The Šargan Eight — Serbia's Figure-of-Eight Mountain Railway

Some railways were built to be beautiful. The Šargan Eight was built to solve a problem — and ended up one of the most charming little railways in Europe by accident.

The problem was height. When Austria-Hungary pushed its narrow-gauge line through these mountains toward Sarajevo and the sea, it met the steep wall of the Šargan pass and could find no gentle way up. The answer, opened in 1925, was audacious: instead of climbing straight, the track was laid in a giant figure of eight, looping back over and under itself through a spiral of tunnels so that the little train could gain some 300 metres of height in barely fifteen kilometres. From the right hillside you can watch it pass below you, then above you, on the same slope.

For half a century these 760 mm trains — nicknamed "Ćiro" — were the lifeline of the region, part of a web of narrow-gauge lines that reached all the way from Belgrade to Dubrovnik. Then, in 1974, the whole network was closed and left to the weeds. It might have vanished entirely. Instead, enthusiasts and the railway rebuilt the most spectacular stretch, tunnel by tunnel, and in 2003 the Šargan Eight reopened as a heritage line.

Today the restored "Nostalgija" train — sometimes a whistling steam engine, sometimes a vintage diesel — carries visitors up from the pretty village of Mokra Gora to the summit station of Šargan Vitasi and back, pausing at the viewpoints so everyone can lean out and photograph the loops. It sits in a gorgeous corner of western Serbia, below the Zlatibor highlands and beside film-director Emir Kusturica's wooden village of Drvengrad — a half-day of pure railway theatre in a landscape that deserves a weekend.

The ride begins at Mokra Gora, a village of steep meadows and wooden houses at the foot of the pass, where the little train waits at a neat period station with a water tower and a turntable. If you are lucky it is a steam engine at the head, breathing gently; on many days it is instead one of the line's vintage diesel railcars, no less characterful. Either way, the coaches are wooden-benched and open to the air, and the pace is a walking-speed amble made for looking.

Almost at once the work begins. The line curls out of the village and starts to climb, and within minutes you are into the first of the tunnels — there are twenty-two of them — bursting out each time onto a ledge with the valley dropping away below. This is the famous figure of eight: to gain height the track loops back on itself, so that the same slope carries the railway on two or even three levels. Look across the valley and you can often see the line you have just travelled, or the line you are about to.

The train pauses at the viewpoints — a real luxury of a heritage railway — and everyone piles out to photograph it curving over a green iron bridge or vanishing into the mountain. The high point, in every sense, is near the Šargan tunnel, the summit of the old line at over 800 metres, where the loops are most dramatic and the panorama over the wooded ridges of the Tara and Zlatibor country opens wide.

At the top comes Šargan Vitasi, a jewel of a station where the engine runs round its train for the descent. Then it all happens again in reverse — the bridges, the spirals, the sudden views — as the train drops back down to Mokra Gora. The whole excursion takes about two and a half hours, and it is impossible to do without grinning at least once at the sheer ingenuity of the thing.

The Šargan Eight runs as a tourist service, so it works to a seasonal timetable rather than a commuter one. In the main season the "Nostalgija" makes several there-and-back runs a day from Mokra Gora; in winter a single reduced service runs only as far as Jatare, part-way up.

Real departures from Mokra Gora, as of the 2026 season (roughly late March to early November):

Each round trip takes about 2½ hours with photo stops.

Good to know:

• Winter service. Outside the main season the train runs only Mokra Gora–Jatare, typically departing 11:30 and returning about 13:30 — a shorter ride that still takes in the loops.
• Steam is not guaranteed. Some departures are hauled by a restored steam locomotive, others by a vintage diesel railcar. If seeing steam matters to you, ask which trains are steam-hauled when you book — steam days are limited and often tied to weekends and events.
• Book ahead in high summer. The train is small and popular; summer weekends, school holidays and any Drvengrad festival dates can sell out. Reserve through the railway's booking centre where you can.
• Getting there. Mokra Gora has no useful main-line rail connection today; most visitors arrive by road from Zlatibor, Užice or Višegrad, or on an organised excursion.

Times as of the 2026 season and subject to change; the service is seasonal and steam haulage varies by day. Confirm current departures, running days and steam schedules with the operator before you travel (see the Tickets section below).

The Šargan Eight is run by Železnice Srbije — Serbian Railways — as a heritage attraction, and tickets are refreshingly simple and cheap. A standard adult return over the full Mokra Gora–Šargan Vitasi route costs around 1,500 dinars (roughly €13), with children half price; fares are a little higher on advertised steam runs.

Buy at the station in Mokra Gora on the day, or — better in high season — reserve ahead through the railway's booking centre, since the train is small and popular summer departures fill up. If you are travelling on an organised tour from Zlatibor or Belgrade, the ticket is usually bundled in.

Two things are worth checking before you go. First, the running day and time, because this is a seasonal service that thins out to a single winter train. Second, whether your chosen departure is steam- or diesel-hauled, if that matters to you — steam is used on selected days rather than every run. The railway's own page, linked below, carries the current timetable, prices and reservation details.

The railway is the centrepiece of a genuinely lovely region — the green, folded highlands of far-western Serbia — and it rewards more than a flying visit.

Right above the line is Drvengrad, also called Küstendorf or Mećavnik: the hilltop village of hand-built wooden houses created by the film director Emir Kusturica as a film set that became a real place. It has a church, cobbled square, cinema and restaurants, and hosts an international film and music festival in winter. It is a short drive or steep walk up from Mokra Gora and worth an afternoon.

A little further sits Zlatibor, Serbia's favourite mountain resort — pine forests, walking and cycling trails, a long panoramic gondola, and hearty highland cooking (try the smoked prosciutto, komplet lepinja and kajmak). It makes an ideal base, with far more beds and restaurants than Mokra Gora itself.

The wider area is full of surprises: the wild Tara National Park with its Drina river gorge and the much-photographed Drina river house perched on a rock near Bajina Bašta; the old Ottoman town and UNESCO bridge of Višegrad just over the border in Bosnia; and the monasteries and canyons of the Zlatibor district. Few railways sit in such a rich and beautiful corner.

Because the railway is a half-day excursion, most people sleep nearby and come to it for the ride — and the two obvious bases are Mokra Gora itself and the resort of Zlatibor.

In Mokra Gora you can stay right by the railway in family-run guesthouses and ethno-villages — clusters of wooden cottages with home cooking and mountain views, quiet and atmospheric once the day-trippers have gone. Up on the ridge, Drvengrad rents rooms in its wooden houses too, a unique (and pricier) place to wake up.

For more choice, base yourself on Zlatibor, half an hour away, which has everything from big spa hotels to small apartments and plenty of restaurants; it suits families and anyone wanting a few days of mountain air with the railway as one outing among many. The town of Užice and the Bosnian town of Višegrad are other practical stops.

Wherever you land, this is inexpensive, welcoming country — book ahead only for high-summer weekends, the ski season on Zlatibor, and the festival dates at Drvengrad, when the whole area fills up.