Kanjon Vratne

Useful Information

Location:	Manastir Vratna, Vratna 19300. From the Danube Highway 35 turn off on 397, then right to Vratna, through the village and to the car park at the end of the road. This is the car park for Vratna Monastery and the trailhead for the gorge. (44.3825076, 22.3419272)
Open:	no restrictions. [2024]
Fee:	free. [2024]
Classification:	Gorge Natural Bridge Karst Cave Ponor Karst Spring
Light:	n/a
Dimension:	Mala prerast: L=15 m, W=33 m, H=34 m. Velika prerast: L=45 m, W=23 m, H=26 m. Suva prerast: L=34 m, W=15 m, H=20 m.
Guided tours:	self guided, L=10 km, D=3 h.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Turistička organizacija opštine Negotin (TOON), ul. Kraljevića Marka 6, 19300 Negotin, Tel: +381-19-547-555. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

Description

Кањон Вратне or Kanjon Vratne (Vratna Gorge) is a gorge of river Вратна or Vratna. It is famous not only for its narrow gorge, but also for the Прерасти Вратне/Prerasti Vratne (Vratna Gates), a series of three huge natural bridges. They are sometimes called the three highest natural bridges in Europe. The explanation is simple, the canyon is the result of a collapse of a river cave passage. Most of the cave ceiling is gone, leaving the gorge, but at three spots short parts of the ceiling still exist, each forming a huge natural bridge.

The trail through the gorge starts at the car park of Vratna Monastery, but it does not enter the gorge behind the monastery because this lowest section of the gorge has no trail. Instead, the trail goes uphill on the northern slope of the valley and across a ridge, which offers a nice view on the first two bridges. Then the trail descents to the river and crosses the first two bridges. The first is called Мала прераст/Mala prerast (Small Bridge), which is definitely an understatement, as it is almost the same size as the next. Following the same logic, the next one is named Велика прераст/Velika Prerast (Big Bridge). Now the trail follows the meanders of the river, which narrows several times to form a slot canyon, then widens again. About halfway the trail crosses the river, and there is a nice karst spring and a small semi-wild cave which can be visited. From here the gorge is often dry during summer, and only reactivated in spring after snow melt, and after heavy rains. Following this dry canyon for 2 more km, the last bridge is reached. It is named Сува прераст/Suva prerast (Dry Bridge) or Suva kapija (Dry Gate), which is not really creative. The trail leads through this natural bridge and follows the gorge for about 200 m to the river sink of the Vratna river. From here the gorge is not dry any more, and the trail ends. Now you have two possibilities, either follow the same trail back or take the first turnoff on the right after about 1 km and return on a different trail on the surrounding hills. In both cases, the full tour is a 10 km hike, and you should plan at least 3 hours. It’s also possible to visit only the first two gates, which is a 2 km hike and should take about 1 hour.

The Vratna Monastery belongs to the Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Timok. It is an active women’s monastery. It seems the trail originally crossed the grounds of the monastery and followed the canyon. But when the monastery was reactivated after the end of socialism, the monastery became private property and the trail was relocated.