Djavolja Varos (Devil's Town)

Djavolja Varos, or Devil's Town, in the mountains of southern Serbia, is one of the country's strangest and most striking natural wonders, a bizarre landscape of over two hundred tall, narrow earthen pillars, each improbably capped by a block of hard stone that has protected the soft earth beneath from erosion. Rising up to fifteen metres and wrapped in local legends of petrified wedding guests, these eerie, towering formations, set in a wild ravine with acidic springs, resemble a strange, otherworldly town.

What you actually see

• The stone-capped pillars - the eerie earthen towers capped with rock.
• The formations - the strange, otherworldly petrified-town landscape.
• The acidic springs - the red, mineral-rich springs of the ravine.
• The legend - the folk tale of the petrified wedding party.

When to go

May to October for the best weather to walk the trails to the formations; the site is reached by a walking path from the entrance, and the strange pillars are best seen in the clear light of the warmer months. It is a quieter, offbeat attraction.

Honest expectations

It is remote, in the far south of Serbia, so it is a destination for the curious rather than a mainstream stop, reached by winding roads and then a short walk. The formations, while genuinely bizarre and striking, are a natural curiosity seen fairly quickly rather than a vast landscape. Its remoteness keeps it quiet, and the eerie, legend-wrapped pillars are unlike anything else in the region.

Nearby

The town of Kursumlija and the southern Serbian mountains are nearby.