Suva Planina

Suva Planina[2] (Serbian Cyrillic: Сува планина, meaning "dry mountain") is a mountain in southeastern Serbia. It lies between the towns of Niška Banja to the northwest and Babušnica to the southeast, with a ridge branching towards Bela Palanka to the north. It was previously called Kunovica.[3]

Suva Planina
Highest point
PeakTrem
Elevation1,810 m (5,940 ft)[1]
Coordinates43°10′49″N 22°10′34″E
Geography
Suva Planina
Location in southeastern Serbia
CountrySerbia

Pešturina cave on the mountain is the location of the first discovery of Neanderthal remains in Serbia, recorded in April 2019.[4][5][6]

Geography

The highest peak is Trem ("porch") at 1,810 m, the second highest being Golemo Stražište at 1,714m, as well as Litica ("cliff") at 1,683m on the southeast side of the mountain.

The name stems from the fact that there are only a few springs in the whole mountain. The two biggest are Bojanine Vode (near to Sokolov Kamen at 860 m) and Rakoš Česma (on the Bela Palanka side of the mountain).

Wildlife

The Divna Gorica range is known for feral horses. They also roam to the other, higher parts of the mountain, above 1,600 m (5,200 ft).[7]

Human history

The Pešturina cave, nicknamed the "Serbian Atapuerca", is located on the northern slopes of the mountain.[8] Since 2006 the cave has been archaeologically surveyed and artifacts from the Middle and Upper Paleolithic periods have been discovered.[9] The artifacts belong to the Neanderthal Mousterian culture, and are dated from 102,000 BP+ 5,000 to 39,000 BP + 3,000, making Pešturina one of the longest surviving Neanderthal habitations.[10] In April 2019 it was announced that Neanderthal remains were discovered, which marks the first discovery of such in Serbia.[4][5][6]

Traces of the Roman military road Via Militaris, connecting Singidunum (now Belgrade) and Constantinople (now Istanbul) are still visible from the mountain.[11]

The mountain remains known for the extensive husbandry, where hundreds of cattle and horses are left to freely roam over the mountain during the warm season, up to the early November.[12] In the season of 2021 there were over 800 cattle and 200 horses on the mountain, when the only water spring on the mountain, Rakoš, completely dried out in August due to the hot summer and prolonged drought. There have been dry seasons before, so the local administration already hired military to bring water to the animals, but the contract expired and military withdrew. Herdsmen also hired private contractors to bring water, but were left without funds, plus they could provide small amount of water needed - daily needs are 50 tons, and only 6 tons could be provided. By September the situation turned dire, as there was no point to herd livestock back into the villages, as all water sources dried out there, too, and the tap water was heavily restricted.[13]

Out of six major droughts recorded since 1990, this one was the most severe, as the mountain is getting drier.[12] Local authorities called the situation a catastrophe, and the nationwide action was taken to help the animals with situation on the mountain becoming a national news.[13] Activists and donors organized, but couldn't provide nearly enough water.[14][15] In the end, the Ministry of agriculture stepped in, promising to pay for the water transport,[12] and the army resumed the water transport.[16]

Tourism

The slopes of this mountain are popular with skiing.

Every final weekend in February there is a mountaineering event, Zimski uspon na Trem ("Winter climb on Trem"), which gathers over 600 mountaineers from all parts of the Balkans. It is also the regions's biggest mountain winter event. It started in 1997 and is currently under the organization of mountaineering club Železničar, based in Niš.

Protection

As of 2010, Suva Planina is undergoing a process of declaration of as a special nature preserve.[17]

  • Slopes of Suva Planina in summer, of which Trem and Sokolov Kamen are visible here
  • A group of mountaineers on Trem (2005 winter climb)
  • The peaks of а Trem and Sokolov Kamen photographed from Divna Gorica peak
  • Trem seen from Divna Gorica

See also

References
  1. Jovan Đokić. "Katalog planina Srbije". PSD Kopaonik Beograd. Archived from the original on 2011-05-18.
  2. Galerija slika sa Suve planine - satelitski snimci. (in Serbian), Suva Planina.com, retrieved 2010-08-26
  3. Jovan Đ Marković (1980). Regionalna geografija SFR Jugoslavije. Građevinska Knjiga. p. 358. Suva planina /1 808 m/, ranije Kunovica
  4. Radović, Predrag; Lindal, Joshua; Mihailović, Dušan; Roksandić, Mirjana (June 2019). "The first Neanderthal specimen from Serbia: Maxillary first molar from the Late Pleistocene of Pešturina Cave". Journal of Human Evolution: 139–151. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.03.018.
  5. "Први налаз неандерталца из Србије" [First discovery of an Neanderthal in Serbia] (in Serbian). University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy. 18 April 2019.
  6. University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy (18 April 2019). "Prvi Neandertalac u Srbiji" [First Neanderthal man in Serbia] (in Serbian). Vugl.rs.
  7. Olivera Popović (18 March 2018). "Divlji konji na Divnoj gorici" [Wild horses on Divna Gorica]. Politika-Magazin, No. 1068 (in Serbian). p. 23.
  8. Toma Todorović (24 July 2017), "Bogatstvo za koje se malo zna" [Little known treasure], Politika (in Serbian), p. 14
  9. Dušan P. Mihailović, Stefan P. Milošević (2012). Istraživanja paleolitskog nalazišta Pešturina kod Niša [Exploration of the Paleolithic sites] (in Serbian and English). Journal of Serbian Archaeological Society.
  10. Dušan Mihailović (2014). Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Research in the Central Balkans. Serbian Archaeological Society. ISBN 978-86-913229-9-1.
  11. Завршава се планински пут до Ракоша, Narodne novine, 2013-08-13
  12. Toma Todorović (15 September 2021). "Stigla voda za žedne krave i konje" [Water for the thirsty cows and horses arrived]. Politika (in Serbian).
  13. "Krdo sa 1.000 krava i konja umire od žeđi na Suvoj planini" [Herd of 1,000 cattle and horses dying of thirst on Suva Planina]. Politika (in Serbian). 14 September 2021. p. 20.
  14. N1 Beograd (15 September 2021). "Aktivisti traže cisterne za krave i konje koji umiru od žeđi na Suvoj planini" [Activists searching for tank trucks for cows and horses who are dying of thirst on Suva Planina] (in Serbian). N1.
  15. Milan Stojanović (16 September 2021). "Krave i konji na Suvoj planini delimično napojeni, meštani žele trajnije rešenje" [Cows and horses partially watered, denizens ask for permanent solution] (in Serbian). N1.
  16. Toma Todorović (18 September 2021). Обезбеђена вода за жедну стоку на Сувој планини [Water for the thirsty livestock on Suva Planina has been provided]. Politika (in Serbian).
  17. Odluka o izradi prostornog plana područja posebne namene specijalnog rezervata prirode Suva planina, Official gazette of Republic of Serbia, 2010-06-10
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