SPAS AND CLIMATE PLACES

The sulphuric mineral waters with temperature from 15 to 28 degrees centigrade, along with healing mud, represent the gift of the nature in the Koviljaca spa. The town is located in western Serbia, on the slopes of the Gucevo Mountain, and the Drina River flowing through it. As early as in the medieval times the people from this region have found about the healing properties of the spring water, and the travelogues from the 17th century mention rich Turks from the Macva and Podrinje regions coming to Koviljaca for rehabilitation.

For almost century and a half the Vrnjacka spa has been attracting tourist during whole year, thanking to the curative mineral water, but also because of the rich general tourist offer. It is located in central Serbia, 200km south of Belgrade. The spa lies partially on the slopes of the Goc Mountain, towards the Zapadna Morava River, and in other part in the valleys of Vrnjacka and Lipovacka rivers. From the north, it is protected from strong winds by the chain of Gledic Mountains, and from other three sides by Goc, where guests of the spa can go on organized picnics.

Approximately 200km south of Belgrade, in the foot of the wood-covered Koritnik and on the banks of the Nisava River, standing as the suburb of the city of Nis, is the spa of the same name, one of the oldest in Europe. Its healing properties were known in the times of Roman Empire, so in the 2nd century there was a bath with two pools. Two centuries later, during the rule of Emperor Constantine, born in what is today Nis, the aqueduct was built to connect the source of warm mineral water with a summer residence few kilometers away – Mediana.

It is written in one tourist brochure that out of the primordial meeting of water, earth and stone, under the mountains Bukulja and Vencac, the town of Arandjelovac has grown and the Bukovicka spa, as a unique settlement in the region of central Sumadija. This town got its name on August 1, 1859, and is decorated for century old beech forests, tame hills and meadow, prune orchards and vineyards, but most of all - the spa, which is part of the town.

The Atomska spa Gornja Trepca is known outside Serbian borders for the treatment of rheumatic and neurological illnesses, thanking to the unique composition of its water. The spa lies in the southwestern Sumadija region, on the slopes of mountains Vujan and Bukovik, in the gorge section of the Banja River. There is a health track passing through those areas at the altitude of 460 meters, so hikes are an integral part of the treatments in Gornja Trepca. The experts point to the beneficial influence of the mountain air, as well as of the specific magnetic field in that part of Serbia.

The Sokobanja spa is located in the central part of southeastern Serbia, sitting in a valley of a same name and surrounded by the chain of mountains – Rtanj (1,560m) on the north, Ozren (1,174m) on the south, Devica (1,116m) on the southeast, Slemen (1,099m) and Krstatac (1,069m) on the east, Bukovik (894m) and Rozanj (897m) on the west. The town is 230km from Belgrade, 320km from Novi Sad, and only 60km from Nis and the Nis Airport.

Prolom and Lukovska spas are located in the southeast of Serbia, distanced around 50km from each other, and with the town of Kursumlija in the middle. The Prolom spa is known for its water, which is bottled and recommended for everyone to drink during a year as many liters of it as they have kilograms of body mass, because it is good for the cleansing of kidneys

The mention of geysers calls to mind Island, the land of geysers. They appear on volcanic terrains, such as this northern European country, and a part of southern Serbia where Sijarinska Spa is situated, are. In this part of Serbia, soil layers contain various ors and minerals. It is interesting to know that all 25 mineral springs in this spa appear at the depth of 10 km. Some of these waters contain larger amount of sulphur hydrogen while others are rich in carbon dioxide.

In the vicinity of the town of Bujanovac, some 10km from Vranje, in southern Serbia, the Bujanovacka spa is nesting in the valley that takes the upper section of the South Morava River, on the altitude of 400 meters. It is one only few in Serbia that have been given so many international recognitions for its curative capacities. Its uniqueness lies in the specific amalgamation of three natural factors – thermal water; peloid, i.e. the volcanic mud; and the carbon-dioxide of almost 98% purity, which is almost the singular case in Europe. Experts say that only one health resort in Slovakia has the same gas, but not in the amount found in the Bujanovacka spa.

The spas are the veterans of Serbian tourism, because they have been organizing guest stays for decades, and some even for centuries. Once, the people would go to spas exclusively for health treatment, but today, the modern pace of work underlines their wide scope of services for good health and long life.