Bus from VRANJE to ŽABLJAK

Vranje is a city and the administrative center of the Pčinja District in southern Serbia. The city has a population of 83,524 inhabitants, while the urban area of the city has 60,485 inhabitants.

Vranje is the first city from the Balkans to be declared UNESCO city of Music. It is on located on the Pan-European Corridor X, close to the borders with North Macedonia and Bulgaria. The Eparchy of Vranje is seated in the city and the 4th Land Force Brigade of the Serbian army is stationed here.

Vranje was an important Ottoman trading site. The White Bridge is a symbol of the city and is called "most ljubavi" (lovers' bridge) after the tale of the forbidden love between the Muslim girl Ajša and Christian Stojan that resulted in the father killing the couple. After that, he built the bridge where he had killed her and had the story inscribed in Ottoman Arabic. The city has traditional Balkan and Ottoman architecture.

The well-known theater play Koštana by Bora Stanković is set in Vranje.

Vranje is famous for its popular, old music, lively and melancholic at the same time. The best known music is from the theater piece with music, Koštana, by Bora Stanković. This original music style has been renewed recently by taking different, specific, and more oriental form, with the contribution of rich brass instruments. It is played particularly by the Vranje Romani people.

Vranje lies close to Besna Kobila mountain and Vranjska Banja, locations with high potential that are underdeveloped. Other locations in and around Vranje with some tourist potential include Prohor Pčinjski monastery, Kale-Krševica, Markovo kale, Pržar, birth-house museum of Bora Stankovic.

Žabljak is a small town, and the seat of Žabljak Municipality, in northern Montenegro. It has a population of 1,723. The town is in the centre of the Durmitor mountain region and with an altitude of 1,456 metres it's the highest situated town on the Balkans.

Žabljak is centre of Montenegro's mountain tourism. The entire area of Durmitor mountain is protected as a national park, and offers great possibilities for both winter and summer mountain tourism.

Žabljak caters for activities such as:

• Skiing - Durmitor's snow cover lasts 120 days per year, with decent slopes such as Savin kuk, Štuoc and Javorovača.
• Rafting - the 1300m deep Tara River canyon is the second deepest in the world, and is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site. Rafting on Tara River is one of the most popular tourist activities in Montenegro.
• Mountaineering - Durmitor's conditions are appropriate for this sport.
• Hiking - The surrounding area of the town of Žabljak provides hiking paths.

Among the main tourist attractions of Durmitor are 18 glacier lakes. The biggest and closest to Žabljak being "Crno jezero" - literally Black lake. Durmitor's slopes are also becoming increasingly popular among snowboarders.