27/05/2024

Young Ecologists Visiting Lazar’s Canyon and Lazar’s Cave

In the beautiful surroundings of Bor, in Lazar’s Canyon, another in a series of ecological workshops for young people on the topic of protecting and sustainably using natural resources in the vicinity of mining areas was organized.

The Lazar’s Canyon Nature Monument is a protected natural asset of the first category – one of the most impressive features of the Kučaj relief and one of the most significant centers of biodiversity in the Balkans. Carved into thick limestone rocks below Malinik for a length of 9 km, it consists of vertical, wild cliffs with numerous gullies, crevices, and caves. At its narrowest point, it is only 3-4 meters wide, reaching depths of up to 500 meters. In some places, the river passes between wedged stone blocks that form natural bridges.

Lazar’s Canyon is also rich in speleological sites. The most famous among the general public are Lazar’s Cave, Vodena, Mandina, Vernjikica, and Hajdučica. All of these speleological features are collectively known as the Zlotske Caves. Most of these caves are currently accessible only to speleologists, with Lazar’s Cave being the only one developed for tourist visits.

High school students from Bor and Zaječar had the opportunity to explore these natural beauties. Under the expert guidance, the young people visited Lazar’s Cave and learned about its richness in cave formations. Stogovi, Fontana, Plast, Bizon, Carska loža, Dirigent, Orkestar, are just some of the names given to the most beautiful sculptural worksof nature adorning the stunning halls of the cave: The Throne Hall, The Block Hall, The Concert Hall, The Bat Hall.

After touring the cave and discussing with lecturers about sustainable development, the best ways to utilize natural resources for tourism purposes, and the protection of natural assets, the group visited a part of Lazar’s Canyon and enjoyed the view of the canyon from viewpoints 1 and 2.

Spending time in nature and walking several kilometers was a real challenge that both the lecturers and students equally enjoyed., hoping that the last workshop within this project would be equally attractive and interesting. This workshop was implemented as part of the project “Environmental Response to Mining Expansion in Timočka Krajina”, funded by the EU and implemented by the Association “Za Drinking Fountains” and partner organizations from Bor and Zaječar.

Association “Za Drinking Fountains”

This text was produced within the project “Environmental response to mining expansion in Timočka Krajina” funded by the European Union, and implemented by the Association “Za Drinking Fountains”, the Association of Young Researchers Bor, Civic Library “Europe” Bor and Children’s Center Zaječar. The content of the text is entirely responsibility of these associations and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.