Golija is a mountain range in the south-eastern part of Serbia. It belongs to the Dinarides Mountain System. The region’s boundaries are at the base of the masiff. It is built of Paleozoic schist and igneous rocks. The region has a continental mountain climate. The most impressive characteristic of this great mountain intersected by numerous rivers is vast forests of Balkan maple (Acer heldreichii) In the valley of the river Studenica, there is Studenica monastery, dating from the XIII century, and it is under UNESCO protection.
The dominant habitat types are mature mixed broadleaved and coniferous woodland, seasonally wet, and wet marshy grasslands. The natural potential vegetation is Fagetum montanum, Abieti-Fagetum, Piceetum excelsae montanum. On Golija mountain, the presence of 31 plant associations has been determined. Up to now, about 1100 plant species have been found in this region.
The butterfly fauna of this region has for the first time been investigated during the project, and a short visit late summer produced a list of 59 species. This region is therefore among the least studied and has a highly insufficient level of fauna knowledge. The vertical distribution of vegetation belts and numerous habitats are the basis of this mountain’s abundance of fauna. This PBA hosts a nationally important population of Boloria titania.