Montenegro Settentrionale
In January 1916, on the snow-covered heights above Mojkovac, the army of the small Kingdom of Montenegro held out for three days a...
Updated 9 July 2026
Montenegro Settentrionale
The story
The story of Montenegro Settentrionale
History: a region forged by isolation
The mountains of the north have always guarded this land more than connected it to the rest of the country. The earliest traces of settlement date back to Illyrian tribes, followed by the arrival of Slavic peoples between the 6th and 7th centuries, who gave rise to the nuclei of the future medieval Zeta, later absorbed into the state of the Nemanjić dynasty: under that dynasty the first monasteries arose, which still dot the valleys today. With the Ottoman conquest, starting in the 15th century, the area became a border province: Pljevlja developed as an important administrative and commercial centre, while the highland communities maintained substantial autonomy for centuries, defended clan by clan among the mountain passes. Final annexation to the Kingdom of Montenegro came only between the 19th and 20th centuries, and the region paid a high price during the First World War, when the resistance at Mojkovac in January 1916 became one of the most celebrated episodes in Montenegrin military history. After the Second World War the area entered socialist Yugoslavia, before following the fortunes of independent Montenegro from 2006 onward.
Durmitor and the glacial lakes
The Durmitor massif, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1980, is Montenegro's highest mountain group: the peak of Bobotov Kuk reaches 2,523 metres and dominates a limestone plateau carved by more than forty summits above two thousand metres. What makes it unique are its eighteen lakes of glacial origin, called by locals 'gorske oči', mountain eyes, set among black pine forests and rocky walls. The most famous is the Black Lake, the Crno Jezero, actually formed by two connected basins separated by a strip of forest, reachable in a few minutes on foot from Žabljak and circled by a hiking loop suitable even for families. In the summer months its dark waters reflect the buttresses of Durmitor with a clarity that has made this view the symbolic image of the entire region.
The Tara canyon and the Đurđevića Tara bridge
Carved over millions of years by the river that gives it its name, the Tara canyon is the deepest in Europe, with walls that in some stretches exceed 1,300 metres in height above the riverbed. The river basin was recognised as a UNESCO biosphere reserve as early as 1976 for the exceptional integrity of its waters and the forests that line it. Connecting the two banks since 1940 is the Đurđevića Tara bridge: five reinforced concrete arches spanning a total of 365 metres, suspended 172 metres above the river, the work of engineer Mijat Trojanović. During the Second World War the engineer who had directed its construction, Lazar Jauković, blew up one of the arches to block the advance of Italian troops: the bridge was rebuilt after the conflict and today is also the starting point for one of the longest zip-lines in the Balkans, strung right over the canyon's abyss.
Biogradska Gora, the primeval forest
In the heart of the Bjelasica massif survives one of the last three primeval forests remaining in Europe, alongside that of Perućica in Bosnia and Białowieża between Poland and Belarus. It was saved in 1878 by a decision of King Nicholas I Petrović, who banned logging there to preserve it as a royal hunting reserve; it became a national park in 1952. Inside grow beeches and firs that exceed sixty years of age and can live for centuries, in an extremely dense undergrowth that is home to brown bears, roe deer and an extraordinary variety of birds. At the centre of the park lies Lake Biograd, an emerald-green mirror of water surrounded by a flat path of about six kilometres, the simplest and most photographed destination in the area, while the more demanding trails climb toward the peaks of the Bjelasica and the smaller lakes scattered at higher altitude.
Lake Piva and its canyon
Lake Piva is not a natural basin but the result of the Mratinje dam, completed in 1975, which submerged ancient villages and a stretch of valley to power one of the country's largest hydroelectric plants. The result, paradoxically, is one of the region's most photogenic landscapes: waters of intense turquoise set between walls of grey rock hundreds of metres high, navigable by boat or skirted by a road carved into the mountain with breathtaking tunnels and hairpin bends. Before the flooding, the Piva Monastery, founded between 1573 and 1586 during a rare period of Ottoman tolerance toward the Orthodox community, was dismantled stone by stone and rebuilt on higher ground: it today preserves frescoes and an iconostasis among the most important in Montenegro, in a complex that seems carved into the surrounding rock.
Kolašin and Žabljak, gateways to the mountains
Two small towns serve as gateways to the northern parks. Kolašin, at about 950 metres of altitude, developed as a tourist resort between the late 19th and early 20th centuries thanks to the nearby Bar–Belgrade railway line, and is today the most convenient starting point for Biogradska Gora and the Bjelasica, with the Kolašin 1450 ski area linked by cable car. Žabljak, at about 1,450 metres, is the highest town in the Balkans and lives in symbiosis with Durmitor, of which it is the quintessential logistical base: from here start the trails to the Black Lake, the ski slopes of Savin Kuk and the roads descending toward the Tara canyon and toward Piva. Both remain villages of a few thousand inhabitants, with the atmosphere of a mountain town rather than a fully equipped tourist resort.
The Prokletije, the accursed mountains
Toward the border with Albania and Kosovo the region ends with the Prokletije, the southern spur of the Dinaric Alps whose name, 'accursed mountains', comes from their ruggedness and the impervious terrain that for centuries made this corner of Montenegro one of the least accessible in Europe. The national park, established in 2009, holds the country's highest peak, Zla Kolata, which touches 2,534 metres, together with dozens of smaller glacial lakes and deep glacial valleys. It is a destination for experienced hikers rather than passing tourism: from here also begins the international 'Peaks of the Balkans' trail, which links Montenegrin, Albanian and Kosovan paths in a multi-day trekking loop among refuges and pastoral villages that remain almost unchanged.
Rafting and adventure on the Tara River
Rafting down the Tara has been an organised activity since the 1970s and remains the region's most sought-after outdoor experience, practicable roughly from May to September when the river's flow allows it safely. The most classic stretch starts near the Đurđevića Tara bridge and descends for about twenty-five kilometres to Šćepan Polje, where the Tara meets the Piva and gives rise to the Drina River, alternating class II and III rapids with calm stretches where the canyon opens up in all its breadth. Around the river, other offerings for adventure lovers have grown over the years: canyoning, climbing, mountain bike routes along forest tracks and, in winter, ski mountaineering and snowshoeing on the plateaus of Durmitor.
Monasteries and faith among the mountains
Beyond the Piva Monastery, northern Montenegro preserves some of the country's oldest Orthodox places of worship. Near Berane stand the Đurđevi Stupovi, founded in the early 13th century by will linked to the Nemanjić dynasty, among the oldest testimonies of Serbian sacred architecture in the region. Near Pljevlja, on the other hand, is the Holy Trinity Monastery, built at the end of the 16th century and famous for a cycle of frescoes that has remained extraordinarily well preserved despite centuries of Ottoman rule. These monastic complexes, often tucked away in little-frequented valleys, served for centuries as guardians of language, writing and religious liturgy in a territory where town churches were scarce, and today remain places of pilgrimage as well as stops of great historical and artistic interest.
Pljevlja, Bijelo Polje and the towns of the north
Pljevlja, the region's northernmost town, still bears the mark of four centuries of Ottoman presence: the Husein Pasha Mosque, built between 1569 and 1594, boasts one of the tallest minarets in the Balkans, over forty metres, and is flanked by a historic hammam and buildings from that period that make up one of the best-preserved Ottoman urban centres in the country. Bijelo Polje, set on the valley of the Lim River, has always been a crossing point between northern Montenegro and Serbia, with the nearby Holy Trinity Monastery attesting to its 16th-century religious importance. Smaller but no less significant are Mojkovac, linked to the memory of the 1916 battle and to a now declining mining tradition, and Berane, the gateway to the Prokletije.
Flavours and highland culture
The cuisine of the north is that of a pastoral world accustomed to preserving food for the long winters: Pljevlja cheese, made with raw milk and aged in stone cellars, holds a designation of origin and is among the most prized in the country, along with kajmak, the cream skimmed from boiled milk every morning, and skorup. Dishes like kačamak and cicvara, based on cornmeal blended with cheese and cream, remain the comfort food of cold evenings, often accompanied by roasted or smoked lamb. Homemade rakija is never lacking, distilled from plums, pears or wild blueberries gathered on the plateaus. In the most isolated villages, epic singing accompanied by the gusle, the single-stringed instrument that for centuries has orally passed down the history and legends of these mountains, still survives.
When to go and how to experience the region
Summer, from June to September, is the best time for hiking, rafting on the Tara and walks around the glacial lakes, with long days and mild temperatures even at altitude; July and August are the busiest months around the Black Lake, and it's worth arriving early in the morning. Winter, from December to March, turns Kolašin and Žabljak into the country's main ski hubs, with less crowded slopes and lower prices than the major European alpine resorts. Spring and especially autumn give the most intense colours to the forests of Biogradska Gora and the Bjelasica, but some mountain roads, particularly toward Piva and the Prokletije, may temporarily close due to snow or roadworks: it's always worth checking conditions before setting off, especially outside the main season.
- Walk around the Black Lake at the foot of Durmitor
- Cross the Đurđevića Tara bridge and try the zip-line over the canyon
- Raft down the Tara River from Đurđevića Tara to Šćepan Polje
- Stroll around Lake Biograd in the primeval forest
- Climb Bobotov Kuk or walk a stretch of the Durmitor Ring
- Visit the Piva Monastery and the canyon of its namesake lake
- Explore the Prokletije along a stretch of the Peaks of the Balkans trail
- Taste Pljevlja cheese and kajmak in the local markets
FAQ
Quanti giorni servono per visitare il Montenegro settentrionale?
Come ci si arriva senza auto propria?
È una meta adatta alle famiglie con bambini?
Qual è il periodo migliore per andare?
Dove si parcheggia per visitare il Durmitor e il Lago Nero?
Si possono portare animali domestici nei parchi nazionali?
Getting there
- Aeroporto di Podgorica (TGD), circa 100-130 km da Kolašin e Žabljak, il principale scalo per raggiungere la regione
- Linea ferroviaria Bar-Podgorica-Belgrado, con fermate a Kolašin e Mojkovac, una delle tratte più panoramiche d'Europa, utile come alternativa lenta all'auto
- Da Podgorica si sale verso nord lungo la strada principale in direzione Mateševo e Kolašin; da qui si prosegue verso Žabljak e il Durmitor oppure verso Pljevlja e il lago di Piva, su strade di montagna con molti tornanti.
- In inverno alcuni tratti verso Žabljak, Piva e le Prokletije possono chiudere per neve: conviene controllare le condizioni stradali prima di partire e viaggiare con pneumatici invernali o catene a bordo.
Perfect for
Tre parchi nazionali, laghi glaciali e la foresta primordiale di Biogradska Gora offrono sentieri per ogni livello, dalle passeggiate in famiglia alle salite alpinistiche.
Kolašin 1450 e Savin Kuk, sopra Žabljak, sono i principali poli sciistici del Montenegro, con piste meno affollate e prezzi contenuti rispetto alle Alpi.
Il rafting sul Tara, la zip-line sopra il canyon, il canyoning e le vie ferrate rendono la regione una delle mete outdoor più complete dei Balcani.
Monasteri medievali, eredità ottomana a Pljevlja e memorie della Grande Guerra a Mojkovac raccontano secoli di storia stratificata tra le montagne.
Formaggi stagionati, kajmak, kačamak e rakija artigianale sono l'espressione più autentica di una cultura pastorale ancora viva.
To see
What to see in Montenegro Settentrionale
Routes · Trovido Route
