Where Rtanj is
Rtanj lies in eastern Serbia, about 200 kilometres south-east of Belgrade, between Boljevac to the north and Sokobanja to the south. It belongs to the Serbian Carpathians, the south-western arm of the Carpathian Mountains, and is shared between the municipalities of Boljevac and Sokobanja. Villages such as Ilino, Vrelo and Rtanj sit at its foot, with roads circling the mountain on all sides.
Šiljak, the pyramid-shaped summit
The highest peak of Rtanj is Šiljak, 1,565 metres high. Seen from the valley it is an almost perfect pyramid, which is why Rtanj is called the pyramid mountain. The summit is bare limestone, with the ruins of a chapel Greta Minh built in the 1930s in memory of her husband.
Nature on Rtanj
The northern slopes are covered with forest and many springs of drinking water, while the southern slopes are rocky and dry. Rtanj is home to the famous Rtanj tea (winter savory), whose summer harvesting was banned in 2019, and Rtanj catmint (Nepeta rtanjensis), a plant discovered in 1974 that grows nowhere else on Earth. In the same year, 2019, Rtanj was declared a special nature reserve.
History: the Minh mine
In the early 20th century the Minh family opened a coal mine on Rtanj and built a whole settlement around it, with a school, a clinic, a cinema and a large park. From that time remain the ruins of the mine, the park forest and Greta’s rose garden, which once had 3,000 roses.
Legends and mysteries of Rtanj
Folk tradition says a wizard’s castle full of treasure is hidden inside the mountain, and for decades the legend drew gold hunters, who eventually destroyed the summit chapel. The poet Miodrag Pavlović wrote the poem “Divno čudo” (“Splendid Wonder”) about Rtanj. More recently, stories of energy, pyramids and unexplained phenomena have grown around the mountain. At Vrelo, at its foot, many still come to recharge.
Hiking Rtanj
Marked trails lead to Šiljak from the north, from the mining settlement of Rtanj, and from the south, from the Sokobanja side. The climb takes three to four hours, and the last stretch below the summit is steep. The most beautiful way is to leave at night and watch the sunrise from the top; if you do not know the trail, go with a guide.
Rtanj in the golden hour and at night
The village sits so that before sunset the light pours straight across the meadows and the grove. For half an hour the whole camp glows gold: the shade sails, the tents, the people and the dust in the air. It is a moment the village waits for, best watched from the meadow facing Rtanj. There is no light pollution above the village, so every clear night the Milky Way is visible to the naked eye, with the peak of Rtanj outlined below it like a black pyramid. Every August we watch the Perseid meteor shower from the village.
Rtanj through the seasons
Where to stay on Rtanj
The Pyramid Village camp and eco village is in Ilino, at the foot of Rtanj, facing Šiljak. You sleep in your own tent, a hammock, a tipi or a campervan, and every stay includes the kitchen, showers, drinking water and parking.
