Sport and Recreation on mountain Zlatibor

Mountain Zlatibor

is situated in western Serbia, and the tourist resort of the same name at this mountain is 230 km away from Belgrade. The main road from Belgrade leads to Mt Zlatibor and further to the Montenegrin coastline. It takes three hours of driving to get to Zlatibor but it is also possible to get by train along the railwayline Belgrade -Bar with a transferfrom Uzice which is 25 km away from Zlatibor.

This large, wavy highland with an average altitude of 1000 m is especially suitable for sports and recreation. Due to its natural characteristics such as clean air and clear sky, long sunny periods, ideal altitude and air pressure which has a positive influence on heart function and blood pressure, Zlatibor has become an important sports – recreational and tourist center. There are excellent conditions for fitness preparation of top sportsmen, those who are keen on recreation as those who would like to improve their fitness. Tourist and sports facilities are equipped for fitness preparation of individuals engaged in sports, but also for whole sports teams.
Olivera Jevtić, our best athlete who has been voted the best sportswoman several times, has chosen Zlatibor for fitness preparations prior to competitions, in a major part of her sports career.

Walks

Walks around Zlatibor is something that this mountain is famous for and which most visitors enjoy most there. Going for a walk as ” a cyclic movement ” is one of rare physical activities which everybody can do. Benefits from walking can be felt by each child, each adult eager for recreation as well as top sportsmen. Numerous paths over meadows and though small forests are suitable for walks of different intensity. At the very tourist resort there are conditions for walks for families with their kids in prams. The most famous nicely arranged walking path for sure is the one leading from the centre to the Monument and it is the visitor’s favorite walking area.

Mountaineering

A lot of mountain peaks, of which Tornik is the highest ( 1496m ) and Čigota ( 1422m ) , are ideal destinations for mountaineering. Picturesque terrains through which marked mountain paths lead to lovely viewing spots at peaks, with unforgettable views kilometers around, are the reasons for which you should come and mountaineer here at this mountain.

Cycling

Due to a slightly wavy relief, cycling is a real pleasure for the people who love thiS Sport. Cyclists can cover longer distances exercising mountain biking from Mt. Zlatibor to Mt. Mokra Gora. It is possible to rent bikes at several places within the tourist center. You can rent a bike of different type and size for 30 minutes or for the whole day. The most suitable one is a mountain bike.

Horse riding

Sports and recreation horse riding is the activity enjoyed by all the generations. You can ride horses at two locations; the first one is a ranch called Farm and the other one is the ranch called Zova. A horse club called ” Zlatibor Farm ” has 25 registered horses and 4 ponies. A coach with a licence for training people in horse riding and for horse training is employed in the club. Apart from sports activities, the Club deals with horse riding training, tourist riding, terrain riding, caravan riding and transport by carriage.

At Zova ranch, even small children can ride an interesting surrounding.

Collective and individual sports

A lot of sports and national sports  teams from Serbia and abroad come regularly to Mt. Zlatibor for fitness preparations. Besides the basketball national team of Serbia, here also come Red Star team, Dinamo and CSK from Moscow, Panatenaikos from Greece and many others.

Basketball camps are organized every year with the most eminent coaches engaged in this sport, such as: Željko Obradović, Bora Džaković, Zoran Sretenović, Bora Cenić and many others. For collective sports and fitness preparations of sports teams there are two standard football pitches with changing rooms and one auxiliary pitch for training. For basketbal, there are ten courts and one indoor sports hall, which is an excellent infrastructure for organizing basketball trainings, camps and competitions. For volleyball there are two courts, as well two courts for handball and small sports. It is also possible to adapt sports terrains for different sports. There are five arranged tennis courts with a tartan ground available for tennis players. Apart from using the sports terrains, people can get the expert assistance of sports instructors here as well.

Swimming

For swimming and water sports activities, there is one outdoor swimming pool of Olympic size near the Olymp hotel and one indoor semi – Olympic swimming pool at the SP Zlatibor – Chigota hotel which are open for all the visitors. There are also two smaller hotel type indoor swimming pools for the guests of the Mona hotel, the hostel called Satelite, and a swimming pool in the open at Romantika villa. At the Chigota hotel it is possible to attend swimming training classes, both for groups and individuals. There are also nicely arranged swimming areas in the nature, in the villages of Semegnjevo, Branešci, Mušvete and Ljubiš.

Jogging – trim paths, gyms and training areas

At the most beautiful locations near the lake in the center of the resort, besides the Chigota : ” hotel in the spa area of Mt Zlatibor and at the hill called Karaula, among the pine trees forest, there are jogging – trim paths and training areas equipped for running and gymnastics. Different facilities for exercises and fitness are adjusted for fitness preparations of sportsmen and people fond of recreation. At the hill called Karaula, in the quite natural surrounding, there is a round jogging – trim path which is 700 m long, with a ground with sand and wood milled chips.
The gyms equipped modernly at the hotels can be used by all those people who care about their physical appearances. The gym in the Sports centre – hall is the largest and best equipped and it can also be used by sports teams. Numerous facilities for accommodation have gyms of different types and quality while coaches in all the gyms give assistance and supervise exercises. 

Extreme sports

As for extreme sports, thanks to slight slopes, grassy terrains and adequate air streams, paragliding has been expanding at Mt Zlatibor in recent years.

The peaks of Chigota and Tornik are favorite flying sites for paragliding participants.

A paragliding club called “Cirus” is in favor of this sport supporting it by organizing paragliding flying courses and competitions as well.

Recreational school teaching or School in Nature

So called recreational school teaching of children at Mt Zlatibor has been organized for several decades, due to natural advantages and developed conditions for children and youth’ s accommodation and stay. There are many children’ s hostels in which school teaching of children is held during the whole year, while sports camps on sports terrains are organized with the expert supervision of teachers and coaches in the summer season. The facilities for recreational school teaching of children are equipped with classrooms, premises for daily activities and social games, sports terrains, entertainment parks, entertainers, doctor’ s services available, etc
At the lake in the center of the resort there are pedal – driven boats which can be rented during most of the year. Motor scooters with two or four wheels, ski sledges can be rented at several locations at the recreation site of Obudojevica.
Sports events attracted by visitors are: Christmas night sprint race in ski running, Serbian competition in ski running, Zlatibor cup in ski running, Open Serbian championship in long distance riding, Paragliding cup, World competition in airplane modeling and radiocontrolled small airplanes, Village multi – disciplinary sports competition in Jablanica, Serbian Championship in chess and many others…. 

Winter sports

The ski center called Tornik is the biggest skiing area at Mt Zlatibor, which is 9 km away from the tourist resort of Zlatibor. It is situated at the altitude of 1110 m up to 1490m.
The ski paths have been reconstructed and widened ( called Chigota, Tornik, Ribnica, Zmajevac ) , and the most modern 6 – seat cable railway has been installed with a capacity of 3000 skiers per hour, the speed of 5 meters per second, having 99 seats and which is 1650 m long. The starting terminal is situated at the altitude of 1111 m and it goes up to the peak of Tornik which is at 1485 m.

At the very center of Mt Zlatibor, at the location called Obudovica, there is an area for recreation and winter sports with a stationary ski lift and several ski lifts for children. People can rent skis, snow boards, sledges, motor sledges and other ski equipment quite near the ski paths. There are ideal conditions for Nordic skiing and Biatlon skiing due to the terrain configuration, and there are many competitions of national and international significance which are held at Zlatibor.

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