Radan mountain

Radan is a mountain and park of nature in the south of Serbia, in the municipalities of Lebane, Bojnik, Medvedja, Kursumlija and Prokuplje and covers an area of 466 km2. It is located between the river Toplica in the north and Jablanica in the south. It belongs to the Rhodope Mountains and is part of the Serbian-Macedonian mainland, and is located exactly where the Dinarides face the Rhodopes. The highest peak is Šopot at 1409m above sea level. On a slightly lower, Petrovo vrh (Veliki Petrovac) around 1150 - above sea level, there is a church of St. Peter on the plateau of the peak. It is located southwest of Prokuplje and west of Lebane and Medvedja. On the slopes of the mountain are: • Archaeological site Caricin Grad • Prolom Banja • Devil's Town The geological basis of the mountain consists of Paleozoic silicate rocks with crystalline shales. In the southwestern part of Radan mountain (Majdan mountain) there is the mine Lece, in the place of the same name. Radan mountain includes Arbanasi mountains, Majdan mountain, Petrova gora-Radan. In the east and south, it opens into the Pustorec valley and from that side is exposed to strong solar heating, which results in a warmer and milder climate. This produced a kind of phenomenon, because the so-called oak vegetation belt from the classic 700m raised to 800m - 900m above sea level. Thanks to the warmer climate on Radan Mountain, several endemic and relict plant species have survived, among which the most significant are the remains of the Tertiary rainforest. Below the very top of Radana, the Pusta river springs. On the eastern slopes of the mountain in the area called Ripivoda is the eponymous waterfall Ripivoda, with a drop of 40 m. • It is believed that until 1960, there were specimens of the old Serbian dog breed on this mountain - the Serbian Mastiff or ""Dusan's Mastiff"". • Of the strictly protected wild species, there are a total of about 20 plant species (including fungi, lichens and mosses) in the Radan area and about 95 animal species, mostly birds (about 50 species), then mammals (about 20 species, including bats). ), fish (2 species), reptiles and amphibians (8 species) and insects (about 15 species). • In the area of the village of Ivanje, there is a rare natural phenomenon. One section of the road is called ""uphill downhill"" because stopped and unlocked cars move ""uphill"", as if it were a ""gravitational anomaly"". However, this is an optical illusion. Of the protected wild species, in the area of Plana there are about 80 protected species of plants and over 100 protected species of animals, mostly birds, insects and mammals. • Mountain lodge Radan - not far from the village Ivanje (Bojnik) • At the end of the seventies of the last century, a dam was built on Pusta reka and in that way Lake Brestovac was formed. • On the south side of Radan, at the foot of the northern slopes of Goljak, there is Sijarinska Banja.