Exploring Wild Montenegro: Durmitor National Park
You Can’t Always Get What You Want
We envisioned fresh crisp air kissing our faces and sun rays dancing on our skin as we explore and hike the rugged and dramatic Durmitor National Park. Our welcome to Žabljak was a late afternoon thunderstorm with 6 degree Celsius temperature. After a month of blazing Adriatic sunshine, the rain felt more like a blizzard to our suntanned bodies. The icy rainstorm completely shattered our visions of camping and hiking in alpine meadows surrounded by massive Montenegrin peaks. Like The Rolling Stones, “You can’t always get what you want.”
A vain attempt at packing light meant leaving our warmest clothes in a hostel on the beach and suddenly camping didn’t seem so alluring. We ducked into a nearby guesthouse to ride out the storm.
Hiking Black Lake
When the weather cleared 2 days later, we walked to the park entrance to get our first glimpse of this breathtaking Mother Nature’s gift. Durmitor National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site known for the numerable limestone peaks (there are 50 over 2000 meters) that tower over alpine valleys, lush forests of pine and beech, and 18 glimmering glacial lakes.
Black Lake (Crno jezerro), 2 km from Žabljak, is the largest and most accessible in the park. Black Lake is surrounded by a thick pine forest, and a 3.5 km hiking path weaves through the trees circling the lake.
The peaks of the Durmitor Massif tower in the distance, most notably the dome-shaped Međed Peak stands out. Numerous streams fill the lake and arriving during spring snow melt you will be treated to a variety of seasonal cascades.
The short paved path past the park entrance is lined with vendors selling local berries, honey, wild mushrooms, brandies and jams. If you haven’t sampled these local delicacies, this is a good place to start. The paths are flanked with wild blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, and mushrooms.
Hiking the Durmitor Massif
While most visitors concentrate on the walking trails around Black Lake, more adventurous types are attracted to numerous backcountry routes. The tallest peak in Durmitor is Bobotov Kuk (2523 meters, 8278 feet), and is the fourth tallest peak overall in Montenegro. A day hike from Žabljak to the summit takes 14 hours round trip, slightly less if you start from the parking lot at Black Lake (even less if you drive to a separate trailhead closer to the mountain). Or you can break it up by camping in a backcountry bivouac site. So if you’re into bagging peaks put this one on the list.
Ice Caves (Ledena pecina)
Aside from the bald-faced mountain peaks, the receding glaciers that formed the Durmitor Massif left one other anomaly in the form of an ice cave (Ledena pecina) full of ice stalagmites year round. From Žabljak, the round trip lasted about 8 ½ hours including breaks and descending inside the ice cave.
Hiking up the exposed rock under intense sun, it was hard to imagine there would be ice anywhere in these parched mountains, but the ice cave lived up to its name and delivered. As difficult an ascent the last kilometer was, it was nothing compared to the short descent into the cave on a slippery tongue of ice. Fortunately there is a cable bolted into the wall to hold on to.
The extreme temperature differential inside the cave means it’s nearly freezing inside. In fact it’s best to don your warmest layers before entering. The ice cave was an icicle palace that seems to have been the inspiration for the Disney movie Frozen.
Rafting in Europe’s deepest canyon
The natural flowing Tara River and its deep canyon (Tara River Gorge) are another natural treasure in Durmitor. The claims that this is the deepest canyon in Europe (1300 meters, 4265 feet) hold true after fact checking with National Geographic.
We figured a rafting trip down the river would be the best way to experience the Tara River Gorge, and we weren’t disappointed. From a rafting standpoint, there were no rapids greater than Class 2, but the clear water and vibrant scenery more than made up for it. We made the journey in August, so coming earlier in the season means more water and more action.
Žabljak
Žabljak is the nearest town to Durmitor National Park and is full of hotels, guesthouses, hostels and a variety of restaurants. Žabljak is a small town but it has everything you need. A variety of restaurants and regular supermarket where you can pick up supplies before heading into the backcountry. We came by bus from Kotor for 15 Euros per person 1-way (luggage is another 1 Euro).