Šar Planina National Park
Šar-Planina Mt. is positioned in the area of Kosovo and Metohija and it represents the high southern rim of Serbia, 85 km long. The National Park “Šar-Planina Mt.” was proclaimed in 1993 within the temporary boundaries of 39,000 ha. It is planned that the definite boundaries of the Park would enclose an area of around 97,000 ha. 
The very complex structure of the Šar-Planina Mt. is composed of rocks of different age, from Palaeozoic granites, Mesozoic limestone and eruptives, to Quarternary glacial sediments and recent slope-fluvial sediments. These rocks have built the main ridge with more than 30 peaks, from 2,500 m to 2,652 m high (Bistra), high plateaus, and side ridges divided by wild rivers and brooks. The glacial and periglacial relief dominate in the entire area. Numerous glacial cirques, snow patches, huge ramparts of rock blocks, vertical cliffs, deep gorges and canyons, 70 glacial and nivational lakes know as “gorske oči” (mountain eyes), are a particular attraction. The Šar-Planina Mt. is one of the mountains richest in water on the Balkan Peninsula. Everywhere there are cold springs and brooks, high-montane peat bogs, wild sparkling mountain rivulets that, over cascades, tubs, rapids, and waterfalls, empty into two largest rivers on the Šar-Planina Mt. – Prizrenska Bistrica and Lepenac.
There are 1,800 plant species on the Šar-Planina Mt. The most significant are the numerous Tertiary and glacial relics, as well as 339 Balkan endemics of which 18 are local endemics growing only on the Šar-Planina Mt.: Achillea alexandri regis, Bornmullera dieckii, Dianthus scardicus, Crocus scardicus, Verbascum scardicolum, Cerastium neoscardicum, Potentilla doerfleri, Hieracium scardicolum etc. Like flora, the vegetation is also uniquely diverse. Within the National Park, 190 plant communities were described, the character of which varies from Mediterranean-sub-Mediterranean in the river valleys, to sub-Arctic on the highest peaks. Particularly interesting are the communities of endemic relic Serbian ramonda (Ramonda serbica) in limestone gorges, forest communities of endemic relic Balkan pines – the Bosnian pine (Pinus heldreichii) and the Macedonian pine (Pinus peuce), as well as the shrubby communities of the glacial rhododendron (Rhododendron ferrugineum).
The National Park is inhabited by 147 species of butterflies, 45 species of amphibians and reptiles, around 200 species of birds, and 32 species of mammals, which makes it one of the faunistically richest areas of Europe. The most attractive animal species are the griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus), golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), snow finch (Montifrigilla nivalis), lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus), capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus), Balkan snow vole (Dinaromys bogdanovi), pine marten (Martes martes), stone marten (Martes foina), otter (Lutra lutra), wild cat (Felis silvestris), Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), brown bear (Ursus arctos), chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) etc. The richness of the species, the presence of numerous endemic relics and nationally and globally important species make the National Park “Šar-Planina” one of the most important centres of the Balkan high-montane endemism, and one of the “hotspots” of biodiversity in Europe.
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The National Park “Šar-Planina” has a unique cultural heritage as well. Particularly valuable are 45 churches and monasteries built between the 12th and 16th century, during the times of the medieval Serbian state. Some of the most important cultural-historical objects are the hermitage cell and the Monastery of St. Petar Koriški from the 13th century, the Church of the Holy Virgin from the 13th century, the Church of St. Petka from the 14th century, the Church of the Holy Virgin Hodegetria from the 14th century, the Monastery of the Holy Trinity from the 15th century. At the foothills of the Šar-Planina Mt. near the city of Prizren, in the 14th century Tsar Dušan built a Serbian medieval capital, on which the remains of the Dušan’s town and the complex of the Holy Archangels Monastery bear witness.
