View of Uvac from height of more than 12 meters - Visitors Center on Zlatarsko Lake's bank from autumn

Already in November 2010, the visitors of Kokin Brod will be able to enjoy the view of Zlatarsko Lake from the top of the tower of the Visitors Center, which is designed as a "door" to Special nature reserve Uvac. Future facility, of which surface will be up to 300 square meters, will be situated in the vicinity of the Belgrade - Montenegrin Seaside road and it will have the function of an info point where the guests will get the information on the protected nature reserve and the regimes of behavior in it, as well as on the activities of those who take care of it. The Center will be also selling maps of the reserve, souvenirs, licenses for sports fishing, etc.

- The visitors will be offered educational material and rent-a-boat services, while the organized visits to the reserve will be arranged in the Center. Organization of various manifestations and seminars with the aim of affirming environment protection and development of the Zlatar area as a whole is also in the pipeline - Slobodan Ljubojević from Reserve Uvac told eKapija.

Construction of the Visitors Center, worth 20m RSD, is financed by the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development (9m), the Ministry of Environment Protection and Spatial Planning (5m), Pro Program (60,000 USD) and the municipality of Nova Varoš (3 to 5m RSD). The money for necessary documentation was provided by Reserve Uvac.

- The Center is designed as a tower with three levels and a balcony, 12.7 meters high. There will also be a cafe in an annex. According to the solution designed by architect Vladimir Jovanović, there will be a belvedere on the third floor, while the tower will be built in the spirit of the Zlatar area, of natural materials - stone, wood, printed concrete. Organization of the parking lot around the future belvedere is in the pipeline, as well as the organization of the beach and the marina on the lake, 600 meters long - Ljubojević explains and adds that the construction of the Center will start in May 2010 at the latest.

Construction of the Center, which is entrusted to Belgrade-based company Ornament Invest Engineering, and installation of an approach ramp will prevent illegal building, which is very frequent on Zlatarsko Lake. According to Ljubojević, about 30 criminal charges have been pressed lately, which resulted in removal of about 11 facilities to the date.

Zlatarsko Lake

Zlatarsko Lake or Kokin Brod Lake is an artificial lake in the Uvac valley, situated between Zlatar mountain to the southwest and Murtenice mountain to the northeast, only 10 to 15 km away from Nova Varoš. The lake has the surface of 7.25 square kilometers, and it is 15 to 23 km long. It was created in the 1960's after construction of a dam on the Uvac river near Kokin Brod. The dam of the power plant is 83 meters high and it is the biggest earth dam built in Europe. Because of the dam, the lake's level varies up to 45 meters.

Zlatarsko Lake is the third largest lake in Serbia after Đerdapsko Lake and Perućac Lake on the Drina. Major part of this lake is navigable, and driving of a boat on this lake represents a unique experience. The biggest habitat of griffon vultures in the Balkans is situated on the lake's banks. Famous meanders of the Uvac river belong to this lake.

Accommodation capacities

There are about 250 beds in rural households of the first, the second and the third category in Nova Varoš. Hotels Centar, Panorama and Zlatar have about 600 beds. None of these facilities has been renovated yet. Those who want to spend the night in the Zlatar area can also do that in ethno village Vraneša, which has total of 26 beds.