BUKOVIK (851 m)

Bukovik is a mountain close to mountain Vujan. It ends with a pyramidal peak Ostrica. From Belgrade, to the starting point in the village of Ostra, you must drive for about 2.5 hours (140 km). From Belgrade, drive by the Ibarska highway and the highway Ljig-Preljina. Exit at Gornji Milanovac. Drive via Takovo to Gornji Milanovac. From Gornji Milanovac, follow the signs toward Lunjevica and Gornja Trepca. When you pass Lunjevica, the road leads you towards Gornja Trepca. In Gornja Trepca is the famous Atomic spa. At the intersection, road leads left, to Gornja Trepca and Atomic spa. Do not turn left, go to the right, towards Cacak (there is a signpost). After 500 m, turn left and slightly uphill, on the first asphalt road you see. There is no signpost, but this is a turn to the village of Ostra. On your left, near the school, you will spot this sign:

From this table, drive for another 1 km, to the end of the asphalt road. Walking tour starts from here:

The trail is perfectly marked! Markings are fresh and clear. Most of the time, you will walk by the macadam road. Beneath the top, you will enter into the forest. After half an hour of walk, you will reach the intersection:

Continue toward Bukovik. At the following photo, do not go into direction of an arrow. Continue straight by the macadam road. In 5 minutes, you will reach another intersection.

The second intersection is an hour and a half far from the starting point. You will see mountain Vujan in the distance.

The top is about 15-20 minutes far from this table. But, you should pay attention at this crossroads of macadam roads at the following photo. Do not go straight (in the direction of this beautiful girl), turn left.

As soon as you turn left, turn immediately right and up into the forest. Although it does not look like a path, that is the way. Here you will spot the markings that will take you, by the forest roads, to the top.

The peak of Bukovik (851 m) is in the forest, so there are no spectacular views. It takes about an hour and 45 minutes of hiking, from starting point to the top (5 km). Before you enter into the forest and start your climb to the top, take a look at the pyramid of Ostrica.

From the summit, return to the previous crossroads with signs and head toward Ostrica (802 m). In about 45 minutes, you will reach the village of Ostra. Follow the signposts to the village graveyard. The pyramid Ostrica dominates above the village, so it will be easy to orientate yourself. From the cemetery, the marked path (on the right side of the cemetery) leads to the first rocks of Ostrica, and then to the top. From the graveyard, the peak can be reached in 25 minutes, although the ascent is a bit stronger and steeper.

The view from Ostrica is fantastic! The neighboring Bukovik is at your fingertips, and Vujan is also visible. Much more beautiful than Bukovik. And the feeling of space and freedom is remarkable!

The marked path from the top, leads you back to the cemetery. We went back by the same path, to our starting point. But first we went into the opposite direction (left marked path from the cemetery), to visit the ancient fortress of Sokolica. We arrived in about 45 minutes. Fortification is in ruins; only one wall is still standing. The fortress was built in the 10th century, on the foundations of the early-Byzantine fortification from the 4th century.  Below the fortress is a cave. The legend says that a hidden treasure of Serbian kings lies in this cave. You can read this story on the internet.

This tour is very interesting. Although it looks hard, it’s actually not. The length of the tour is about 18 km. I highly recommend to visit these two peaks and try to find hidden treasures of Serbian kings 🙂

June 2018.