Vlasin Lake: a cold plateau before autumn
At 1,200 meters, the lake is not heated like the others, and the islands on it literally swim — Vlasina is the coldest point in Serbia even in August.
The thermometer on Vlasina knows how to show five degrees at dawn when it is twenty in Belgrade - this is the plateau where one of the lowest temperatures ever recorded in Serbia was measured, and the reason is simple: the lake lies at 1,213 meters above sea level, high enough for the cold air from the surrounding slopes to sink straight into the basin at night and stay there until morning.
The shifting islands
What sets Vlasina apart from every other artificial lake in Serbia are floating peat sods, known as Vlasina plavci — islands of accumulated organic matter and roots that literally float on the surface and change position under the influence of the wind. Let them also carry a few trees, rooted in the very sod of the peat, and move noticeably enough that after a week the same sand is on the other side of the bay. The phenomenon exists in only a few places in Europe, and Vlasina is one of the few where the islands can be seen from the shore with the naked eye, without a boat.
Camping along the coast and what to bring
In late summer and early autumn, the days on Vlasina are still 20 to 22 degrees, enough to walk around the lake without a jacket, but the nights fall quickly and sharply as soon as the sun sets behind the ridge — a drop of fifteen degrees in two hours is not uncommon. For a camp along the coast, this means a sleeping bag with a comfortable temperature of minus five, and not a standard summer one of plus ten that would be sufficient further down in the valley. The same principle of adjusting equipment to height applies toZlatibor and Mokra Gora before the bell, another destination at a similar altitude where day and night also seem like two different seasons.
| Time of day | Temperature | What to bring |
|---|---|---|
| Noon | 20–22°C | light jacket, enough for walking |
| Evening | 10–13°C | fleece, cap for after sunset |
| Dawn | 2–6°C | bag up to -5°C, thermos with hot drink |
The wind blowing across the open plateau, with no forest to stop it, chills more than the thermometer indicates—a tent pitched along the edge of the forest on the north side of the lake is a more sheltered choice than the open meadow, although the view of the blues is somewhat less clear. For a day trip without an overnight stay, a tour of the entire coast on foot takes about three hours on a 12-kilometer marked trail, with several viewpoints from where you can see the beaches from a bird's eye view.
Let them also carry a few trees, rooted in the very sod of the peat, and move noticeably enough that after a week the same sand is on the other side of the bay.
The lake can be reached via Surdulica, the last fifteen kilometers uphill through the pine forest - a section similar in character to the ascent toSpa rock on Tara, where you also drive through dense forest before the landscape suddenly opens up.
Fish from cold water and what to eat by the lake
The cold, oxygen-rich water of Vlasina favors rainbow trout, which are raised in several ponds along the tributaries, and it is the food that is eaten here fresh, not frozen or imported — a difference that is already felt in the texture of the meat on the plate, firmer and less fibrous than trout that has traveled for days. It is accompanied by potatoes from the surrounding villages at 1,000 and more meters, which due to the colder soil grows more slowly and has a thicker, waxier texture than the lowland ones, and cheese from households that keep their cattle grazing until late in the fall, while the grass on the plateau allows it.
Unlike coastal destinations where food is part of the tourist offer, here the menu is a reflection of what the plateau actually provides at a given moment — September is the last month with fresh vegetables from the surrounding gardens before they go into winter storage, so it is also the last opportunity of the year to eat the dish exactly as the locals eat it every day.
Questions & answers
short and to the point- At what altitude is Vlasin Lake?
- At 1,213 meters above sea level, which makes it one of the coldest places in Serbia during the night.
- What are ownership blues?
- Floating islands of accumulated peat and roots that move across the surface of the lake under the influence of the wind, sometimes carrying a few rooted trees.
- How cold is it in Vlasina at the end of summer at night?
- The days are 20 to 22°C, but at night the temperature often drops to 2 to 6°C, so a sleeping bag designed for down to -5°C is required.
