Visiting Durmitor National Park, Montenegro: Europe’s Hidden Gem

Mr AW and I recently visited Durmitor National Park, Montenegro’s largest protected area and one of its main tourist attractions. Still not very touristy yet, Durmitor National Park is definitely an underrated place which quite surprised me. It’s incredible that there were so many moments when there was no one around us and it was just the two of us enjoying the spectacular scenery and awe-inspiring vistas.

How to get to Durmitor National Park

We drove to Durmitor National Park as a day trip from Kotor. It took us around 3 hours and the drive, although long, was quite easy and straightforward. If you’d like to stay closer or are planning to spend more than a day in the area, the little town of Žabljak is best suited to explore the national park. Although Žabljak can be reached by public transport from Podgorica, you would need a car to get around and explore various places in the region.

We found the roads to be well-maintained and a seasoned driver should be able to tackle the twists and turns and the oncoming traffic on narrow roads. Be mindful of the speed limits because usually there’s police stationed on the side of the roads checking for speed violations.

Things to do

Durmitor National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is a part of the Dinaric Alps. It is made up of beautiful rivers and glacial lakes, dense coniferous pine forests and craggy mountain peaks. In the winter months, it is popular for skiing and snowboarding while summer activities include general sightseeing, hiking and water sports. Since we were only visiting the national park for a day, we decided to see the following three main places.

Black Lake (Crno Jezero)

Our first stop in Durmitor National Park was Black Lake. It is the largest glacial lake in the area and considering the number of tourists, probably the most popular too. It is easily accessible and is just a short walk from the car park.

Crno Jezero or Black lake is actually made up of two lakes separated by a strait which is only revealed once the water starts drying up in the summer months. With the sun and the clouds playing hide and seek, the colour of the lake shifted from brilliant blue of the sky to emerald green and moody black from the shadows cast by the surrounding pine forests.

If you are up for some activity, there is an easy 3.5 km walking trail that runs around the lake. We preferred walking around for a little while and then spent some time sitting by the lake.

Good to know:

There are public toilet facilities. However, please note that they are of the squatting-style. It was quite muddy and not very well-maintained.
Entry fee: €3 per person
Parking fee: €2

Tara River Bridge (Đurđevića Tara Bridge)

The next stop on our itinerary was the Tara River Bridge. This 365m long bridge stands 172m above the Tara River and has 5 arches. Tara river canyon is the deepest canyon in Europe, 2nd in the world, after the Grand Canyon in US. Standing tall, amidst the canyon is the magnificent bridge that we drove across to park on the other side.

It is possible to walk on the bridge on narrow footpaths and there was no way we were going to miss the opportunity to gaze down on the turquoise blue Tara river cutting through the canyon. Rafting is a popular activity in the region and so is zip-lining across the canyon.

There’s a little cafe on the side of the bridge, ideally placed to admire the amazing combination of nature and architecture. We struck a conversation with the cafe owner who told us how the bridge was built in the late 1930’s but the central arch was blown up in order to stop an Italian advance. It was later repaired and rebuilt in 1946.

As if on cue, it started to rain with the verdant green valley reminding me of Indian monsoons. We left with the image of the turquoise blue Tara river snaking through the lush green gorge, an image hard to forget!

Good to know:

We parked for free next to the cafe. (Coordinates for the parking – 43.1508028, 19.2959217).

Driving the spectacular P14 road through Sedlo Pass

In order to reach our third and final stop, we had to drive through the Sedlo Pass on the P14 road. Running between Žabljak and Plužine, this highest mountain pass in Montenegro is considered as one of the best and most difficult drives in Montenegro.

The narrow winding road required us to be very careful while passing the oncoming vehicles – a lot of give and take happened. While Mr AW enjoyed being behind the wheels, I was clutching the seats with both my hands, torn between keeping my eyes closed shut and looking wide-eyed at the jaw-dropping landscape.

Driving the P14 road was an exhilarating and unforgettable experience with its hair-raising twists and turns, the sheer drops, the on-and-off rain and the dramatic mountain scenery.

Good to know

Please check the weather and road conditions before attempting to drive on P14.

Piva Lake

As we neared Piva Lake, I kept my eyes peeled to get a glimpse of its turquoise colour and when I did, I swear I shrieked with delight. With each winding turn, we saw more and more of that brilliant blue colour and I was simply mesmerised. The place is surreal!

We parked the car on the side of the road and stood at the edge looking down at the stunning work of nature. There was no one around except us and the peace and quietude I felt was profound.

Going further down, we crossed the bridge on the lake, to continue our journey back towards Kotor.

Good to know

The best pictures of Piva Lake are from the top. Just keep your fingers crossed for some lovely sunshine to see the bright turquoise colour of the lake!

Visiting the breathtaking Durmitor National Park was the best part of our Montenegro road trip. Although hectic as a day trip from Kotor, it was totally worth the effort.

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I hope you find this post useful if you too are planning to visit Montenegro. If you enjoyed this post, please leave me a comment and don’t forget to share on Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest. After all, sharing is caring 😉

Cheers,
Ameeta xx