Tara (mountain)

Tara is a mountain located in western Serbia. It is part of Dinaric Alps and stands at 1,000to above sea level. The mountain's slopes are clad in dense forests with numerous high-altitude clearings and meadows, steep cliffs, deep ravines carved by the nearby Drina River and many karst, or limestone caves. The mountain is a popular tourist centre. Tara's national park encompasses a large part of the mountain. The highest peak is Zborište, at 1,544m.National parkTara's national park was established in 1981 and it encompasses Tara and part of the Zvijezda mountain, in a large bend of the Drina River. The area of the park originally was 191.75km2 with altitudes varying from 250to above sea level. On 5 October 2015, the National Assembly of Serbia adopted the new law of national parks which enlarged the Tara National Park to 249.92km2, by adding to it the protected area of "Zaovine Landscape of Outstanding Features". The park's management office is located in nearby Bajina Bašta. The protective zone of the park, which encircles it, is much larger and spreads over the area of 376km2.GeographyThe national park consists of a group of mountain peaks with deep picturesque gorges between them. The highest point of the park is the Kozji Rid peak on the Zvijezda mountain, with 1,591m. The most striking of these gorges is the Drina Gorge, with its sheer drops from 1,000to and extensive views of western Serbia and nearby Bosnia. It also encompasses the gorges of the rivers Rača, Brusnica and Derventa and the waterfall of Veliki Skakavac on the river Beli Rzav. The area is also characterised by karst caves, pits, springs, and breathtaking vista points (Kićak, Smiljevac, Bilješke Stene, Kozje Stene, Vitimirovac and Kozji Rid).