A  |   |  01.04.2025. 09:13

Kopaonik is, without a doubt, the best mountain resort in Serbia. I love it with my whole heart – the snowy slopes, the pine-scented air, the golden sunsets, the energy in the air. There’s real magic here, and I’ve created some of the best memories of my life on this mountain. It should be a paradise. But each year, I return with more disappointment than the last.

The problems begin before you even arrive. The roads in and around the resort are in terrible condition – potholed, cracked, uneven, and neglected. It’s simply not what a national treasure deserves. And once you get there, you’re thrown into chaos: parking is overpriced, disorganized, and incredibly stressful. It feels like they actively discourage you from bringing a car, without offering any viable alternative.

Walking around is equally frustrating. In winter, pedestrian paths are buried under mountains of snow. When it starts to thaw, the entire resort turns into a swamp of mud and water – even the central square. It’s not just unpleasant, it’s borderline dangerous, and there''s clearly no plan in place for handling these conditions.

The ski infrastructure is outdated and overwhelmed. Chairlifts are old, slow, and uncomfortable. Despite a growing number of visitors, there are no new lifts, no new slopes, no investment in capacity or experience. Queues are long and chaotic, made worse by a total lack of crowd control. People cut in, push through, and no one seems to care. Staff stand by, doing nothing.

And yes, people smoke on the chairlifts. In 2025. On a public ski lift. It’s unpleasant, unhealthy, and unsafe – and there’s no enforcement, no supervision, and apparently no rules.

Even worse, there are no ski patrols present on the slopes to maintain order and safety. On green and blue slopes, where families and beginners should feel safe, you’ll often see reckless skiing, speeding, and dangerous behavior – and no one does anything to stop it. There’s no visible authority on the mountain ensuring skiers follow basic rules of safety and respect. It’s lawless, and it puts people at risk.

All of this comes with rising costs. Skipasses are more expensive every season, with no added value. Accommodation prices are skyrocketing, even though many buildings are aging, poorly built, or completely out of sync with the mountain’s natural charm.

If you’re a skier, basic amenities are shockingly scarce. Lockers are few and far between. You''re left dragging gear around or stashing it wherever you can. Public toilets are nonexistent. For a resort of this size, this is unacceptable.

Overdevelopment is suffocating the mountain. New buildings appear constantly – most of them ugly, cheaply built, and disrespectful to the landscape. Construction is everywhere. The soul of the mountain is being buried under concrete and short-term thinking.

In summer, it’s not much better. Facilities for hikers and nature lovers are severely lacking. Trails are poorly marked, and maps – when available – are low-resolution, badly designed, and often outdated. There’s an abundance of third-party companies offering overpriced quad bikes, bicycles, and various activities, with little to no visible safety oversight. The focus seems to be on monetizing everything, not providing a quality or safe experience.

There are few amenities for summer visitors – again, no public toilets, and a shocking lack of trash cans on the mountain.

Information boards are broken or missing. Pathways and public areas are in disrepair. It genuinely feels like no one responsible for the resort actually skis, hikes, or even walks around the mountain they’re supposed to be managing.

And yet, I still love Kopaonik. That’s what makes this so painful. This place could be world-class. It deserves care, vision, and pride. Instead, it’s being worn down by greed, mismanagement, and neglect.

Please – if anyone truly cares – protect Kopaonik. Fix what’s broken. Restore what made it magical. Don’t let one of Serbia’s most beautiful places fall further into ruin.

2+3 = (malim slovima)