DBB+ Golija Gravel
Two scouted gravel cycling routes averaging 71 km ↑ 1800 m elevation, with accommodation details, points of interest, and a detailed description.
A gravel weekend or part of a longer journey in the south of Serbia
Golija mountain is a remote destination in Serbia, with basic accommodation and facilities that are far and between — which is compensated by the untouched nature.
The suggested starting point is a guest house in Dajići, that has 4 separate units totaling 8 rooms, 4 bathrooms, and 16 beds. Homemade food can be provided by the hosts, the quality of which is good in our opinion.
The pictures, except for those of the accommodation, have been made by us during our trip there in August 2024. Summer is a good time to visit, as even during the heat it is comfortable to ride at the altitude of Golija.
The suggested starting point is a guest house in Dajići, that has 4 separate units totaling 8 rooms, 4 bathrooms, and 16 beds. Homemade food can be provided by the hosts, the quality of which is good in our opinion.
The pictures, except for those of the accommodation, have been made by us during our trip there in August 2024. Summer is a good time to visit, as even during the heat it is comfortable to ride at the altitude of Golija.
Normally, there would be a Plus membership wall here — but this is a detailed demo plan, so here’s what you get.
Route 1 — 75 km ↑ 1820 m
Jankov Kamen—Odvraćenica—Devici
Jankov Kamen—Odvraćenica—Devici
The ride begins with a significant portion of tarmac of various quality. On km 19 there is a gravel offshoot to the top of Golija mountain marked with Jankov Kamen monument. There is a military outpost nearby — the personnel were friendly to us and treated us with some juice from their ration. Photos & videos of the monument are allowed, but don’t point the camera towards the radar, we were asked.
Around km 30 there is a tourist village named Odvraćenica where Vila Jela cafe is a good place to have a lunch, and there is also a convenience store nearby for snacks and drinks.
At km 61 Devici village is located with Jablan Plus cafe, which is another suitable place for a lunch or snack. This is the last point to eat on the route.
Around km 30 there is a tourist village named Odvraćenica where Vila Jela cafe is a good place to have a lunch, and there is also a convenience store nearby for snacks and drinks.
At km 61 Devici village is located with Jablan Plus cafe, which is another suitable place for a lunch or snack. This is the last point to eat on the route.
All the Points of Interest — such as the best places for lunch — are marked with either short dead ends, or small circles so you won’t miss them when on the bike.
Route 2 — 66 km ↑ 1771 m
Brusnik—Devici—Vrmbaje
Brusnik—Devici—Vrmbaje
Starting to the opposite direction from the other day’s route, this one has a loose gravel descend in the beginning. Be careful with the speed, as some portions of the road are rather technical due to being washed out.
At km 20 there is a flat ground spot, with an unobvious drinking water fountain — see where the track leads. Shortly after, there is a shop in Brusnik village, but its opening hours seem to be fluctuating depending on the season — for us, it was closed in the middle of the day.
Devici is located at km 32 with Jablan Plus cafe familiar from the other day — this is the only place to eat real food for lunch on this route.
After the viewpoint at Vrmbaje village around km 40, there is a long and tough uphill almost up to the finish. Make sure you refill your water bottles in the village.
At km 20 there is a flat ground spot, with an unobvious drinking water fountain — see where the track leads. Shortly after, there is a shop in Brusnik village, but its opening hours seem to be fluctuating depending on the season — for us, it was closed in the middle of the day.
Devici is located at km 32 with Jablan Plus cafe familiar from the other day — this is the only place to eat real food for lunch on this route.
After the viewpoint at Vrmbaje village around km 40, there is a long and tough uphill almost up to the finish. Make sure you refill your water bottles in the village.
The guest house Golijski Dar can be booked at booking.com — but it is better to contact the host, Mladen, directly via Viber or SMS at +381 65 829 85 36.
Accommodation details
The configuration of the guest house is as follows:
• there is a separate building (photo 1) for dining that fits all the guests at once — meals are served by the host’s wife, Nadica, through a kitchen window inside; variation of drinks are offered;
• apartments 1 & 2 are located in the stone house (photo 2, foreground); each has one room upstairs with 1 double bed and 2 twin beds, and one room downstairs with 1 single sofa bed; on the lower floor there is a bathroom and kitchen;
• apartments 3 & 4 are located in the wooden house (photo 2, background); each has two rooms, upstairs and downstairs with two twin beds per room (photo 3 and on); the bathroom is located on the lower floor;
• there is a water hose for washing the bikes, and there’s enough space outside to store them under the roof, which feels safe; bringing bikes inside is possible, but the space is limited, especially in apartments 3 & 4;
• there is free parking in front of the guest house (see the photo for route 1 above); a washing machine exists — but it happened to be broken down when we were there.
• there is a separate building (photo 1) for dining that fits all the guests at once — meals are served by the host’s wife, Nadica, through a kitchen window inside; variation of drinks are offered;
• apartments 1 & 2 are located in the stone house (photo 2, foreground); each has one room upstairs with 1 double bed and 2 twin beds, and one room downstairs with 1 single sofa bed; on the lower floor there is a bathroom and kitchen;
• apartments 3 & 4 are located in the wooden house (photo 2, background); each has two rooms, upstairs and downstairs with two twin beds per room (photo 3 and on); the bathroom is located on the lower floor;
• there is a water hose for washing the bikes, and there’s enough space outside to store them under the roof, which feels safe; bringing bikes inside is possible, but the space is limited, especially in apartments 3 & 4;
• there is free parking in front of the guest house (see the photo for route 1 above); a washing machine exists — but it happened to be broken down when we were there.
We suggest a gravel bike with 45+ mm tyres or an mtb. The gravel at Golija tends to be rocky, so tubeless tyres with strong sidewalls are best. As you can see on the background picture, our choice was Tufo Speedero, recommended.
There is no good gravel or mtb bike rent anywhere near, but you could try and ask in our chat to borrow a fitting bicycle in Belgrade — DBB is a community of hundreds of cyclists, many of whom have more than one bike.
If you’ve ever ridden 100+ kilometers a day, you should be fine. The routes are much shorter but with significant elevation gain and varying terrain. We suggest to consider your nutrition needs, as cafes & shops are scarce.
Golija is a 3.5 h drive from Belgrade. When we travelled there, we took two days to ride to Golija on bikes, and two days back, making a nice 6-day trip. That’s another reason for choosing Tufo which are also good on asphalt.
Golija mountain, Serbia
1–2 riding days
Self-guided plan for everyone
1–2 riding days
Self-guided plan for everyone
Serbia to Bosnia & Herzegovina
3–8 riding days
Self-guided plan for members
3–8 riding days
Self-guided plan for members
Tara mountain, Serbia
1–10 riding days
Self-guided plan for members
1–10 riding days
Self-guided plan for members
Prime cycling area in Turkey
3–11 riding days
Self-guided plan for Plus members
3–11 riding days
Self-guided plan for Plus members
Central to Eastern Serbia
3–8 riding days
Self-guided plan for members
3–8 riding days
Self-guided plan for members
Central to Southern Serbia
2–9 riding days
Self-guided plan for members
2–9 riding days
Self-guided plan for members
© 2022–2024 Alexander Baranchikov PR. DBB™ is protected by law. No cookies are used on this website. By submitting any data you agree with the privacy policy. If you come to our rides, you accept The Rules.
15-second Privacy Policy
When you submit any information via this website, the data that you have provided in the Name, Email, Address, City & Postcode, Country, Phone, or any other fields (hereinafter — the Personal Data) is transmitted by our Website Provider to a technical email address at our Email Provider.
The data transmitted from you to the Website Provider is encrypted with TLS. Our Website Provider is:
Tilda Publishing Ltd. (Ireland)
Privacy Policy: tilda.cc/privacy
Terms of Service: tilda.cc/terms
The data delivered to us by the Email Provider is encrypted with PGP. Our Email Provider is:
Proton Technologies AG (Switzerland)
Privacy Policy: protonmail.com/privacy-policy
Terms of Service: protonmail.com/terms-and-conditions
By providing the Personal Data to us you give us your consent for storing, processing, and using it for the purposes of:
• contacting you for the reason said in the submission form via phone, sms, email, messaging platforms where your details are recognised;
• delivering parcels to the address you have provided via post, express mail, courier services operating in your location.
For those purposes we may have to transmit the Personal Data to third persons: telecommunication and email providers; messaging platform operators; postal, mailing, courier, delivery services. We will use due diligence in doing so but cannot accept responsibility for the Personal Data out of our possession.
The data collected by us is only stored in an accessible way for as long as necessary for the respective purpose for which a particular piece of data has been collected. After you have subscribed via email, you can always use the "unsubscribe" link in the end of any regular email. In any case, you can write to a@dbb.rs that we must delete your Personal data.
The data transmitted from you to the Website Provider is encrypted with TLS. Our Website Provider is:
Tilda Publishing Ltd. (Ireland)
Privacy Policy: tilda.cc/privacy
Terms of Service: tilda.cc/terms
The data delivered to us by the Email Provider is encrypted with PGP. Our Email Provider is:
Proton Technologies AG (Switzerland)
Privacy Policy: protonmail.com/privacy-policy
Terms of Service: protonmail.com/terms-and-conditions
By providing the Personal Data to us you give us your consent for storing, processing, and using it for the purposes of:
• contacting you for the reason said in the submission form via phone, sms, email, messaging platforms where your details are recognised;
• delivering parcels to the address you have provided via post, express mail, courier services operating in your location.
For those purposes we may have to transmit the Personal Data to third persons: telecommunication and email providers; messaging platform operators; postal, mailing, courier, delivery services. We will use due diligence in doing so but cannot accept responsibility for the Personal Data out of our possession.
The data collected by us is only stored in an accessible way for as long as necessary for the respective purpose for which a particular piece of data has been collected. After you have subscribed via email, you can always use the "unsubscribe" link in the end of any regular email. In any case, you can write to a@dbb.rs that we must delete your Personal data.
Applied to all public rides.
RULE #1 // Use a Proper bike.
Well, use whatever bike & gear, but if one crashes while riding an improper bike or without a properly fitting helmet, we will presume his or her sole responsibility — for both potential injuries and material damage — even if the crash was accidentally caused by another group member. There is a reason.
RULE #2 // Proper are Road & Gravel bikes.
Improper bikes for riding in a group are:
• time-trial or triathlon bikes, or bikes with attached aerobars,
• flat-bar or other bikes with wide handlebars,
• fixed-gear bikes without at least a front brake,
• bikes with potential or actual significant malfunctions.
RULE #3 // All your pictures are belong to us.
People make photos & videos during our events and we will use them in any way your imaginary lawyer could imagine — but mostly in our Instagram — for which you grant us your irrevocable consent if you happen to be there. Club members have the right of access to all said images.
RULE #4 // You accept the Disclaimer.
All the rides are organised by Baranchikov & Partners Ltd, a legal entity that you can sue if anything makes you unhappy. Alexander Baranchikov, the sole proprietor of said entity, will do his best to make you happy, but accepts no personal legal responsibility for that.
RULE #5 // Obey The Rules.
If you come to our rides, you accept The Rules. And to enjoy any group ride you should also know the tips.
RULE #1 // Use a Proper bike.
Well, use whatever bike & gear, but if one crashes while riding an improper bike or without a properly fitting helmet, we will presume his or her sole responsibility — for both potential injuries and material damage — even if the crash was accidentally caused by another group member. There is a reason.
RULE #2 // Proper are Road & Gravel bikes.
Improper bikes for riding in a group are:
• time-trial or triathlon bikes, or bikes with attached aerobars,
• flat-bar or other bikes with wide handlebars,
• fixed-gear bikes without at least a front brake,
• bikes with potential or actual significant malfunctions.
RULE #3 // All your pictures are belong to us.
People make photos & videos during our events and we will use them in any way your imaginary lawyer could imagine — but mostly in our Instagram — for which you grant us your irrevocable consent if you happen to be there. Club members have the right of access to all said images.
RULE #4 // You accept the Disclaimer.
All the rides are organised by Baranchikov & Partners Ltd, a legal entity that you can sue if anything makes you unhappy. Alexander Baranchikov, the sole proprietor of said entity, will do his best to make you happy, but accepts no personal legal responsibility for that.
RULE #5 // Obey The Rules.
If you come to our rides, you accept The Rules. And to enjoy any group ride you should also know the tips.