Continuing south, the river enters Kosovo and passes through Gazivode, Zubin Potok, Ugljare, Zupče and Shipol, reaching the city of Mitrovica.

There, it makes a sharp, elbow turn to the north, flowing through Zvečan, Slatina, Sočanica, Leposavić, Dren and Lešak, entering southwestern Serbia at the village of Jarinje.

At Mitrovica, the river enters a minerals and ore-rich area of the western slopes of Kopaonik mountain, which it follows for the next 100 km (62 mi) or so.

Entering southwestern Serbia again, the river receives its major tributaries: the Raška, Studenica and Lopatnica, from the left, and the Jošanica.

The whole area is 110 km (68 mi) long (meridionally stretched), and at Serbia's parts is popularly divided into several colorfully named valleys: The gorge is carved between the mountains of Golija, Čemerno and Troglav from the east, and Kopaonik, Željin and Stolovi from the west.

A detailed project was drafted, all studies were conducted, a joint Serbian-Italian company for construction of the facilities was formed, and the parliament ratified the agreement.

Studies envisioned tourism development with ten small, cascade reservoirs, but also concluded that the stable water levels woul prevent floods and benefit the fish spawning, including species presently not inhabiting Ibar, like carp or zander, which could be introduced.

Ratification of the agreement expired in 2021, but some experts publicly revived the idea in January 2023, as the project is generally not considered complicated and expensive.