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Danube landscape in Đerdap National Park

Đerdap and the Danube

Đerdap National Park

The Danube's Iron Gates – a 63,786-hectare national park and, since 2020, a UNESCO Global Geopark.

Danube landscape in Đerdap National Park
Foto: Ванилица · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Đerdap National Park runs along the right bank of the Danube from Golubac Fortress to the dam near Novi Sip. Established in 1974, it covers 63,786.5 hectares. Park management sits in Donji Milanovac on the Danube; across the river lies Romania's Porțile de Fier Nature Park.

In July 2020 the wider area was designated a UNESCO Global Geopark – the first protected area in Serbia to carry that label. Alongside the Iron Gates gorge it takes in parts of the Miroč and Kučaj massifs, 1,330 square kilometres in total.

The centrepiece is the roughly 100-kilometre Đerdap gorge between Golubac and Tekija, in fact a compound river valley made of four gorges. At Gospođin vir one of the greatest river depths in the world was measured at 82 metres; in the Kazan the walls rise around 300 metres while the riverbed narrows to 150.

The terrain is mountainous, with numerous caves, pits, karst springs and lakes. Viewpoints such as Veliki and Mali Štrbac on Miroč look out over the Kazan gorge.

Practical notes

  • A full day trip from Zaječar – the drive via Negotin and Kladovo takes around two hours each way.
  • The Miroč viewpoints are worth far more than the riverside road alone.

Places to stay near Đerdap National Park

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Goes well with

The Radul-beg Konak in Zaječar, the oldest surviving house in town
Town

Radul-beg Konak

The town's oldest surviving residence, now home to the “Old Zaječar” exhibition and a sales gallery.