After a very loooong day of driving, clear back over to the western side of the country, I arrived in another not so exciting city, Uzice. I had planned an easier route through the country, but due to needing q-tips shoved down my nose before border crossings, I have to take this less than ideal route.

Uzice is just the most convenient base I picked to visit nearby Tara National Park. They do have a national museum, though. Unfortunately, I arrived into town too late to go inside, but that didn’t stop me from getting a pic of the tank out front and the old statue from another era of Josip Tito in back.

Uzice also has a pretty cool fortress that you used to be able to hike up to for some amazing views, but apparently they’re reconstructing it and its surrounded by a fence. So, I had to settle for a pic from the road.

I debated coming to Tara National Park and this stop was sort of added at the last minute. I have to say I’m glad I did come here because it’s a really beautiful area. For my one day I chose to hike to probably the most famous viewpoint in Tara, Banjska Stena. First I drove to the village of Mitrovac and started hiking from there.

This was a really beautiful hike. I can’t help but wonder if I should have given myself an extra day or two in this park. It’s a very shady, mostly pine forest with some beautiful grassy meadows scattered around.

In addition to the beauty of the place, it was so incredibly quiet. There was no wind, I didn’t see or hear any other people until I got to the viewpoint, there wasn’t even any birds chirping. There was only overwhelming silence the whole way up. It was wonderful.

I could tell I was near the viewpoint when I started hearing people, the sound of all the cheaters who drove the dirt road up. Luckily, I think they were on a tour because they weren’t there very long. I sat on a rock, ate my lunch, and then had the place to myself for a bit.

That’s the Drina River down below and that’s Bosnia and Herzegovina on the other side of it. Awesome! This national park was definitely worth the effort and I’m glad I worked this stop into my schedule. I only have so much time though.