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Kopaonik - The Mountain Of the Sun
| 08 December 2009 |
Kopaonik
The 250 km drive to Kopaonik takes around four hours. The first part of the journey takes you on the E75 motorway, but from there on, road conditions are a little more variable.
Make sure to have some winter tyres fitted to the car and pack some snow chains too. There will be, however, helpful men selling them by the side of the road, as you approach the mountains for the forgetful driver and the lazy or inexpert amongst might wish to take advantage of their low cost fitting service – two or three hundred dinars should do the trick.
The resort is surrounded by a beautiful national park and the area is renowned for its stunning Flora in Fauna, as well as its 200 days of sunshine which have earned it the nickname of the mountain of the sun. You’ll be hoping however that most of the flora is underneath the snow and with around 160 days snow cover each year year you should be in luck.
Kopaonik has been the top destinationfor the locals for some time but since 2004, when the last landmines were removed, foreign tourists have returned too. In the 70s and 80s this was a popular budget skiing destination and in the last few years has been trying to catch up with the foreign competition. The resort lacks nothing that its French or Italian counterparts – from the quality of the well groomed slopes to, these days, the fairly stiff prices.
Although your ski pass at €15 a day (€10 for kids) compares favourably to the French Alps, where a day in Chamonix would cost you €40 (€30 for kids), Serbia’s biggest ski is an expensive option because of the price and standard of accommodation.
If you don’t mind staying in an apartment or hotel room that looks exactly the same as it did in its 70s heyday and you are not the type of person that cares an awful lot about a dedicated service team, then there are certainly options in Kopaonik. There is a wide variety of hotels and apartments available for rent, at prices starting around € 40 per night per person, but quality is often variable. Take a recommendation from a friend or do some thorough research before accepting a budget deal.
This season many European travel agencies have dropped Kopaonik from their skiing catalogue so perhaps this will have freed up some space and you may just find a bargain.
One of the most popular destinations for locals remains the Grand Hotel, (036 71037), located just a few metres away from the beginning of one the main lifts up the slopes and with it’s own ski-rent facility and ski shop. The hotel offers an indoor swimming pool (accessible to non-residents), jacuzzi, sauna and fitness centre. Prices start at about 4,000 dinars per person per night in a shared room for 3 people,but will be much higher at peak times.
The resort will not impress exprerienced thrill-seekers but provides enough of a range to keep intermediate skiers and beginners happy. If you are in for adding a bit of excitement and still have the energy after a long day of skiing, then night skiing on the Malo Jezero slope will be just the right thing for you. The slope is open between 7pm and 10pm and costs around €10.
One of the newer additions to the resort is the snowboard park where boarding fans can build their own jumps. In a sign that Kopaonik is trying to become more ‘hip’, last year it hosted a snowboard and music festival staged by the organisers of the infamous EXIT festival.
Kopaonik is home to a large number of easy runs which are mainly located near the town centre, and so is a good place to go with your family. The baby lifts and nursery slopes are also in close proximity of the town centre and it is not difficult to find excellent English speaking instructors. According to one of our Belgrade Insight colleagues, so good, that his five year old daughter was, after only one week’s instruction, able to join him on the black runs (Whether this constitutes responsible parenting is a different matter altogether…).
Ski rental is available widely and costs about €50 for a week or around €8 per day, with discounts available for children.
Kopaonik is not the place to go for charming chalets, but if you are looking for quality slopes at European standards, near Belgrade, this is the right place to go.
KOPAONIK
Altitude of the resort - 1,770m
Highest Peak - 2,017m
Total length of slopes - 44km
Total number of lifts - 23
Number of Baby lifts - 2
Number of beginners’ runs (blue slopes) - 12
Intermediate (red slopes) - 7
Advanced (black slopes) - 4
Maximum difference in altitude - 512m
Longest run - 3.5km
Night skiing route - 450m
Nordic skiing - 18km
