Montenegro is full of so many beautiful National Parks! Each one is unique in its own way, yet all of them will leave you speechless, with the breathtaking views they have to offer!
There are five beautiful National Parks to visit in Montenegro:
- Durmitor National Park
- Lake Skadar National Park
- Lovcen National Park
- Biogradaska National Park
- Prokletije National Park
I have visited four out of the five National Parks. The one I’m yet to visit is Prokletije National Park!
On our trip to Montenegro, we only had limited time. Therefore, each of the four National Parks we visited, was a brief visit! We had enough time to get a little taster of what each of the National Parks had to offer. The taster of each one did not disappoint us. All four were equally as beautiful, leaving us craving to see more of what they have to offer!
Best To Get There
The best way to visit the National Parks is by car. We hired a car from Tivat Airport, for the full week. The roads are not in fantastic condition. They are narrow in some places, full of herping bends in the mountains and sheer drops at either side. Even though I said the best way to visit the National Parks is by car, I would only hire a car if you are a confident driver, as the roads can be very challenging. If driving is not for you, there are taxis and organised trips, which will take you to the National Parks.
Here is how we spent our time in the four National Parks:
Durmitor National Park
The Durmitor National Park is a massif, located in the northwest of Montenegro. It is part of the beautiful Dinaric Alps. Durmitor National Park’s highest peak is Bobotov Kuk, reaching a height of 2,523 metres above sea level.
If you are planning on driving around Durmitor National Park, the roads are not the easiest roads to drive on. A lot of them are single tracks; some are just gravel and some have big drops at the side with very limited safety barriers. To drive anywhere, prepare to take longer than expected. The roads can be very slow going!
Here are my ‘must see and do’s when visiting the Durmitor national park:
Black Lake/Crno Jezero
Black Lake is the largest glacial lake in Durmitor National Park, located on Mount Durmitor, at an elevation of 1,416 metres above sea level. The beautiful lake has a lovely backdrop of Medjed mountain peak, towering at a height of 2287 metres high.
At the time we visited, the lake cost us €3 each to visit. There is parking nearby and a short walk will be required along a well-worn path to the lake. Once you arrive at the lake, you then have the option to do a 3.5km walk around the lake. The 3.5 km walk should take you around 1.5 hours to complete. The trail can get very muddy; so don’t go wearing your best pair of trainers. If you own a pair of walking boots, you will be better off wearing them. I would have liked to have done this trial, however, we arrived too late in the day to be able to do so.
If walking isn’t your thing, you can always hire a boat out onto the lake!
Tara Canyon
Tara Canyon slices right through the mountains on the northern edge of Durmitor National Park. The Tara River runs right in the middle of the 1300 metre deep canyon. It is the world’s 2nd deepest canyon. The Grand Canyon beats it by just 200 metres deeper.
I have been told the best views of Tara Canyon are seen from the water, rafting along the river. We did get a chance to do rafting so I cannot talk from experience, only from what I have read.
If rafting isn’t your thing, another good way to view Tara Canyon is via Tara Bridge. You can walk or drive over Tara Bridge. Or if you are feeling even more adventurous, you could always zip-wire across it. I decided to just stick to walking across it. The bridge towers 150 metres high above the canyon, 365 metres in length, and contains 5 arches. Tara Bridge was completed just as World War II was starting. At the time it was the largest concrete arched vehicular bridge in Europe.
After walking across the very impressive bridge, we decided to drive along the canyon road to our next destination, allowing us to see a little bit more of the canyon. At the current moment, there are no paths that go into the canyon so, therefore; this is the only real way to see it.
Hotel Soa Lounge Bar, Zabljak
If you are planning on stopping the night in Zabljak or you are just after somewhere to stop for some food, I highly recommend this place!
Hotel Soa Lounge Bar is a cozy dining area that offers you great views of the Durmitor National Park and allows you to listen to some lovely relaxing music while you enjoy your meal. It Lounge Bar is located in the mountainous town of Zabljak, at Hotel Soa. We also spent the night at this hotel too. The town, Zabljak, is located just a few km away from Black Lake.
At Hotel Soa Louge Bar, I enjoyed a lovely chicken breast coated in a local cheese sauce with roast potatoes and vegetables. To drink I tried some of the local Rose called Plantaze. The wine was lovely and sweet and the food was delicious. I felt the price of my meal was very reasonable. At the time we visited, we were charged €3.50 (£3) for a small bottle of wine, and for my chicken meal, they charged me €10 (£9). You can give a 10% tip, however; in Montenegro, it is not expected of you.
For more information on the menu, please see: Lounge Bar Menu
Lake Skadar National Park
Lake Skadar National Park is Montenegro’s largest National Park. Lake Skadar runs through 2 countries: Montenegro and Albania. It is the largest lake in the Balkan Peninsula.
The best way to see Lake Skadar National Park is by boat on Lake Skadar. Lake Skadar is a beautiful, large lake. It is full of wildlife and history. There are plenty of different boat trips to choose from, with different routes along the lake and with different durations.
The National Park was less than an hour’s drive from our hotel in Budva, along the coast. It takes about the same time to travel from the capital, Podgorica.
I visited Lake Skadar National Park in September 2018 with my partner, Alex. Unfortunately, we only had time to spend the afternoon exploring the beautiful National Park!
Here’s how we spent our time:
Pavalova Strana Viewpoint
Visiting Pavlova Strana Viewpoint is a ‘must-do’ when visiting Lake Skadar National Park! The road isn’t great to drive on. It is narrow, and goes up herping bends, with big drops on either side. However, the views you get of Lake Skadar on the way to the viewpoint and the views at the actual viewpoint, make the scary journey well worth it!
For anybody who has been fortunate like me to visit Horseshoe Bend in Page, Arizona. Pavlova Strana reminds me of a green, grassy version of Horseshoe Bend.
Here is a photo of the breathtaking Pavlova Strana, just before sunset:
Boat On Lake Skadar
Virpazar is a village in the Bar municipality, in Montenegro. If you are after finding a boat trip to take you out onto Lake Skadar, then this is the place to go. As you walk down the street, you will have men hustling you to buy a ticket for their boat. After been hustled by a number of different men, we finally said yes to one. We decided to pay for a private tour of Lake Skadar, lasting one hour. We agreed on a route and they then took us down to their boat and took us out onto the lake. We saw lots of different birds out on the water, including pelicans. Our private boat tour cost us €25 each. If €25 is too much for your holiday budget, you can do a group boat trip at a cheaper rate. If you are feeling more adventurous, you can always hire canoe boats out on the lake.
Before we headed out on our boat trip, we decided to grab a late lunch at the restaurant, Basta Konoba. The restaurant was owned by the same guys who were doing our private boat trip. They said they would give us €10 off our boat trip if we ate at their restaurant, so we did. The food was delicious and reasonably priced. We enjoyed seats outside under some shade, keeping us out of the scorching midday sun. If you are feeling hungry when visiting Virpazar, I highly recommend Basta Konoba. If you are planning on purchasing tickets for their private boat tour, then mention it. Their boat ticket stand is next just metres away from their restaurant. Hopefully, they will give you a discount too.
Lovcen National Park
Lovcen National Park is located southwest of Montenegro, in the Dinara Alps. It is a popular National Park to visit, for the people staying along the coast. It is just over an hour’s drive from Kotor and a 1 hour and 30 minutes drive from Budva, where we were staying. Even though the drive is not that long from Kotor or Budva, the roads are very challenging. The road from Kotor to Lovcen is full of herping bends, narrow one-lane roads, and steep drops over Kotor Bay! The views over Kotor Bay are absolutely fantastic! Driving along the road just for that makes it worthwhile. We drove back along this road from Lovcen. Part of the road, they were still rebuilding! If the herping bends and steep drops are not your things. You can take a slightly easy route to Lovcen from Budva. This is the route we took going to Lovcen. If this puts you off from driving, there are organised tours you can go on or you could just jump in a taxi.
One of the most popular things to do in Lovcen National Park is to visit the Njegos Mausoleum. The mausoleum is located at the top of its second-highest peak in Lovcen National Park, Jezerski Vrh, 1657 m. To reach the mausoleum, you need to be prepared to climb 461 steps up to the entry, where 2 granite giants guard the tomb of Montenegro’s greatest writer. As you pass through the 2 granite guards, you will be rewarded with one of the best panoramic views, of Montenegro.
At the time we visited, the fee for Lovcon National Park was €2 each. The entry fee to the Njegos Mausoleum was €3 for adults and €2.50 for children.
Parking at Njegos Mausoleum can be a squeeze. The car park is only small. So unless you get there early, you are not going to get parked in it. Instead, you can get parked along the edge of the road, leading up to Lovcen. Just be prepared to walk up the steep road.
If you are feeling peckish after climbing 461 steps, there is a little cafe down, next to the car park. We stopped here and had lunch, before heading back on the road.
Biogradska National Park
Biogradska National Park is home to one of the last three large virgin forests in Europe. The National Park is a 2-hour drive away from the capital, Podgorica, north of Montenegro. It is Montenegro’s smallest National Park. The National Park consists of 6 lakes, with Lake Biograd being the largest one. This is the one we visited and it was beautiful.
At the time we visited, Biogradska National Park charged a small entry fee of €3. The money goes towards the upkeep of the park. Once you are inside the National Park, it is free to park your car in their car parks. There are toilets and a cafe at the visitor centre for Lake Biograd.
On Lake Biograd, you can hire a rowing boat or take one of the trails around it. Unfortunately, we did not have time to do either. However, just seeing the lake itself, takes your breath away. It was beautiful! Defiantly would like to revisit one day and do some of the trails in the park.
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Further Reading
My book, How I Tamed the Wolf, Living with Lupus is available on Amazon via this link:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09M73X2JQ/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MWAF58981F0VVMNRV1WN
Enjoyed this blog and want to know what else there is to do in Montenegro? Head over to: Montenegro
