TheBalkanPeninsulaisnotoriousforbeingoneofthegreatbattlegroundsofhistory.Andyet,itpossessesanothersideunknowntomany,whereancientforestsandvastwetlandsharborpristinewilderness,andsheercliffwallsanddesolateplateauspreserveaseeminglyunchangedpast.Surveyingthesestrikingandstarklandscapes,onemightthinkthey’veventuredintotheMiddle-earthofJ.R.R.Tolkien’sLordoftheRings. IndeedtheBalkanPeninsulaishometoavarietyofregionsthatborderonmythical.InCroatia’sKopackiRitWetlands,landmineskeeppeopleaway,butenablenativewildlifetothrive.Furthersouth,Montenegro’sTaraRivercarvesthroughEurope’slongestanddeepestcanyon,andneighboringforestsproviderefugetorareanimalssuchastheBalkanLynx.Totheeast,millionsofbirdsflocktotheDanubeDeltatofeastonswarmsofmosquitoes.AndatthewestoftheBalkansisSkadarLake,aremarkablelandscapeofpeaksandwater. Thisisajourneytoaworldseeminglyforgottenbytime.ThisisthewildBalkans.
