Jovačka lakes

Jovačka Lakes are located 14 kilometers from Vladičin Han and a little more than 20 kilometers from Vranje. They are located on the northern slope of the extinct volcano Oblik in the neighboring village of Belanovce, which belongs to Kukavica and the valley side of the Jovačka river, a left tributary of the South Morava. They represent a kind of natural phenomenon. Namely, they were created in 1977, on the night between February 17 and 18, when the village of Jovac and a part of the neighboring island of Ostrovica were hit by a landslide. In one of the biggest natural disasters in Serbia, the Jovačka River was blocked, a natural dam was formed and thus several Urvin lakes were created. The mass that started from Oblik from the neighboring Grotto, on that fateful night between February 17 and 18, started 150 million cubic meters of land, which could fill, for example, 150 football stadiums. Soil erosion, which lasted for several days, wiped out 11 of the then 16 neighborhoods from the face of the earth, so one can still find the remains of houses under water. This natural disaster ""spared"" only the village cemetery. On the opposite side of the Jovačka river, there are a couple of neighborhoods left, which now barely have a dozen inhabitants. Fortunately, the landslide in Jovac did not take any lives. However, 58 families lost everything. They settled in the nearby, lowland village, Stubal, where their settlement was named - Jovačko. Jovačka lakes are a protected area with the largest, Jovačko lake and five smaller lakes: Žilovje, Rusimovo, Živkovo, Crkveno (Crkveno means church in Serbian, a name that was given to this particular lake because there used to be a church on the site of today's lake, which protrudes from the water at low water levels) and Malo lake. The largest, Lake Jovačko, is 1,500 meters long, 200 meters wide, and the depth in some places exceeds 10 meters. The way they were created, the still untouched nature where wild construction has not taken off, represents a unique destination for fans of extreme sports and most importantly - numerous and rare plant and animal species. It is a real paradise for fishermen as well. In Lake Jovačko, the research recorded 11 species of fish: brown barbel, perch, chub, gold and silver carp, carp, catfish, and others that represent a great challenge for fishermen. There is also a pond turtle and a long-legged murmur, a strictly protected species. Experts have also registered 71 species of butterflies. As for the flora, the strictly protected species are: floating resin, but also juniper, sagebrush, water iris, red nightshade, monkfish, and burdock.