Category: Serbia

Cold water swimming may be the latest wellness trend but here at Undiscovered Balkans, we were doing it long before it became mainstream. When you live near some of Europe’s cleanest rivers and lakes, it’s impossible to resist. While our friends in the Nordic countries are credited with promoting the health benefits of cold water swimming (aka wild swimming), people in the Balkans have long been doing it for a different reason - religion. On epiphany (19th January), it’s tradition in Montenegro and Serbia to throw a cross in the water and race to catch it. As you can imagine, it’s pretty cold (5°C in Lake Skadar). Watch the 2024 epiphany swim in Podgorica, Montenegro. Temperatures are a little milder in the summer, but swim spots can range from a refreshing dip to a hair raising dunk guaranteed to deliver that adrenaline rush. Over the years, we’ve found some beautiful places for a swim in our Balkan destinations and so we're sharing some of our favourites below. From turquoise waterfalls to lilypad strewn lakes, read on for magical wild swims. The 6 best cold water swims in the Balkans The lakes and rivers listed below are some of the cleanest, wildest and downright most beautiful bodies of water in Europe (not that we’re biassed or anything) and we’ll get you in there at any opportunity during our trips. So, if you've never tried cold water immersion, now's your chance. We’ve listed them from coldest to warmest, depending on how brave you’re feeling. Neretva River, Bosnia & Herzegovina Winter maximum temperature: 1℃ Summer maximum temperature: 7℃   As the world’s coldest river, the Neretva River isn’t for the faint hearted. Fed by three alpine glaciers, the Neretva starts in Lebršnik Mountain in the Dinaric Alps and flows partly through Croatia into