Mount Stol, Stara Planina and Midžor: the mountains of Eastern Serbia

Friendly hike to Mount Stol

#friendlyhike

Upd: there are now 2 free seats in the car, and you can still come with your own transport.

Let's start Monday with great news! We've been wondering where to go hiking: somewhere interesting, not too hard and beautiful. And it looks like we've found just the place!
When: 1 November
Where: Stol mountain
Format: a easy-to-moderate hike, planned as a chance to stretch your legs and gaze at the beauty of south-eastern Serbia. We set off early, as it's 3.5 hours' drive from Belgrade to the starting point. After that we walk, chat, take photos, enjoy the views AND explore a remote corner of Serbia. Moderate route, 8 km, 450 metres of elevation gain.
What we'll see:
The Borski stol summit and the scenery around it, a view of Veliki krš and more. If you have a drone, be sure to bring it. On the way there's a small lake for photos and zoning out.
Forest, mountains and autumn colours, and maybe even a bit of snow, which is possible in those parts.

At the end we'll have dinner in a nearby town
Important‼️
This is a non-commercial outing, a get-together for people with shared interests 👣

If you have a car — great, let us know, maybe you can give someone a lift.
We'll arrange a transfer if needed. Its price will depend on the number of participants.
Coordinator's fee — 10€
@zzzloyed

Sign up in the comments — and let's go!

If you're driving your own car, let us know if you're happy to take passengers. They'll chip in for fuel)

If you don't have a car, message me — you'll need a transfer

Published October 13, 2025 · Open the post in Telegram ↗

Photo exchange, November 1, 2025! Second friendly hike 🦶🏻

Looks like yesterday we hit the real jackpot! 🍂We caught one of the last warm autumn days and spent it in a stunningly beautiful place.

We took a chance and set off to explore an unknown route. Far away and a little adventurous — but that's exactly how the best memories are made.
🍁On the way we saw golden falling leaves, a lake with turquoise water, a giant BelAZ mining truck and a miners' town.

We climbed over rocks, walked along the mountain ridge, admired the views and even watched the sunset from the summit. Unforgettable! 🌄
And even though not everyone made it to the top — special admiration to Lyudmila for her courage and persistence! 💪
We also chatted a lot, laughed, argued about everything under the sun, took photos and simply enjoyed each other's company. It turned out to be a real . Guys, you're awesome! ❤️

Thanks to Ed for the great route and organization,
and to Dima and Den — for the super service and careful driving! 🚗

Share your photos and impressions — let everyone keep their own little piece of this day. ❤️

Published November 2, 2025 · Open the post in Telegram ↗

Heading to Stara Planina and Midžor

We're heading to Stara Planina from May 1 to 3. We'll definitely climb Midžor, and there are a couple more route options.

We've already filled a minibus and there are a couple of free seats in a car. A rental car works out to about 50 euros per person. Plus the hotel.
Message about seats @AverianovaKseniia

This is not a commercial trip, it's a get-together of like-minded people.

You can also join in your own cars. Write in the comments, questions there too.

Published April 15, 2026 · Open the post in Telegram ↗

Photo exchange 1–3 May!

And so our May Day adventure on Stara Planina has come to an end! What can I say — it was LE GEN DA RY!!!

This weekend we managed to travel back first into early spring and then into real winter: we rolled in the snow, slid down the peaks on our bums and again admired the blossoming trees. We also caught at least three kinds of snow.

In these 3 days we had it all: endless fields of crocuses, an incredibly beautiful sunset, a male striptease on the summit of Midžor, a hot cloud, snow, wind, sun — and then wind and snow again. And that's not all — even our hair stood on end!

We made it to Babin Zub, and the next day — to the summit of Midžor. It wasn't easy for everyone🥴, but we did it! We also managed to see Knjaževac and Pirot. While team "Plains" explored Pirot Fortress, the most tireless ones also made it to Kozji kamen and Basarski kamen! Denis wanted to go too, but we didn't let him 😂

Most importantly — this was definitely our most hilarious trip ever. We had an incredibly awesome time together: we laughed endlessly (or rather, cracked up), played cards and "Boom", ate pickled snails (thanks, Nikita), and chatted until three in the morning.

Thank you to everyone who took part in this adventure for these amazing and crazy three days!

And remember: nothing brings people together like suffering together

Hugs to everyone!🫶🏻😘🤗

Waiting for your impressions and additions in the comments. Let the gates of the photo exchange open!

Published May 3, 2026 · Open the post in Telegram ↗

Snowstorm on the summit of Midžor

A couple of weeks ago we hiked up Midžor — the highest point in Serbia. And there we witnessed an amazing natural phenomenon.

Part of the way we walked on snow. The weather changed every 15 minutes: sun, wind, fog, sun again, then snow. That's normal for the mountains — especially in spring. But closer to the summit everything became somehow… strange.

At an altitude of about 2100 meters the wind suddenly died down. There was absolute silence. We were covered by a thick white fog, visibility was almost zero. Everything around turned milky white, and big snowflakes started falling.
And then our hair began to rise up and crackle with static.
It was very strange and a little scary.

Back home we started googling what it was and found out: most likely we had ended up right inside a thundercloud. And in a rather rare phenomenon at that — a thundersnow storm.

Turns out that happens too. Even in winter and in snow, powerful electric fields and lightning can form inside clouds. It's just that instead of a downpour you get snow and graupel.
The most dangerous thing in this story is hair standing on end.
It's not "fun static". It's one of the most serious danger signals in the mountains.

What is happening at that moment?
Your body literally enters a zone of extremely high electrical voltage. The air around becomes charged before a possible lightning strike. Sometimes people also hear a faint buzzing, crackling, or feel a tingling on their skin.

And we felt all of this ourselves🙈

The scary part is that in such a situation lightning can strike at any second.
Summits, ridges, lone rocks and open spaces are especially dangerous. And we were standing right on a summit. It feels like we were very lucky.
Fortunately for us, snow partly reduces electrical activity compared with a classic summer thunderstorm. But that still doesn't make the situation safe.

Another strange moment — when we started descending, everyone suddenly felt hot. The air seemed to warm up, our clothes heated up. This sometimes happens near storm fronts because of humid air and sudden changes in air currents.

All in all, now I fully understand all the warnings about the dangers of mountains, and even the not-so-high Serbian ones can surprise you!

Let's learn the lesson and remember — if one day in the mountains:
— your hair starts standing on end
— you hear crackling or buzzing
— a thick "electric" cloud suddenly appears around you
— you feel a tingling on your skin
Drop everything and get down the mountain as fast as you can.
It's almost a direct threat of a lightning strike.

ChatGPT advises in this situation:
— lose altitude immediately
— get off the summit and away from open areas
— put metal objects far away, especially poles
— don't stand close to each other
— if lightning is very close — squat down, feet together

Now you know that a "beautiful fog" can also be dangerous. And most importantly — never underestimate the mountains.

Photos and videos by the participants of our hike: @aedguard @asyanes @Shi2gami_san

Video: @alexandra_dreit
In the video you can hear the characteristic crackling

Published May 14, 2026 · Open the post in Telegram ↗