which an off-limits zone begins where trespassing is prohibited due to a high risk of disturbing wildlife animals — particularly, bears.

Afterwards, we’ll descend a nice twisty road to Drina river / Perućac lake. Formally the route is 60/40 gravel to tarmac ratio, but the asphalt here has patches of gravel so large that it makes it roughly 80/20. Be careful with your speed at the downhill section.

We’ll have a lunch at one of the restaurants near the Vrelo waterfall and go up the serpentine that you may remember from a car window on day 0 — another chance to admire the view from Zelenika viewpoint.

POI:
• viewpoint Bilješka Stena, 18 km
• beach at Perućac, 40 km
• lunch at Vrelo, 42 km
• viewpoint Zelenika, 48 km

Not only the EPIC route has the most elevation gain and the longest gravel portion, the gravel itself is tougher than the rest of the routes — some of the exploration has been done by our friends from Serbia Upside Down, who like it rough.

The route goes to the lakes Spajići and Lipovica, both suitable for swimming, though the latter lacks an organised entry to the water.

The central point of the EPIC is Crnjeskovo observation deck. It is accessible only on foot or bike and is the farthest point from the camp on all of our gravel routes.

EPIC POI: 
• beach at Zaovine, 6 km 
• lunch at Kremna, 40 km
• viewpoint Crnjeskovo, 52 km 
• snack at Bare, 56 km

The trip starts at Belgrade central railway station, from where the participants take a 1.5-hour train to the town of Valjevo and then ride towards the camp.

The route ends at a beach at the bottom of the climb to Tara mountain — the camp cars will meet everybody and drive up to our villas. The beach is at Perućac lake formed by a dam on Drina river — a nice place to have a dip after the riding day.

Every day, there’re Points of Interest, such as the best place for lunch — all marked with either dead ends, or small circles so you won’t miss them when on the bike.

If you don’t want to ride the steep gravel descend, just follow the asphalt road after the snack point at kilometer 50 — after 14 km you will return to the route where there is a meeting point for everyone to regroup.

It is possible to depart separately from the main group — for example, if you arrive to Belgrade late. But please check the train schedule: the express from Beograd to Valjevo only runs several times a day.

POI:
• snack at Poćuta, 26 km 
• lunch at Pašna Ravan, 41 km 
• snack before optional gravel descend, 50 km 
• shop and regroup at Rogačica, 62 km
• viewpoint Zelenika, accessed by car after finish

There’s also EASY route which is the day 0 reversed, but with an 18 km descend in the beginning where we drove you up.

But if you like to explore new roads — and if you still have it in your legs after the gravel riding — the LONG route offers you not only 50+ km of new tarmac, but also an access to the final viewpoint of the camp — Velika Stena — and an outstanding one at that.

Both groups can meet at Bajna Bašta (we recommend Bašta u Bašti restaurant) and ride together till Poćuta for about 50 km with the day’s viewpoint Kapija Podrinja in the middle and a joint lunch.

When at Kapija Podrinja observation deck, try to find with you eyes the gravel descend of day 0 — it will be right beneath you.

EASY POI:
• snack and regroup at Bajina Bašta, 32 km
• viewpoint Kapija Podrinja, 57 km
• lunch at Pašna Ravan, 66 km
• snack at Poćuta, 82 km

LONG POI: 
• snack and regroup at Bajina Bašta, 39 km 
• viewpoint Kapija Podrinja, 64 km 
• lunch at Pašna Ravan, 73 km 
• snack at Poćuta, 89 km
• viewpoint Velika Stena, 98 km