CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
It goes by way of Monastery of Djurdjevi Stupovi, Medieval Monuments in Kosovo, Lumi i gashit and back through Medieval Monuments in Kosovo. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,500 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It crosses Serbia, Kosovo and Albania - carry ID and check vignette or toll rules. The line favours views over speed.
The monastery of Studenica lies in a green gorge of the Golija mountains in central Serbia, where a clear river runs down through beech and oak woods toward the Ibar. Stefan Nemanja, the founder of the medieval Serbian state, began building it in the 1190s, and it became the model for all the monasteries that followed. Nemanja himself abdicated in 1196 and later became a monk, dying on Mount Athos in 1199. His son, Saint Sava, brought his father's remains back here, and they rest in the church today.
Read the complete Studenica Monastery write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Studenica Monastery is where the day begins. Next is Monastery of Djurdjevi Stupovi.
Đurđevi stupovi, the Pillars of Saint George, crowns a hill above Novi Pazar, a small church of Saint George with a dome and towers that give the monastery its name. Stefan Nemanja, the founder of the Serbian dynasty that dominated the Balkans for two centuries, built it in the later twelfth century, and it was one of the first great foundations of his rule. The painting inside is Byzantine in style, and the cluster of dome and towers on the hilltop makes a strong silhouette.
Read the complete Monastery of Djurdjevi Stupovi write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Monastery of Djurdjevi Stupovi comes up about 68 km into the recorded legs. Next is Medieval Monuments in Kosovo.
The Patriarchate of Peć is a cluster of four churches under one red-tinged roof, tucked at the mouth of the Rugova gorge on the edge of the town of Peja in western Kosovo. It was the seat of the Serbian Orthodox archbishops from the thirteenth century, and the heart of the church for centuries, with the frescoed churches built and extended over generations. The effect inside is intimate, with low arches, dim light and walls covered in saints, and the nuns who live there today run a small shop with candles and icons. The place is part of the UNESCO listing of medieval monuments in Kosovo, from 2004, along with Dečani, Gračanica and the church of Our Lady of Ljeviš in Prizren.
Read the complete Medieval Monuments in Kosovo write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 185 km into the recorded legs you reach Medieval Monuments in Kosovo. Next is Lumi i gashit.
Here the borders of Montenegro, Kosovo and Albania meet in the Prokletije, the Accursed Mountains, a rugged range of limestone peaks that rises above two thousand metres and is among the wildest country in the Balkans. The label uses the Albanian name for a stream, Lumi i Gashit, the river of Gashi, and the nearest places on the Montenegrin side are Plav and Gusinje, where Albanians and Bosniaks make up a large share of the population. Plav sits on a glacial lake, a cold, clear body of water ringed by high peaks, with a small mosque, an old Ottoman tower house and a quiet lakeshore promenade.
Read the complete Lumi i gashit write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Lumi i gashit, about halfway. Next is back through Medieval Monuments in Kosovo.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Medieval Monuments in Kosovo write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Medieval Monuments in Kosovo sits at 219 km, about halfway. Next is back through Monastery of Djurdjevi Stupovi.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Monastery of Djurdjevi Stupovi write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Monastery of Djurdjevi Stupovi comes up about 516 km into the recorded legs. Next is Studenica Monastery.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Studenica Monastery write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Studenica Monastery closes the day.
Studenica Monastery → Monastery of Djurdjevi Stupovi is 68 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Monastery of Djurdjevi Stupovi → Medieval Monuments in Kosovo is 117 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Medieval Monuments in Kosovo → Lumi i gashit is 107 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Lumi i gashit → back through Medieval Monuments in Kosovo is 107 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Medieval Monuments in Kosovo → back through Monastery of Djurdjevi Stupovi is 117 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Monastery of Djurdjevi Stupovi → Studenica Monastery is 68 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.