Locality with the strange name “Djavolja Varos” belongs to a village, of also very strange name Djake (from a Turkish word “gjak” –blood), between 660 and 700 m above the sea level which is on the municipality of Kursumlija territory. Earth figures or as the local people call them “ towers” are situated in two ravines separated by narrow watershed whose initial parts connect with the unique erosive ornament, dreadfully destructed by erosive processes. Ravines also have strange names: one of them is “Djavolja Jaruga” ( “Devil’s ravine”)and the other “Paklena Jaruga”(“Hell Ravine”).

 

There are altogether 202 earth pillars of distinctive forms and dimensions, height from 2 to 15m, width from 0,5 to 3m, with stone caps on the top. They are formed as a result of a specific erosive process which has been going on for centuries. Pillars are formed, increase, change, decrease, gradually (very slowly) disappear and are formed again. The gust of raindrops causes dissolvent and carrying away loose layers of ground. However, material which is under stone blocks is protected from “bombarding” by raindrops and rinsing, so it stays on the terrain in the shape of formed earth pillars- figures.

 

Increasing the height of the pillars is enabled by fast linear, directed erosion of water which flows around their foot rinsing the material. As the slope of the terrain where figures are formed very steep vertical erosion dominates over side erosion, what hastens carrying the material away and enables forming new pillars.

 

This way formed earth pillars other climatic factors (wind, sun rays, temperature change, etc) are shaped into earth figures of strange shape and appearance, and the longer you watch them the more strange they look, not only in their shape and size, but incredible static stability. It looks surreal, that one earth figure three meters wide in its basis, and ten or more meters high in its top ends in thickness from 20-30 cm and stays for decades and centuries under the burden of a heavy stone block of a hundred and more kilograms …

 

This geographical phenomenon is unique in our country and is very rare in the world. Phenomena which are distributed through Europe in the Alps (from both sides of the saddle Brener in Austria and Italy, at Bolcano, then in Valerian, in the region of Gornja Savoja, in France, etc), or in America known as “the Garden of Gods”, similar only by its form, but not in geological material of which they are formed.

 

One more natural rarety in “Djavolja Varos” are two water springs of very rare traits.”Djavolja voda” which is situated in the immediate vicinity of earth pyramids in “Djavolja Jaruga” is cold and extremely acid (ph 1.5) spring with high mineralization (15 g/l water).
Some elements consistence (aluminum, iron, potassium, copper, nickel, sulfur) is extremely high in relation to usual drinking water, in other words is increased from 10 to 1000 times. “Crveno vrelo” (“Red spring”) is another spring which is situated downstream, about 400 m from the first spring on alluvial terrace, more exactly on flat terrain. It is less acid (pH 3,5) and with lower general mineralization (4.372 mg/l water). Due to the flat terrain its water runs in a very thin layer and flows into the river bed of Zuti potok (Yellow stream). Because of iron oxidation which water contains in great amounts there is a red terrace in the shape of a fan which is very attractive in the surrounding.

 

Beside the mentioned rarities, on this region which is proposed for the world natural heritage, there are relief shapes formed during the effusion and breach of volcanic rocks by now mainly destroyed by exterior elements (river erosion, rinsing and rock destruction):

• Sokolov vis (1370 m above the sea level) spreads on north-east/ south-west of 8 kilometres. From relief shapes dominate pyramid of previous volcanoes, and by its characteristic form it is easy to notice a double pyramid whose tops are almost the same height: western 1370m, and eastern 1368m.
• South from Djavolja Varos there is a volcanic pyramid named Ivan kula (886
  m above the sea level), with the debris of a medieval city, according to the
  tradition of the castle of Kosancic Ivan.