PESTER PLATEAU
The Pester (Pešter – Peshter) plateau – the largest plateau in the Balkan Peninsula, and one of the largest in Europe, in recent years has become a real sensation among the fans of tourism, with new, unexplored landscapes and untouched, undamaged natural beauties. With an altitude of 1150 meters and an area of 63 square kilometers, it represents the unique, splendid and incomparable natural oasis in the heart of Europe.
Due to the high snow and low temperatures, Pester is also known as the Balkans Siberia and due to an altitude and the large numbers of cultural and historical monuments, some studies call it the Balkans Tibet. In 1954, the temperature reached minus 38.3 degrees Celsius, which was the lowest temperature ever since it has been measured in Serbia. The average annual temperature of Pester is six degrees Celsius. Ten centimeters thick snowy coverage is lingered for about 60 days annually. In recent years, the winters in Pešter are milder and more pleasant, while the springs and summers are fascinating as before.
When you enter the Pester plateau from the cities of Novi Pazar, Ivanjica, Prijepolje or Nova Varos, the first view on endless expanse of slightly wavy pastures, leaves you simply fascinated with the width of the views, unlimited space in distance dimly transcending to slopes of some of the most beautiful Serbian mountains. Flocks of sheep, cattle and horses, carelessly grouped throughout the pastures, offer so unique and unusual sight. The beauty of untouched nature and the goodness of the local people are the impressions that every guest will keep in memory leaving the Plateau. There are only few landscapes in the world to which the nature has been so generous. Mountains, rivers, lakes, cave, hunting areas, ski resorts – one does not know which is more attractive in Pester. The nature and the irresistibility of divine beauty are the reasons making the plateau of Pester the real sensation among the fans of tourism nowadays.
The center of the Pester plateau, the place where everything starts and everything ends is Sjenica, the small town with 16000 citizens, situated in the center of one of the most expanded municipal area in Serbia. It was a place where the medieval caravans reposed their horses and fed them with hay on their way from Dubrovnik to Constantinople.
