Very Scenic Section as far as Dernap
Donji Milanovac-Kladovo, Serbia
39 miles (63 km)
Total so far: 198 miles (319 km)
Ascent: 1493 ft (455 m); Descent: 1562 ft (476 m); Max Elevation: 771 ft (235 m)
Bicycling Serbia-Map=Donji Milanovac to Kladovo
Bicycling Serbia-Profile-Donji Milanovac to Klavodo
This is the most scenic section of the Danube Gorge. Most of the road is flat and paved with good smooth tarmac. There are, however, too short climbs that are quite easy and the third climb which is a 10% hill for almost 3 miles. It gains 630 feet of the total for the day. There are four more tunnels left to go through. Two of them are about 400 m long. The other two are very short. From Donji Milanovac to Tekija, there is no food or water or stores on this side of the river.
We noticed many more towns on the Romanian side, some quite large. Bikeline does not mention the difference between the two sides. These are some of our observations:
From Stara Palanka, where we crossed on the ferry to Ram, we could have stayed on the north side of the river and entered Romania shortly thereafter. The Romanian route is much flatter overall, with fewer and shorter ascents. It must be longer in miles because it dips into deep bays frequently. We only noticed one tunnel on the Romanian side.
When you reached the narrowest part of the gorge, the road on the Romanian side climbed steeply for a short distance and went inland, thus missing impressive views of the gorge. That climb, however on the Romanian side was much shorter than the big climb on the Serbian side.
Bicycling-Serbia_Donji-Milanovac-to-Kladavo
Also, after Orsova, Romania, we noticed heavy truck traffic all the way to DrobetaTurnu Severin, Romania. The quieter highway 57 had been joined by E70 which was like a freeway.
The Serbian side has steeper climbs. There are 21 tunnels to go through. Traffic is basically light; people are courteous and give cyclists plenty of room. There are fewer towns along the route for water and food stops. Traffic gets heavy after Dernap Dam.
The big climb starts about mile 17 and leads up to the fourth tunnel. There is a lot of rock fall that has made scars on the road. When we went through, there was a lot of debris on the cliff side of the road that had not been cleared off.
Bicycling-Serbia_Donji-Milanovac-to-Kladavo-
When you reach the fourth tunnel (which is the last tunnel going in this direction), just shortly after you will see the carved face of the Roman God Desebalus Rex on the Romanian side of the river. After the parking area at this view spot, the road continues to climb quite steeply. It’s an exhilarating ride down the other side which is also a 10% grade for about 2 miles. It’s a beautiful ride all the way to the Dernap Dam.
Bicycling-Serbia_Donji-Milanovac-to-Kladavo-approaching the narrows
Bicycling-Serbia_Donji-Milanovac-to-Kladavo
Bicycling-Serbia_Donji-Milanovac-to-Kladavo
Bicycling-Serbia_Donji-Milanovac-to-Kladavo-Mraconia Monastary
View of Desebalus Rex and the narrows
Bicycling-Serbia_Donji-Milanovac-to-Kladavo-Roman God Decebalus carving
Still climbing, look back for another stunning view of the narrows.
But once you enter the town, it has a nice pedestrian street with cafés and restaurants. The waterfront is not developed in the same way as other towns along the Danube. There is a lack of parks and greenery along the waterfront.After a long, wonderful downhill, the remainder of the ride to Kladovo is not particularly pleasant. Here the route changes from 25-1 to E771 which carries more traffic. EV 6, however, soon ducks down through a residential area to avoid the road. This area is very industrialized. The approach to Kladovo is not exactly impressive.
There are two hotels in Kladovo. One hotel Dernap costs about $60 a night and it’s a three star hotel. The rooms are clean but small. The new hotel in town is about $100 a night. There is a hostel up on the hill before you come into town. We did not check that out as we were hoping to find a room in town, but everything was full. We checked into Hotel Dernap.
This is the section we were interested in cycling. We hope this information helps you plan your trip. Please leave your comments if we have succeeded in doing that!
We are going to take the bus back to Belgrade and the train to Budapest where we plan to cycle the best parts EV 6 to France. There will be a short break in this itinerary as we plan to spend at least three days in Budapest.
