After a series of activities that tied us to the city, we haven't been in nature for a long time and we really wanted to put on our magical hiking boots that will take us to nature. When we saw the forecast for Sunday, December 14, 2025, we decided to go to Manjača.
We invited our consul Zvone Žigon and his wife Irena to join us and discover the beauties of Manjača.
The morning in the city was not promising, it was foggy and the temperature was low. But we were lucky and as soon as we climbed to Han Kola, the sun began to break through the fog. In Stričići, the sun was shining brightly, the temperature was 6C degrees, no wind, just great. Ideal. The plan was to climb the peak of Grčka Gradina (995 m above sea level), and then go to the Mačkića Kamen viewpoint. And so we did. As we climbed towards the top, the sun kindly caressed us, while the valley was filled with a fog reminiscent of the sea. We were in no hurry, we breathed fresh mountain air and enjoyed the view. When we got to the top, everything in the distance was covered in fog, only the peak of Kozara, Lisina, which we recognized by the relays, was shyly emerging. Since we didn't have breakfast at home, we decided to have breakfast. As our hiker says, the most beautiful part of hiking. We took out homemade bacon, cracklings, ajvar and other goodies from our backpacks. Olga also brought a bag that she made for the Christmas Cake Festival. Of course, we toasted this beautiful day with homemade plum brandy. Then we took pictures and headed down the hill. We decided to drink coffee in a local pub before going to the viewpoint. There we learned a lesson about types of coffee from a very nice waitress and had a good laugh. We really enjoyed the coffee and then we went to the viewpoint. In Sitnica, we turned right towards the village of Mačkići. The viewpoint is not far from the road, about two kilometers, we did not go along the macadam road but through the meadow. The sun, our faithful companion, did not allow the fog to rise and obscure our view. When we entered the forest, at one point we thought that we would not find the viewpoint, because the fog began to creep through the forest and slightly obscured the sun. However, thanks to the assistance of the sun, we managed to find the viewpoint and take very interesting pictures. Satisfied and in a good mood, we headed back, but we knew that we had to return to enjoy the view from the viewpoint without the fog in the valley.
That's how we marked International Mountain Day, December 11, walking along the hospitable, sun-lit Manjača.
Ljiljana Memon
