Devil’s Town
Devil’s Town are picturesque earthen pillars with stone boulders on top, located in southern Serbia. The locals call them “Devil Varoš”. The natural attraction has the status of a geological monument and is very popular with tourists. Since 2002, Devil’s Town has been included in the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Highlights
In Devil’s Town, you can see 202 earthen pillars ranging from 2 to 15 meters high and 0.5 to 3 meters wide. Many of them have black boulders resting on top of them. The tall pillars are a real miracle created by the forces of nature. They appeared as a result of natural processes: soil erosion, wind force, temperature differences and precipitation.
.A Serbian legend tells how once the locals drank water from the Devil’s spring. After that they lost their minds and decided to marry a brother and sister. The god was angry at the possible incest and turned all the participants of the wedding celebration into petrified pillars.
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The natural attraction Devil’s Town is located near the village of Djake, whose name is derived from the Albanian word “gjak”, which means “blood”. The geological monument has an area of 67 hectares and the route along it is 800 meters. There are wooden bridges and stairs with railings in front of the towers, from which it is convenient to view and photograph the earth figures and the surrounding slopes.
.In order for travelers to get a stronger impression of visiting the Devil’s Town, many travel agencies organize tours at night. It should be kept in mind that walking around Devil’s Town is only good in clear weather. After rain, the paths turn into a muddy mess.
.The territory of the geological monument is open from Monday to Friday from 10.00 to 21.00, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 11.00 to 17.00. Entrance to the Devil’s City costs 350 dinars.
.Earthen Pillars
The mystical natural sculptures are located 660-700 meters above sea level, in the Devil’s Gully and Hell’s Gully, which are separated by a small watershed. In this area, vertical erosion processes predominate over horizontal erosion processes, so earth pillars can “grow.”
It seems unreal that a ten-meter tower, which is 3 m wide at the base and 30 cm wide at the top, can fail to collapse under a massive stone block weighing more than 100 kg. Such a geomorphological phenomenon is unique to Serbia and quite rare in the world.
.Attractions of Devil’s Town
In addition to the high earth pillars, there are other sights to see in Devil’s Town. There are two springs of highly mineralized water, the remains of a settlement, a church, and several mines. One of the springs is located in the Devil’s Gully near the pillars, and the other, called “Red Key,” is located 400 meters from the gully. The springs are remarkable for their high degree of mineralization, and the “Red Key” contains so much iron that a picturesque red terrace is spread out near it.
There is an old legend about the small old church of St. Petka. It tells of an unlucky local man who “carried the devil behind his back”. One day he dreamed of St. Petka. She advised the sufferer to pray at night in the ravine of Hell. The villager obeyed the advice, and the black streak in his life came to an end. In gratitude, he built a church near the ravine.
Nowadays, everyone who wants to get rid of an ailment or bad luck comes to the temple. In front of the entrance to the church hang white handkerchiefs. Believers wipe their foreheads with the handkerchiefs, pray and leave the handkerchiefs “with trouble” at the temple. Once a week they are collected by the local priest and bury people’s “bad luck” in the ground..How to get there
Devil’s Town is located 27 km southeast of the town of Kuršumlija and 288 km from Belgrade. Organized excursions are taken here. Those who want to get there on their own must first get to Kuršumlija by bus. From there, travelers reach Devil’s Town by cab. Near the entrance to the natural monument there is a parking lot, a restaurant, restrooms and souvenir stands.
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