Nisava River
Nisava River is the longest river and the biggest confluent of Morava River. The source of Nisava River is in Bulgaria. In Serbia Nišava River flows in length of 151 km, through Dimitrovgrad, Pirot, Bela Palanka and Niš basins. During history, the Nišava River had created wonderful 17 km-long majestic Sićevo canyon which represents unique natural reservation and provides more or less demanding hikes to the memorable observation points. “
The Geo strategic significance of the natural transportation route along the course of Nisava River which links the Morava Valley and the Sofia Basin, certainly influenced the economic and cultural movements between the central Balkans, Thrace, the Black Sea and the Aegean. As a result of the rescue excavations conducted along the E-80 route (Nis–Dimitrovgrad motorway), several sites have been explored, including two necropolises from the Iron Age which, it is believed, will contribute to gaining a clearer insight into the chronological span, as well as certain ethnic questions related to the Paleo-Balkan communities of eastern Serbia”. A. Kapuran, M. Blagojević. D. Bizjak – SETTLEMENTS AND NECROPOLISES OF THE EARLY IRON AGE ALONG THE MIDDLE COURSE OF THE NIŠAVA RIVER”
In the Sićevo Gorge area there are numerous monuments of culture, such are Medieval Monasteries of Sveta Petka in the Ostrovica village, Monastery of the Holy Virgin – Sveta Bogorodica or Sveta Petka in Sićevo, built in 1644, other churches as the Church of the Holy Prophet Elias, and ruins of the renown Roman road of “Via militaris”. There have been two hydro power plants built in 1908 on Nišava River in Serbia – the Sićevo and Sveta Petka plants according to plans, projects, ideas and inventions of Nikola Tesla. Those hydro power plants belong to the oldest hydro-power plants in Serbia and still today provide electricity for town of Nis. The Sveta Petka hydro power plant is located close to the Sveta Petka church are hence the name.
The old and extremely important roads such Via Militaris – the ancient Roman road and later the Turkish caravan road to Constantinople or Tsarigrad /present Istanbul/ used to pass through the Sicevo canyon. This part of Serbia recently became extremely interesting for archaeologists and anthropologists because of the Paleolithic settlement discovered in the Sicevo Gorge that is considered the richest in the Balkans. The fragment of a lower neanderthal jaw, complete with three teeth, and the neanderthal settlement and the remains of hominids were discovered in the small Balanica Pecina Cave in the Sicevo gorge in the Canyon of Sicevo. “It is a pre-Neanderthal jaw that we believe is between 130,000 to 250,000 years old”, say scholars.
The Sićevo Gorge provides its visitors various enjoyment in culture, nature and history explorations and discoveries, but also various outdoor activities as fishing, hunting, kayaking, rafting, hiking through magnificent nature, climbing and gliding.
