In northern Montenegro mountain lakes are called gorske oči, mountain eyes. Durmitor alone has 18, and there are more on Bjelasica, Prokletije, Komovi and in Piva. In the south lies Lake Skadar, the largest in the Balkans, with island monasteries and fishing villages. Some you can drive right up to, others are reached only on a mountain trail.
Black Lake under Durmitor, Biogradsko in a primeval forest, Lake Plav under Prokletije and Lake Skadar in the south: a guide to Montenegro's lakes and how to reach them.
The mountain eyes of Durmitor
Durmitor has 18 glacial lakes, known locally as mountain eyes. The best known is Black Lake (Crno jezero), at 1,418 metres, three kilometres from Žabljak. It is made up of the Large and the Small Lake, joined by a narrow neck of land, and the Small Lake is the deeper one: 49.1 metres against 24.5 metres. A path runs around the lake through conifer forest, and in summer people swim in it. On the Jezerska plateau lie Vražje and Riblje lakes, among open meadows, while Sušičko Lake in the Sušica canyon dries out completely in summer. Under Sinjajevina, at 1,285 metres, lies Zminičko Lake.
Bjelasica and Biogradsko Lake
Biogradsko Lake is the heart of Biogradska Gora National Park, which holds about 1,600 hectares of primeval forest reserve. The forest has been protected since 1878, when Prince Nikola declared it a protected reserve (zabran). By the lake are a visitor centre, a campsite and boat and kayak hire, and an easy path circles the whole shore. Higher up on Bjelasica are smaller glacial lakes, such as Šiško, reached on foot.
Under Prokletije
Lake Plav, at 907 metres, is the largest glacial lake in Montenegro: about two square kilometres in area and up to nine metres deep. The Lim river flows out of it. In summer the water is warm enough for swimming, and in hard winters it freezes and people walk across it. Eighteen kilometres from Plav, at 1,970 metres and ringed by Bosnian and Macedonian pines, lies Hridsko Lake, one of the highest in the country, reached on a mountain trail.
Did you know?
Black Lake is really two lakes joined by a narrow neck of land, and the smaller one is deeper: the Small Lake is 49.1 metres deep, the Large Lake 24.5 metres.
Piva, Lukavica and Komovi
On the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, below Maglić, is the heart-shaped Trnovačko Lake, at 1,517 metres. There is no road; you can only walk in. Below it lies Piva Lake, a reservoir created in 1975 when the 220-metre Mratinje dam closed the Piva canyon. On Lukavica, between Nikšić and Kolašin, is Kapetanovo Lake at 1,678 metres, up to 37 metres deep, and under Komovi lies Bukumirsko Lake, the first checkpoint of the CT-1 mountain traverse.
Lake Skadar
In the south lies Lake Skadar, the largest lake in the Balkans, which Montenegro shares with Albania. Its area changes with the water level, from about 370 km² in summer to 540 km² in winter. It has been a national park since 1983, and around 280 bird species live on or pass through the lake, among them the Dalmatian pelican. The easiest base is Virpazar, half an hour from Podgorica, for boat trips to island monasteries, fortresses and fishing villages.
