NAME AND TYPE OF PROTECTED NATURAL AREA
Special Nature Reserve "Jelašnička klisura" (Jelašnica river gorge)
NATIONAL CATEGORY
Protection category Ι – protected area of international, national, that is, of exceptional importance
AREA
115,73 ha
PROTECTION REGIMES
Protection degree II
MUNICIPALITY
Niš, cadastre municipalities Čukljenik and Jelašnica
LEGAL PROTECTION IN THE PAST
Without protection status prior to 1995
LEGAL ACT ON PROTECTION
Decree on the designation of the Special Nature Reserve "Jelašnica river gorge" ("Official Gazette of RS", No. 9/1995)
MANAGING ENTITY
PE "Srbijašume"
SHORT DESCRIPTION (THE MAIN NATURAL AND CREATED VALUES)
Jelašnica river gorge has been protected in order to conserve the habitats of natural rarities, endemic-relict species of Serbian ramonda (Ramonda serbica Pancic), Natalie's ramonda (Ramonda nathaliae Pancic), Serbian pellitory (Parietaria serbica Pancic), as well as 39 Moesian, 20 Balkan and 6 Illyrian endemics and sub-endemics, including the conservation of the special natural value of Jelašnica river gorge with rich and diverse morphological elements.
The river gorge is located in Ponišavlje, about ten kilometers east of the City of Niš. It extends in the northwest-southeast direction. The gorge was created by intense vertical cutting of the Jelašnica river into limestone rocks, resulting in a narrow valley of steep slopes about 1.5 kilometers long. Sections of the gorge are terraced and eroded by water into rocky promontories, solitary ridges and columns. The rich morphology, which gives the gorge a very attractive appearance, is complemented by specific forms of karst erosion: holes in the rocks, rock shelters, cavities and caverns in the rocks. The holes in the rocks of Kulina and Saint Elijah are distinguished here for their magnificent size, beauty and the bizarreness of location.
The area of Jelašnica gorge, as a habitat of numerous relict and endemic species, is of great importance for studying the history of the living world of the Balkan region. Symbols of this gorge are: Serbian ramonda (Ramonda serbica) and Natalie's ramonda (Ramonda nathaliae), the tertiary relics of the Balkans. Jelašnica gorge, in addition to Sićevo gorge, is the only site in the Balkans where a contact zone between these two endemorelic species has been established. In this gorge, these two species form a globally significant community of Ramondetum nathaliae – serbicae.
Special Nature Reserve "Jelašnička klisura" (Jelašnica river gorge)
NATIONAL CATEGORY
Protection category Ι – protected area of international, national, that is, of exceptional importance
AREA
115,73 ha
PROTECTION REGIMES
Protection degree II
MUNICIPALITY
Niš, cadastre municipalities Čukljenik and Jelašnica
LEGAL PROTECTION IN THE PAST
Without protection status prior to 1995
LEGAL ACT ON PROTECTION
Decree on the designation of the Special Nature Reserve "Jelašnica river gorge" ("Official Gazette of RS", No. 9/1995)
MANAGING ENTITY
PE "Srbijašume"
SHORT DESCRIPTION (THE MAIN NATURAL AND CREATED VALUES)
Jelašnica river gorge has been protected in order to conserve the habitats of natural rarities, endemic-relict species of Serbian ramonda (Ramonda serbica Pancic), Natalie's ramonda (Ramonda nathaliae Pancic), Serbian pellitory (Parietaria serbica Pancic), as well as 39 Moesian, 20 Balkan and 6 Illyrian endemics and sub-endemics, including the conservation of the special natural value of Jelašnica river gorge with rich and diverse morphological elements.
The river gorge is located in Ponišavlje, about ten kilometers east of the City of Niš. It extends in the northwest-southeast direction. The gorge was created by intense vertical cutting of the Jelašnica river into limestone rocks, resulting in a narrow valley of steep slopes about 1.5 kilometers long. Sections of the gorge are terraced and eroded by water into rocky promontories, solitary ridges and columns. The rich morphology, which gives the gorge a very attractive appearance, is complemented by specific forms of karst erosion: holes in the rocks, rock shelters, cavities and caverns in the rocks. The holes in the rocks of Kulina and Saint Elijah are distinguished here for their magnificent size, beauty and the bizarreness of location.
The area of Jelašnica gorge, as a habitat of numerous relict and endemic species, is of great importance for studying the history of the living world of the Balkan region. Symbols of this gorge are: Serbian ramonda (Ramonda serbica) and Natalie's ramonda (Ramonda nathaliae), the tertiary relics of the Balkans. Jelašnica gorge, in addition to Sićevo gorge, is the only site in the Balkans where a contact zone between these two endemorelic species has been established. In this gorge, these two species form a globally significant community of Ramondetum nathaliae – serbicae.
