The little wooden house balanced on the rock in the middle of the Drina near Bajina Bašta

Landmarks

Kuća na Drini — the house on the rock

Tara · Šumadija & Western Serbia

QUICK INFORMATION

CATEGORY
Landmarks
COUNTRY
Serbia
REGION
Tara · Šumadija & Western Serbia
DURATION
2–3 days

ABOUT THIS ATTRACTION

It began as a mountain hut’s joke: in 1968 a group of swimmers from Bajina Bašta wanted a base on the river, found the one rock midstream that floods never quite cover, and raised a cabin on it — carried board by board by kayak. Nine floods have covered the rock; the little house has survived them all, its roof washed and re-nailed, and today it is the Drina’s emblem: a wooden box balanced on white stone in green water, photographed from the road bridge a hundred metres away. The National Geographic published it in 2012 and the world came.

HISTORY & BACKGROUND

The story behind it

The house was built in 1968 by a group of young swimmers led by the Vlahović brothers, who used kayaks to ferry materials to the rock. The design has been renewed repeatedly after floods — most thoroughly after the great 2010 flood, when the house was rebuilt with help from donors after its image went viral. It is now maintained as a landmark of Bajina Bašta; the town has twice rejected proposals to commercialise the rock, leaving the house exactly what its builders intended — a swimming base that became a symbol.

WHAT TO SEE

What to see here

01

The cabin from the road bridge — the classic postcard angle.

02

Kayakers and swimmers circling the rock on summer mornings.

03

The Drina’s emerald water at its widest here — the regatta course.

GOOD TO KNOW

Facts & Curiosities

01

Built in 1968 by swimmers from Bajina Bašta; materials were ferried to the rock by kayak.

02

The rock floods almost every year — the house has been washed over and rebuilt at least nine times.

03

Featured by National Geographic in August 2012; the image travelled worldwide.

04

Best photographed from the Bajina Bašta road bridge — the rock is mid-river, 100 m off the bank.

MAP & LOCATION

Kuća na Drini — the house on the rock

Kuća na Drini — the house on the rock, Tara, Šumadija & Western Serbia, Serbia

43.8290, 19.3540

Open in OpenStreetMap

FOOD & DRINK

Where to eat nearby

01

Kaluđerske Bare’s mountain restaurants — grill, trout and the mountain honey

02

Bajina Bašta’s riverside kafanas on the Drina — fish from the river

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HOTELS & STAYS

Where to stay nearby

01

Kaluđerske Bare hotels and villas for the classic stay; village rooms in Perućac for the canyon side

02

Bajina Bašta town hotels (25 min) for the practical valley base

03

Drina-side bungalows and raft-house stays at Perućac and Rastište

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INTERESTS

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PART OF

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