Montenegro Guide
The mountains
Almost entirely mountainous, the magnificent Montenegrin interior packs in some of the most stunning scenery anywhere in the Balkans. Vast ranges rise harsh and rugged while below the occasional road or track snakes its way through barely accessible terrain, into cavernous canyons or past snow-topped peaks, glacial lakes and deep forests. It can be an inhospitable land in places: there are few large settlements, and many of the smaller towns and alpine-style villages are cut off during the winter by the often brutal snows.
The attractions are plentiful but the interior's biggest draw is the Durmitor National Park, the largest of the country's four designated parks, packed with jagged peaks, theatrical canyons – most obviously the stunning Tara River Canyon with its wild, thrashing river – and deep mountain lakes. To the east of Durmitor, the much smaller Biogradska Gora National Park is an invigorating mix of virgin forest, green mountain pasture and glacial lake.
There is plenty more cultural heritage on offer in the form of numerous monasteries scattered around the countryside, several of which really are worth making the effort to get to. Ostrog, near Nikšić, is the site of Montenegro's most important pilgrimage church, while Piva, across to the west near the Bosnian border, holds some outstanding frescoes.
Highlights
1 Ostrog Monastery Improbably yet thrillingly sited high up in a cliff face, the seventeenth-century Ostrog Monastery is Montenegro's most important pilgrimage site.
Piva Canyon Shadowed by vertiginous mountains and cut through by the rushing eponymous river, the Piva Canyon is nature at its dramatic best.
2 Hiking in Durmitor Hike to your heart's content amidst some of the country's most exalted peaks, such as Bobotov kuk and Međed.
3 Tara River Canyon Montenegro's most spectacular natural feature combines a thrashing river – affording superb white water rafting – and the Tara Bridge, one of Europe's most extraordinary feats of engineering.
4 Biogradska National Park Mountains, lakes and ancient virgin forest constitute this beautiful and green landscape, which also offers some lovely walking opportunities.
5 Plav Absorb some intriguing Islamic architecture, take a dip in the crystal blue lake, or go and explore the awesome Prokletije mountain range bordering nearby Albania.
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