Valevo and Valevo Monasteries

Program

• Travel to Valevo, 100 km southwest of Belgrade. Valevo is one of the oldest cities in Serbia, where many writers, artists, and scholars were born. Walk through the old Turkish bazaar and Desanka's square. Visit the National Museum, the Muselim's palace, and Luba Popovich's national gallery.
• Chelie Monastery Located 6 km southwest of Valevo on the banks of the Gradac River, this monastery dates back to the 13th century. Folk legends connect its foundation to King Dragutin. The monastery has been destroyed and rebuilt multiple times, serving as a hospital and later as an elementary school.
• Lelech Monastery - one of the newest and most beautiful monasteries. It is located in the village of Lelech. The monastery was founded by Saint Nicholas Velimirovich and his father Dragomir in 1929 and dedicated to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. The relics of Saint Nicholas Velimirovich, who reposed in 1956 in America, were brought to Lelech from America on May 12, 1991. Lelech has become a place of pilgrimage for Orthodox Serbs.
• Option for lunch at a national restaurant with authentic Serbian dishes and drinks.
• Desert Monastery located in the beautiful valley of the Yablanica River. It was probably built by King Dragutin in the 13th century on the site of an 11th-century basilica. The walls of this monastery, built in the Raska architectural style, have been destroyed, burned, and restored many times, yet many well-preserved frescoes remain, notably the winged Saint John, often compared to the White Angel from the Mileseva Monastery.
• Return to Belgrade in the evening.