Bigar Waterfall

About this place

Bigar Waterfall is a waterfall in the Stara Planina mountains of eastern Serbia, five kilometres from the village of Kalna on the road to Pirot and about 44 km east of Niš in a straight line, at around 450 metres. The water spills over light, porous travertine, called «bigar» in Serbian, which gives the falls their name, and drops more than 35 metres. It lies where the Bukovski stream flows into the Stanjinska river, in a hard-to-reach part of Stara Planina that has kept its untouched nature. The falls were built up by travertine deposits, so they form a series of small steps. Upstream are smaller falls, travertine pools in the riverbed and three small clear lakes. White water runs in thin threads over a cliff thick with green moss, in shady forest, gathering in a small clear pool at the base. In spring and after rain the flow swells and the falls widen. Visitors walk a short forest path to the foot of the falls and follow the stream up to see the smaller cascades and lakes. The mountain road is narrow, and spring or early summer is the best time.