Fruška Gora National Park

Nature around Rakovac

Rakovac sits on the northern edge of Fruška Gora National Park. From the road by the monastery, forest paths lead in two directions. Eastwards, towards Ledinci, they reach an old stone quarry that looks like a cave and an 18th-century hermitage cut into the rock. Westwards, towards Dumbovo and Beočin, they lead to a waterfall and to viewpoints over the Danube plain.

TEMP PHOTO

Photo: Goonie Bagheera, CC BY-SA 4.0

Fruška Gora is a low, isolated mountain rising from the Pannonian plain. It was the first national park in Serbia, and its highest point, Crveni čot, reaches 538 m. The northern slopes above Rakovac are covered in deciduous forest; lower down are orchards, vineyards and weekend houses.

Most walks start at Rakovac Monastery in Stari Rakovac, where there is room to leave a car and where city bus 77 from Novi Sad stops. Trails are marked with painted signs on trees and poles. Some are steep and muddy after rain, so good shoes make a real difference.

Before you set off

The area is a national park: no camping and no open fires outside official picnic sites.
Mobile coverage is patchy in the valleys. Download an offline map before you go.
In summer bring water and insect repellent; hikers regularly mention mosquitoes near the streams.
Emergency number: 112 (ambulance 194).

Places to visit

Old quarry · also called Rakovac Cave

Beli Majdan

A quarried hall in the hillside above the monastery, its roof held up by pillars of stone the quarrymen left standing. Ten minutes on foot from the monastery.

about 600 m from the monastery10 minutes one way Good for kids

Isposnica · 18th-century rock hermitage

Hermitage of Isaija Parivodski

A tiny monk’s cell cut into a limestone cliff deep in the forest, named after Isaija Parivodić, a hieromonk of Rakovac who carved his name here in 1771. The only rock hermitage in Vojvodina.

about 40 minutes' walk from Beli Majdanabout 1 hour from the monastery