Give yourself away to wild and rapid Serbian rivers and the guidance of experienced skippers. It doesn’t matter if you’re on Ibar or Lim, Nišava or Drina or some other river – rafting will leave you breathless
You surely won’t be going back in time and catching a fish with your bare hands, but, if you decide for whitewater rafting on Serbia’s swift-flowing rivers, you will unquestionably feel at least a hint of that adrenalin rush that was so common among our ancestors as they tried to go down the river just holding onto a log.
Today, when rafting is conducted in much more controlled conditions and with all the equipment and technology that weren’t available at those times, the trill you will feel rafting on the rivers Ibar, Lim, Nišava or Drina, will be the adventure you will never forget…
The sense of fighting the nature and winning – when you overcome the rapids, after having paddled as crazy, and then you flow into calmer waters – it’s like when you feel that everything is going just right or when you feel like you’re going to burst of happiness.
You’ll agree, this happens rarely, that is why rafting is one of the best thrills in life.
One thing you should know in advance – you, winning the nature – it’s not because you’re a tough guy; you will feel that way only because experienced guides estimated that there is no danger to overcome the rapids, because here, it’s safety first, starting with the boats (dinghies), equipment – neoprene suits and shoes, helmets, safety vests…
Someone more experienced will always raw with you and he will be giving you instructions when to raw faster and how to do it.
This veteran or guide, also called – skipper, will be navigating the dinghy from the “back seat” so you don’t have to worry too much about safety.
You can go rafting for a day or two, but there is one good thing when it comes to a prolonged weekend, for example. You will spend some quality time in the rafting camp, with good food, music and unavoidable camp fire.
Therefore, if you decide to spend a weekend out of your bed, and if you are a nature lover or just the adrenalin junky and you simply love good food and drinks, good music and off-key singing (let’s be honest, it’s really difficult to catch a tune after rafting, “jagnjetina ispod sača” (lamb prepared in a particular traditional way), homemade “rakija” /a kind of brandy/ or beer), than rafting is just the right thing for you.
On the other hand, if you really want to relax, rafting camps offer you quiet apartments, where you can take rest and prepare for the next race on wild Serbian rivers.
The Merry Race
On its flow, from the medieval town of Maglič to Kraljevo, on a 25 kilometer long road, the calm river Ibar seems to get furious. Since 1990 there is the tradition of the so called Merry Race, a sport and tourist manifestation, organized traditionally every last Sunday in June.
On the first Merry Race there were hardly 150 people with 20 different vessels, and today more than 10 thousand domestic and foreign participants visit this event. The event lasts for several days, because campers arrive during that last week of June, and on Sunday thousands of decorated vessels with merry crews participate in the race.
The race on the Ibar ends traditionally in Mataruška banja (eng. Mataruška spa), but only for a short time, where beans are traditionally prepared for the participants of the regatta. If you want, you can continue the race all the way to the city of Kraljevo, but if you get “tired” of too much beer or plum brandy, you can stay anchored here and enjoy the rest of your stay.
