Montenegro Road Trip - a Natural Wonderland of Stunning Diversity

Tagging along with the couple from the camp in Bosnia meant I didn't have much say in where we were going.  All I knew is they were going to hit a few places along the way to Albania.  About an hour before sunset, we were off for a three-hour drive through probably some of the most stunning views I’ve ever experienced.  Cliff hanging roads winding through valleys like a serpent. Granite peaks erupting like massive icebergs from the deep blue lake below.  Pine trees, looking like green toothpicks, carpeting the sides of mountains.  The views from two thousand meters above of Mratinje dam and Piva lake were out of this world.

Eventually, the canyons gave way to rolling golden wheat fields dotted with farmhouses, silos, and free roaming cows and lamb.  I wish I had more time to spend here but we were determined to get to Durmitor National Park before it was too late.  The park is a wonderland of mountainous peaks.  Durmitor is home to the second deepest gorge in the world after the Grand Canyon.  In total, there are forty-eight peaks over two-thousand meters with eighteen glacier lakes.  It’s amazing how unknown places like these are.  We arrived in the town of Zabljak and were able to rent a couple rooms in a private home for just ten euros a person.  Many of the people in the town will offer a room to tourists passing through. 

The next morning we were on our way to Albania, but had a few stops to check off our bucket list.  The first was Đurđevića Tara Bridge, which is a spectacular engineered concrete bridge with five arches stretching 365 meters across the valley below.  The height of the bridge is 172 meters high. 

The second stop was most visited monastery in Montenegro.  Ostrog was founded in the 17^th Century by Orthodox Christians and is set in the side of a vertical mountain.  It is customary to walk from the lower church to the upper church barefoot, but I ain’t time for that.  Once we made it to the upper church, there were hordes of Russian pilgrims standing in ques to enter the cave church.  I ain’t got time for that either, so we took some photos and continued southwest to our third destination into Montenegro before crossing the border into Albania.

The third and final stop was at Lake Skadar, which is the largest lake in the Balkans and the largest bird reserve in all of Europe with over 270 species.  The lake is massive with two-thirds in Montenegro and a third in Albania.  There are many places to view the lake, but the most iconic is the horse shoe bend of Pavlova Strana. 

For its size, Montenegro offers so much untouched beauty.  Pound for pound, it might be the best in terms of experiencing nature in all of the Balkans.  A six-hour road trip will leave you with plenty of awe inspiring moments.  And in terms of tourists go, we felt we had so much to ourselves.  The interior of Montenegro is overshadowed by its neighbor Croatia and the Montenegro coast.  I suspect this will change quickly as tour agencies begin capitalizing on the splendor of its untouched beauty.

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