Mountain Avala

Mountain Avala is located 16 kilometers south of Belgrade and it is most well-known for the Monument to the Unknown Hero and the Avala Tower. It is one of the favorite picnic (excursion) destinations of the inhabitants of Belgrade. With 511 meters, Avala is the highest mountain in the near proximity of the capital. Avala also has cultural and historical importance and it is ideal for anyone that enjoys hiking, walking, nature and recreational activities.

From the base of the mountain to the top leads a road which is 8 km long. For those that enjoy walking there is also a hiking path (1.3 km long) which you can decide to take if you want to see firsthand all that Avala has to offer. In 1938, the monument to the Unknown Hero was built on the top of the mountain, in honor of the soldiers killed during the wars between 1912-1918. The monument has a shape of a mausoleum with caryatids that represent women in traditional national costumes from different parts of the former Yugoslavia.
On the lower peak of the Mountain there is the Avala Tower which represents one of the main symbols of Belgrade with its 204 meters. The Tower was built in 2010 instead of the tower built in 1965. The old tower was destroyed in the NATO aggression in 1999. The tower is equipped with two elevators; it has a restaurant on the 119^th meter and a beautiful viewpoint on the 122^nd meter, from where you can enjoy a beautiful view on Belgrade and its surroundings.

Just near the top of the mountain there is a restaurant-hotel where you can relax after long walks and have a drink or something to eat. Also, at the base of the mountain you can find many restaurants with traditional Serbian food and specialties.

Ticket prices for the Avala Tower near Belgrade
Regular ticket price is: 200 RSD.
Reduced ticket price (students and retired individuals) is: 100 RSD.
Free entrance: children younger than 7 years, disabled individuals and their companions.
VIP ticket (visit to the tower and a drink in the tower’s bar): 400 RSD.

Working hours of the Avala Tower near Belgrade
Winter working hours
From Monday to Sunday working hours are: 9:00-17:00h.
Spring working hours
From Monday to Sunday working hours are: 9:00-19:00h.
Summer working hours
From Monday to Sunday working hours are: 9:00-20:00h.
The Tower is closed when the wind speed is greater than 13 m/s.

Interesting facts

Name Avala was derived from the Arabic word “havala” which means a viewpoint.
Avalit mineral was named after the Mountain Avala on which it was first found.
All other countries, participants of the First World War have a monument to the Unknown Soldier, while only in Serbia there is a monument to the Unknown Hero.
On the top of the Avala Mountain there was a Medieval city Žrnov which protected the roads to Belgrade and local silver and mercury mines.
On the road that leads to the top of the mountain there is a monument to “Soviet war veterans” who died in that location after the plane crush accident in 1964. These war veterans participated in the liberation of Belgrade from the Nazi Germany during the Second World War. On the monument it is written: “Here, in the morning of October, 19^th 1964, lost their lives Soviet Heroes, our brothers in arms and our friends.