General

Unlock East Serbia’s Heritage: Discover Medieval Monasteries, Waterfalls, Caves and Untouched Nature

Meet in-depth Serbian Medieval history while discovering legendary monasteries and enjoy natural wonders of East Serbia. Without the stress of logistics or planning, get the personalized  and unforgetable experience on a Monastery Manasija and Ravanica tour.

 

Tour in a Glance

DURATION
8-9 hours
TOUR STYLE
Private
GETTING AROUND
Driven and walking
AVAILABILITY
Seasonal, 15.4.-31.10.
LANGUAGE
English
DIFFICULTY
Easy for everyone
Off-season availability (click to read more)
Measures we take on tours to reduce risks against Coronavirus - COVID-19 (click to read more)

What to Expect From the Monasteries Manasija and Ravanica Tour in 2024

If you find history, architecture and nature an ideal combination for exploration, we have just the proper itinerary for you. Meet two medieval gems, Monasteries Manasija and Ravanica and find out why they are so important for Serbian history and culture. Enjoy the untouched landscapes of East Serbia and discover secrets of Resava Cave. Refresh at Veliki Buk waterfall and try some local specialites during your lunch break. If you search for more Serbian medieval monasteries try Monasteries Žiča and Studenica tour.

Highlights

  • Discover the historic Monasteries Manasija and Ravanica and learn more about Serbia’s turbulent history and architectural wonders.
  • Enjoy East Serbia’s pristine landscapes and admire the tranquil beauty of Veliki Buk Waterfall.
  • Take a guided tour and explore Resava Cave’s and its 80-million-year-old geological formations.
  • Have a personalised attention from your private guide and get deeper insights for Serbia’s heritage and traditions.

Tour Flow

After #YourSerbiaHost picks you up from the hotel or other place of your stay (usual start time is 9am) you will drive together to the first point on the itinerary, the Monastery Ravanica. The 14th century monastery was founded by Serbian Prince Lazar, who fought the most important battle in Serbian history against Ottoman Turks in 1389. This monastery represents the beginning of the Morava architecture style, a unique Serbian style of medieval sacred architecture.

From Ravanica Monastery the road takes through mountains of East Serbia to the one of the most famous caves in Serbia, Resava Cave. This 2380m long cave was discovered in the 1960s and its calculated age is 80 million years. You’ll tour the 800m long area available for visitors with its four diverse halls.

Usually caves are connected to waterfalls, it is the same here, from Resava Cave, you’ll move to the Veliki Buk Waterfall. It’s probably not the biggest you have seen, but it’ll charm you with its beauty, clear water and intact nature around it. Lunch break is planned in one of the restaurants around the waterfall. Choice of food varies from delicious trout straight from the rapids or traditional food from the area.

After lunch, the last stop for the day is the most monumental monastery from Morava architecture style, Monastery Manasija. The early 15th century monastery was founded by Despot Stefan, the son of Prince Lazar. The monastery will impress you with its 15m tall fortification walls and 35m high main tower surrounding the Holy Trinity Church. You’ll learn more from your guide about the significance of the monastery while there.

From Monastery Manasija you’ll return to Belgrade. Usual drop-off time is around 6pm.

Good to know

FIT THE TOUR TO MATCH YOUR NEEDS
We’ve designed this tour based on our insights and experiences of the route’s highlights. For a customized tour, just let us know your preferences.
TOUR LANGUAGE
Default language of the tour is English, but if you require #YourSerbiaHost can also give you tour in Russian, German, French, Spanish and of course Serbian – Subject to availability.
HOW TO GET IN TOUCH
There are several ways to reach us. By pressing “Send inquiry” button on the top right of this page (or at the bottom of the page if you are using a mobile device). Through our Contact page, or calling our Phone|WhatsApp|Viber number +38163684466.
FREE CANCELLATION
If for any reason you need to cancel the tour up to 24 hours before the tour start time, we will refund 100% of the paid amount, no questions asked.
LOWEST PRICE GUARANTEED
Secure the best tour price by booking directly through our official website.
BOOKING THE TOUR
Book this tour easily with our secure online system by clicking ‘Book Now’ below, or contact us for other reservation options.
AVOID LAST-MINUTE SELL-OUTS, BOOK YOUR PRIVATE TOUR EARLY

Terms&conditions
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4 comments

LizardSC
April 19, 2022
This was the second tour that we had the privilege of taking with Andrija Vatović and Serbian Private Tours. We had an absolutely beautiful spring day for our trip, which was just icing on the cake. These monasteries are all the more beautiful for their rough history, and the damage sustained. The history of the monasteries in this country is something I definitely did not fully appreciate before these trips, and now, I just want to know more! The visit to Resava Cave was a nice change of pace, in a week full of history and architecture. "Andrew" is an incredibly knowledgeable guide and was able to share the story of the construction of the monasteries, their place in Serbian history, and how they related to the other monasteries we had seen during our first tour (Fruska Gora). His knowledge of history is second to none, and he is an excellent teacher, explaining the connections and contradictions that have derived from centuries of challenge and conflict. We were incredibly lucky to have 3 days of tours with him on our recent visit to Belgrade, and still feel that we only scratched the surface of what he knows about the country and region's history. Hope to have the chance to reacquaint in the future for more conversations! Date of experience: April 2022

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johnanddebbie1108
April 26, 2019
First of all, if you can get Andrija Vatovic as your driver / guide, do so. The man has a great command of Serbian / world history, and his knowledge of the sites you'll be visiting will make a great trip even better. More importantly, he's just a great guy who has an instinct for custom tailoring a tour to his clients' specific needs. My wife and I are no spring chickens, and I'm in need of a knee replacement. Andrija recognized that and conducted the tour at a pace that worked for us. In addition to that, he took time to snap tons of photos of us during the tour, which he promptly e-mailed to me the day after the tour. As for the destinations themselves, they're beautiful, peaceful, loaded with history, and a great diversion from the hustle and bustle of Belgrade. Andrija's choice for a lunch venue was perfect, too. Situated outdoors near a small but beautiful waterfall, the restaurant served up both great views and what may very well have been the best meal I had during a vacation in which everything I ate was delicious. I could go on and on, but If I haven't convinced you by now, I probably never will. Book the trip; you'll be glad you did. Oh, and...thanks again, Andrija!

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adeel a
March 12, 2018
Miljan picked us up from our hotel and we continued on our 1 day full tour. The tour was great for myself and my 3 other friends with lots of interesting sites of interest. The monasteries where great to see and Miljan had lots of information to make the experience more enjoyable. The caves where also very cool to explore in Eastern Serbia and again the guide was great. The tour is a full day and the journey quite long approx 2-3 hours in the car each way - having a friendly, talkative and informative guide made the experience great. Miljan also took photos along the way to capture those images you would not be able to on your own and emailed them over later. Great private tour - highly recommended.

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JoanStraveler
October 7, 2017
Miljan was our guide, and he was great - professional, friendly, knowledgeable and informed, as well as very skilled with the English language. It was nice to get out into the country to see the monasteries, and the cave was fascinating, too.

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Available departures

This is a daily tour.

Unfortunately, no places are available on this tour at the moment

Details on prices and services

Tour prices (prices are per tour, not per person):
1-3 persons 299€
4-6 persons 379€
7-8 persons 479€
9-19 persons 699€
Services included in the price:
Pickup and drop-off
Transportation
Driver/guide service
Tour organization
Bottled water
Single-use surgical face mask if you don't have your own
What is extra:
Admission for Resava Cave ~4€ per person
Admission for Veliki Buk Waterfall ~1€ per person
Lunch ~15€ per person*
Personal expenses and gratuities
* Price shown is an average price for lunch per person based on restaurant’s menu, but it can vary depending on guest’s demands for food and drinks.