Mokra Gora and Drvengrad: Kusturica's Train and the Village That Shouldn't Exist

A Train That Draws a Figure-Eight in the Mountain

The Šargan Eight (Šarganska Osmica) is a narrow-gauge railway built in 1925 that climbs from the Drina valley to the Šargan pass by means of an ingenious route: to overcome the elevation, the tracks curl back on themselves forming the shape of a figure eight, passing through twenty tunnels and over five bridges in just fifteen kilometres. Closed in 1974 and reopened in 2003 as a heritage railway, it is today one of Serbia's most original attractions — and one of Europe's most scenic railways.

The train departs from Mokra Gora station, a mountain village in western Serbia, three and a half hours by car from Belgrade. The ticket costs 600 dinars (around 5 euros) for the return journey, which takes about two and a half hours with a stop at the intermediate station of Jatare.

Drvengrad: Kusturica's Village

Next to the Šargan Eight station, director Emir Kusturica has built an entire village from scratch. Drvengrad (Küstendorf) is a complex of houses in traditional Serbian wooden style, built with reclaimed materials from abandoned villages in the region. It is at once a film set, a hotel, a cultural centre and Kusturica's personal vision of what an ideal Serbian village should look like.

The village streets bear the names of his heroes: Che Guevara Street, Maradona Street, Fellini Street, Tesla Street. An orthodox wooden church dominates the central square. There is a cinema, a library, an art gallery and a restaurant. Every January, Drvengrad hosts the Küstendorf Film and Music Festival, where Kusturica invites independent filmmakers from around the world.

Entrance to the village costs 250 dinars (around 2 euros). You can also sleep in the wooden houses converted into hotel rooms — the experience is surreal and delightful, with views of the mountains and absolute silence.

Mokra Gora Station

Mokra Gora railway station is a small open-air museum: restored steam locomotives, vintage carriages, railway tools from the early twentieth century. The atmosphere is that of a film (not by chance: Kusturica shot several scenes here). The village of Mokra Gora itself is authentic: houses scattered among the forests, an orthodox church, a couple of kafane where locals drink rakija and play chess.

Excursions in the Area

- Tara National Park: twenty minutes from Mokra Gora, Tara Park offers forests of Pančić spruce (an endemic species), the Drina canyon and the viewpoint of Banjska Stena, a natural terrace overlooking the canyon sheer drop.

- Lake Perućac: an artificial lake on the Drina with kayaking and cruise possibilities.

- Rača Monastery: a thirteenth-century medieval monastery with Byzantine frescoes and an atmosphere of profound serenity.

What to Eat

The cuisine of western Serbia is generous and carnivorous. In Mokra Gora and surroundings:

Vešalica (grilled pork slices marinated with chilli and garlic) is the dish to try. Ćevapi are served everywhere, in somun with onion and kajmak. Srpska salata (Serbian salad: tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, cheese) accompanies everything. For dessert, palačinke (crêpes) with plum jam or chocolate and walnuts.

Mokra Gora's kafane are authentic and inexpensive: a full meal with the house rakija costs between five and ten euros. The local beer (Jelen, Zaječarsko) costs less than a euro.

When to Go

The train runs from April to October (in winter months, weekends only). The Küstendorf Festival is in January. For trekking in Tara Park, June–September. Autumn is spectacular for the forest colours. Mokra Gora has several guesthouses and small hotels at 20–35 euros a night. It is the kind of place you arrive at for the train and stay for everything else — the mountains, the silence, the food, and that rare feeling of being somewhere that resembles nowhere else.