Nestled beneath the Zlatibor Mountains, Mokra Gora is a charming Serbian village near Tara National Park. It’s renowned for its narrow-gauge railway shaped like the number “8” and is home to an ethnographic village that has received the Philippe Rotthier European Architecture Award.
Connecting Mokra Gora to the village of Vitasi is the Šargan Eight, a narrow-gauge heritage railway that was originally constructed during World War I. Hauled by a steam locomotive, its vintage cars have been beautifully restored in a 1930s style and offer scenic views across the Dinaric Alps.
One of Mokra Gora’s most atmospheric areas is Drvengrad, which was built by the Serbian director Emir Kusturica for his film “Life is a Miracle”. Clustered with wooden buildings and a traditional Russian log church, this “village within a village” is home to an art gallery, a cinema and a bakery selling homemade sweets.
Getting there
Mokra Gora is just under two hours’ drive from Morava Airport, which has regular flights to Istanbul, while the much larger Sarajevo International Airport is 2.5 hours away. Renting a car is the most convenient way of getting to Mokra Gora and the village is small enough to explore on foot.