Rakovica is located in the valley of the
Topčiderka river, where the brook of
Rakovički potok flows into the river
Sava, 9-10 kilometers (~6 mi) from
Terazije, downtown Belgrade. The neighborhood developed between two large woods,
Košutnjak on the north and
Manastirska šuma, on the south, north of the
Rakovica monastery. It is bordered by the neighborhoods of
Kanarevo Brdo on the north-east,
Miljakovac on the east,
Kneževac on the south and
Vidikovac and
Skojevsko Naselje on the west. As in many cases, the boundaries between the neighborhoods are not firmly set, so in some parts Rakovica overlaps with Kneževac or Miljakovac, for example. The neighborhood of
Selo Rakovica (Village Rakovica) is some 6-7 kilometers (~4 mi) further to the east, belongs to the municipality of Voždovac and is generally not associated with the term Rakovica. Rakovica covers an area of . It is located in a hilly area, with numerous hillocks out of which many got urbanized and developed into Belgrade neighborhoods:
Miljakovac (193m/633 ft),
Petlovo Brdo (205m/673 ft; the top of the hill is in the municipality of Čukarica),
Kanarevo Brdo,
Labudovo Brdo,
Straževica, Košutnjak, Vidikovac, etc. The municipality mostly lies in the valley of the Topčiderka river. There are numerous other streams in the area, most of which flow into the Topčiderka: Rakovički potok,
Jelezovac, Zmajevac,
Pariguz, Kijevski potok, etc. Central and northern sections of the municipalities are wooded areas. Entire northern section actually covers the southern part of the large park-wood Košutnjak, while the woods of Miljakovac and Manastir (
Miljakovačka šuma and
Manastirska šuma) are located in the central parts, on the slopes of the hills of Miljakovac and Straževica, respectively. ==Neighborhoods==