"Devil's Town" rare natural phenomenon of rock formation in south Serbia
Photo: tokursumlija.rs
"Devil's Town" is a natural monument, located in southern Serbia 30 km from Kuršumlija, and about 290 km from Belgrade. It is located at an altitude of 660-700 meters above sea level, and is surrounded by forests and hills of Radan Mountain.
It is considered a true miracle of nature, due to the fact that it consists of two very rare, natural phenomena. The first are earthy figures, unusual forms of relief that Devil's Town give special attraction, and the other two sources are very acidic water with high mineralization.
Therefore, it is not surprising that Devil's Town has entered the shortlist for the seven world wonders of nature.
Earth towers
Photo: tokursumlija.rs
Devil's Town consists of 202 earth towers (some also call them pyramids and piles), of different shapes, with height of 2m-25m and a width of 0.5m-3m, and on their tops there are stone caps.
The towers are housed in two mounds, "Devil and Hell", divided by water. They arise as a result of the erosive process that has been going on for centuries. Over time, figures are changing, growing, decreasing, disappearing and re-creating under the influence of climate factors.
It seems unreal, that earthy figures, which are basically a few meters and at the top are narrowed to 20-30cm, can carry stone blocks of several hundred kilograms defying the principles of statics.
This phenomenon is unique in our country and very rare in the world, similar phenomena have been recorded in several countries (Austria, Italy, America), but in Devil's Town they are more numerous, larger and more stable.
Devil's water
Devil's Water
Photo: tokursumlija.rs
Another natural rarity is two water sources of unusual properties. The first source, "Devil's Water", is located near the towers, the water is quite cold and extremely acidic (ph 1.5) with high mineralization.
The other source is called "Red Spring", it is about 400 meters downstream from the first and on the flat terrain. It is less acidic and it has lower mineralization, due to its flat terrain, the water flows into the stream that is nearby, and because of the oxidation of iron (which is in large quantities in water), the red trail of a beautiful shape forms, which is very attractive.
Red spring
Photo: tokursumlija.rs
This unique creation of nature was among the first to be visited by masters of art photography, so in 1977, the first international colony of artistic photography in our country was established in Devil's Town, which is still active today. Thanks to this colony, Devil's Town is known all over Europe, America, Australia, China, far-off Japan.
Photo: tokursumlija.rs
Earlier, this region was quite poorly visited, about 3,000 visits a year, and since becoming a candidate for the 7 world wonders of nature, there has been a real expansion of tourists from various parts, and since then, it has recorded over 80 000 visits.
The location of "Devil's town" was placed under the protection of the state in 1959, and in 1995 it was declared by the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Serbia a natural good of exceptional importance and placed in the first category of protection - MONUMENT OF NATURE. A total area of 67 hectares is protected. Currently, the government of the RS has a request for the protection of 1014 hectares.
Read more about "Devil's town" on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Đavolja_Varoš
