Rovni — a lake with a mystery

🌊 Rovni — a lake with a mystery!

Not far from Valjevo, among the wooded hills of western Serbia, hides an unusual lake — Rovni. At first glance it's just a pretty reservoir with emerald water. But it has quite a dramatic history.

⛪ The story of the flooded church
The lake is man-made. Essentially, it's a large reservoir that supplies water to nearby towns. Construction of the dam on the Jablanica river began back in 1988. The lake itself formed after the river was dammed and today covers about 10 km², with a depth of up to about 67 meters.
In 2016, when the reservoir began to fill, the water gradually flooded the Church of Saint Archangel Michael — a 15th-century church in the village of Tubravić, known as "the Gračanica of Valjevo". The decision sparked heated debate all over Serbia: believers protested, trying to save the shrine. But the project wasn't stopped.

Before the flooding, the icons and the bell were removed from the church, and the building itself went under water. Today the church lies about 18 meters below the surface. According to divers, a surreal sight opened up before them: the dome and iconostasis almost untouched, and rays of light passing through the green water.

By the way, speaking of colour — Lake Rovni has another interesting feature that many people notice in photos: the unusual turquoise colour of the water.

Why the water is so turquoise
The lake was formed on the Jablanica River, which flows through the limestone and karst rocks of western Serbia. The water dissolves tiny mineral particles of calcium and limestone.
When sunlight passes through this water, the fine mineral suspension scatters the light, and the surface starts to look:
• turquoise
• emerald
• sometimes even milky blue.

This is especially vivid in sunny weather and when the water level is low.

Unfortunately, since this is a technical reservoir, the following is officially prohibited here:
• 🚫 Bathing
• 🚫 Swimming and boating
• 🚫 Access to the water is restricted in places

The lake is surrounded by forests and the picturesque Valjevo hills with authentic little villages and flocks of grazing sheep. There are several viewpoints with an incredibly beautiful view of the lake, especially in the afternoon.

And this is exactly where we're heading on March 15 for another
Info in the comments

Published March 11, 2026 · Open post in Telegram ↗

Photo exchange — «Blooming March Rovni»!

Today we realized we've run out of Serbia😂🙈 and started on round two) More than half of us had already been to Rovni! But you know what! The second time we also had a really soulful walk!
We had a great group — our beloved naturalist club on the road)

And of course we sniffed everything that was blooming along the way: wild cherries, apple and apricot trees. And there were so many we couldn't count them! White clouds of blossoms covered the Valjevo hills — a riot of nature, a kind of crazy wild beauty you won't see in the city!

Naturally, we photographed every flower we came across — there were especially many lemon-yellow primroses and some other mysterious purple flowers.
We made it to two vidikovac viewpoints and took a gazillion photos on the edge of the cliff.

Along the way we chatted with a local tractor driver. When he found out we were Russian, he said just two words: "Our people!"

And then we came across some gorgeous rams with their little ones, grazing in a field with an absolutely unreal view… and one magnificent billy goat — the real star of the photo shoot.

At the restaurant, by the way, everything was finally delicious! From the raspberry frappé to the snails — a rare case when there's absolutely nothing to complain about.

I want to say thank you to each of you for another amazing and wonderful day spent together!
Big hugs 😘😘😘

Special thanks to our wonderful Ed!
And to lovely Elena for the banana pancakes🫶🏻

Guys, you're awesome! See you!

As usual, share your photos/videos and impressions from the trip⤵️ I know you all have sooo many

Published March 15, 2026 · Open post in Telegram ↗

Spring in the Valjevo hills

Remember — just recently it was spring?

When the Valjevo hills were drowning in blossoms, nature was waking up after a long sleep, and we were getting lost in this impossible beauty.

Now all of that is just memories

Thanks for these shots where spring still lives EDSHOTS 👏

Published May 23, 2026 · Open post in Telegram ↗