Northern Montenegro is the largest and most thinly populated part of the country: 13 municipalities from Plužine and Žabljak in the west to Rožaje, Plav and Gusinje on the borders with Kosovo and Albania. It is mountain country of canyons, glacial lakes and katuns (summer shepherd settlements), with three national parks – Durmitor, Biogradska Gora and Prokletije. Roads are long and winding and villages sit high up, so a car and plenty of time are the best way to explore.
Durmitor and the Tara Canyon
Durmitor National Park has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980. The massif holds 18 glacial lakes, known locally as mountain eyes; the best known is Crno jezero (Black Lake), just outside Žabljak. Durmitor's highest peak is Bobotov kuk (2,523 m). The Tara river has cut a canyon about 78 km long and up to 1,300 m deep, the deepest in Europe. The Đurđevića Tara bridge, completed in 1940, spans it about 172 m above the river. Žabljak, at 1,456 m, is one of the highest towns in the Balkans and the main base for hiking, rafting and skiing.
Bjelasica, Biogradska Gora and Kolašin
South-east of Durmitor is Bjelasica, a mountain of gentle ridges and pastures dotted with katuns. At its foot lies Kolašin, a town with the Kolašin 1450 and Kolašin 1600 ski centres and a station on the Belgrade–Bar railway. Biogradska Gora National Park, protected since 1952, preserves a virgin forest with trees up to 500 years old; King Nikola banned logging here as early as 1878. Biogradsko Lake, at 1,094 m, is circled by an easy forest trail.
Prokletije, Plav and Gusinje
In the far east, along the borders with Albania and Kosovo, are the Prokletije mountains, a national park since 2009. The Grebaje and Ropojana valleys are ringed by steep limestone peaks, and on the border stands Zla Kolata (2,534 m), Montenegro's highest summit. Plav lies on Lake Plav, and Gusinje is the starting point for the Ali Pasha springs and for trails on the Peaks of the Balkans loop.
Towns on the Lim and Ćehotina
Pljevlja, the region's largest town and Montenegro's northernmost, has the Husein Pasha Mosque and the Holy Trinity Monastery, both from the 16th century, and the area is known for Pljevlja cheese. Bijelo Polje stands on the Lim river, with Dalovića Cave nearby. Mojkovac, on the Tara, is known for the Battle of Mojkovac in January 1916, when the Montenegrin army held back Austro-Hungarian forces. The Belgrade–Bar railway runs through Kolašin, Mojkovac and Bijelo Polje, so the north can also be reached by train.
