Prepare your camera, with the landscapes of Durmitor you will not stop clicking!
Montenegro, the hidden pearl of the Balkans, is on the rise . Caressed by the Adriatic and dotted with mountains, the country is becoming a key point of tourism in Eastern Europe . Travel to your capital Podgorica , it is getting cheaper and the possibilities of this Balkan enclave as a base settlement to visit other countries should not be overlooked.
Known for its beaches, **from the Bay of the Mouths of Kotor to Ulcinj **, on the border with Albania, through **the partying Budva or the spectacular and visited Sveti Stefan beach **; however, few know **the spectacular mountains and hiking trails that Montenegro has to offer**. The Durmitor National Park , the largest of the five national parks in the country, stands imposingly in northeast Montenegro, watered by two of the most important rivers, the Tara and the Piva.
Whoever thinks that crystal clear waters are only a thing of beaches, does not know the rivers of Montenegro.
With mountains of more than 2000 meters, a canyon, the Tara, which takes away sleep, 18 glacial lakes -called by the locals the eyes of the mountains- and the highest peak in the country, the Bobotov kuk (2,522m), Durmitor National Park offers endless walks and activities for all ages : bike routes, rafting, canyoning, kayak routes and walks around one of its greatest attractions, **Crno, the Black Lake **.
An ideal destination, as well as economical, **for lovers of nature and adventure activities**, for families with children or for all those who want to spend a couple of days away from the noise, reading on the porch of a mountain cabin.
ARRIVE AND STAY IN DURMITOR
Montenegro is a small country and it is not difficult to move from any part of the country to another. Several buses a day leave from Podgorica to Žabljak, the epicenter of the park , but if you want to take advantage of the weekend, or the day (many people go to spend the day and return with the last bus) it is best to take the first one, around eight in the morning.
The full color range of green unfolds before your eyes in endless Durmitor landscapes.
The journey from the capital it's about three hours , about. From other popular destinations like Budva, Tivat or Kotor there are also buses. Although prepared excursions are offered, it is best to get to the park on your own and once there decide what you want to do depending on what the traveler feels like. There are no trains that go to the park.
**From Žabljak the traveler can travel to Zlatibor, in Serbia **, a beautiful little village, also in the mountains, with a lot of charm. There are also buses **to Belgrade and Novi Sad **, north of Serbia. To return to Kotor, the epicenter of the vast majority of travelers who visit Montenegro, there are a couple of buses a day. Several leave for Podgorica. If you don't have much time and you only have one day, it's worth it, because if you get to Žabljak at noon, you have time to do the most popular route, the one that surrounds the Black Lake.
However you arrive in Durmitor, the traveler should not forget a couple of essential things: Žabljak is located at 1,450 meters above sea level. , so even in summer it is necessary to carry an extra layer and, secondly, the park, very popular with Montenegrins, gets packed with people during the summer holidays. Better to book accommodation before going so as not to encounter any surprises.
The routes through Žabljak are a rest for the mind and a pleasure for the eyes.
It is especially difficult to find a place in the ** Hikers Den , by far the most popular accommodation ** -and cheap- for the most mountaineers. There, their managers, expert hikers who know all the routes at their fingertips, they provide information to everyone who stays there. They have an arsenal of boots to use for the clueless or clueless who has left them at home.
If the idea is not to do a lot of physical activity and enjoy more than a little wine with artisan cheese on a porch, the best thing will be find private accommodation (Real bargains are found on Airbnb) - At the hostel, guests go to bed relatively early so they can hit the road the next day.
Žabljak forms the central axis of the park.
In winter, Žabljak becomes the most popular ski resort in the country, as it has snow 120 days a year. During the Christmas holidays, it is also advisable to make a reservation.
UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE
The entrance to the park costs three euros , but if an activity is done (rafting, kayaking or canyoning), the entrance is included. If you are fond of fishing, the traveler can purchase fishing licenses for one or several days, but only from May to October.
In addition to hiking -it is best to check at the visitor center because the routes will vary depending on the physical capacity of each traveler-, in Durmitor you can practice endless activities . I was able to rent a kayak to take a walk around the Black Lake, spend a day doing rafting either canyoning or enjoy local architecture and gastronomy.
Durmitor has 1,325 species of plants and trees. Conifers are its greatest treasure.
With peaks of more than 2,000 meters and with the Bobotov kuk reigning above all of them, Durmitor National Park, has national park status since 1952, was declared a UNESCO Natural Heritage Site in 1980 and is the largest protected area in Montenegro.
Situated in the Dinaric Alps mountain range, it has 1,325 species of plants and trees , many of them protected for their scientific importance. Its coniferous forests they have reserve status and are among the most important in Europe
**A ROUTE THROUGH THE CRNO, (BLACK LAKE-LAGO NEGRO) **
The most popular route, possibly the easiest and most accessible in the park, is the circular route through the Crno, the Black Lake , one of the main attractions of the area. In fact, many people travel in the same day from Podgorica and return to sleep in the capital.
Of the 18 glacial lakes in the park, the Black Lake is the best known and the largest . It is found in a coniferous forest below the Medjed, an imposing and beautiful mountain . The coniferous forest overlooks the lake turquoise-emerald color that characterizes it and water comes from rain, underground rivers and melting ice . The route that surrounds the lake, lasting approximately one hour, is accessible to all types of people and has all the necessary equipment (rest areas, signs and handles in some sections).
The Black Lake trails are one of the main tourist attractions in Durmitor.
Other popular routes, but for which a certain level of physical preparation is already required, are those that go to **Bobotov kuk (about six hours with a lot of unevenness) ** or **Ledena Pecina (Ice Cave, about three hours) * *. It is essential to check with the park's visitor center to get the maps, get advice on the route and check the weather conditions.
RAFTING AND CANYONING IN THE TARA CANYON
Something park visitors should not miss is a rafting session through the Tara river canyon , with 1,300 meters, is the deepest canyon in Europe and the second deepest in the world . This between Bistrica and Dobrilovina and it is near the entrance of the park, next to the virgin forest Crna Poda . The average age of the pines found in the forest is 400 years and many of them are over 50 meters high.
There are dozens of companies in Žabljak that offer canyon rafting, appropriate to the level that the visitor wants (highly recommended for families with children). The half-day excursion usually costs around 45 euros and the full-day one, around 100 . The more adventurous can also choose a two-day excursion, for 200 euros (they spend the night in a motel and the traveler, in addition to rafting, will have the possibility of visiting waterfalls and the longest and most impressive rapids of the river). The canyoning tour costs 100 euros, and a certain level of physical preparation is needed to be able to keep up. Not suitable for non-cardiacs!
Although the most popular thing is rafting during the summer, the locals prefer to do it during the spring, when the ice melts and when the river has more flow . Locals often consider summer rafting boring and “tourist-oriented”. Although it is not an activity with too much adrenaline, the truth goes ahead, the landscape is spectacular and it is worth taking a bath in the icy waters of the Tara.
For those who prefer the stronger emotions, rafting on the Tara River is your activity.
CULTURAL TOUR THROUGH THE PARK
Although nature is the absolute protagonist, the traveler can also dedicate a day to culture in the park . To do this, you can not miss visiting the Djurdjevica Bridge , which crosses the Tara River, built from 1937 to 1940 and one of the symbols of the park. If you go rafting, the traveler will pass below, enjoying impressive views, but if you cross above, you will see the canyon in its maximum splendor. It measures 365 meters long and has a height of 172 meters . It highlights the beauty and elegance of its arches. Before you could do bungee jumping, but for a few years they banned it.
You can also visit the three monasteries hidden in the valley: the Monastery of Saint George, in Dobrilovina; the Monastery of the Assumption of the Virgin, in Covolja or the Monastery of the Archangel Michael, in Djurdjevica . Some houses of traditional architecture stand out in Žabljak, scattered throughout the town and one of the most important sites in the country: the medieval fortification of Pirlitor , which formerly belonged to Herzegovina.
Gastronomically, Durmitor has nothing to envy the rest of the country. Roast lamb with potatoes, polenta or cicvara (with cheese or milk or cream and cornmeal), cheese and yogurt are common dishes, as well as smoked meat , very popular in all the countries of the Balkan region.
Leave the vertigo behind to visit the Djurdjevica Bridge.