Berane

What to see and do

• Đurđevi Stupovi, the medieval monastery just outside town in the old district of Budimlja, a foundation of Prvoslav, nephew of Stefan Nemanja; its dating runs from the end of the 12th century to the middle of the 13th.
• Polimski muzej, the local museum of the Lim region, run together with the town's cultural centre. Other collections in the country are on the museums page.
• Monument to Freedom on Jasikovac hill, east of the centre across the Lim, Bogdan Bogdanović's memorial unveiled in 1977 on the spot where nine students were shot in 1941.
• Fly fishing. The Berane zone is a 3 km stretch of the Lim by the town for grayling, brown trout, chub and huchen, catch and release. The Bistrica, the left tributary that joins the Lim just above Berane, is fished all year catch and release for wild brown trout, with the hardest water in its canyon. In Berane waters trout are closed from 1 November to 15 March and grayling from 1 March to 1 June; daily permits come from the local sport-fishing club. Other zones are on the fly-fishing page.
• Paragliding from Jejevica (960 m), the Berane take-off, which flies in south-west wind only; the other sites are on the paragliding page.
• The Lim itself, 220 km long from Lake Plav to the Drina, runs through Andrijevica, Berane and Bijelo Polje; the Župa cave lies near the town.

Skiing and mountains

The Lokve ski centre and Hotel Lokve stand on Cmiljevica (1,963 m, spelled Smiljevica in the official survey), 14 km from Berane beside the main road to Rožaje: terrain between 1,350 and 1,700 m, a two-seat chairlift from the hotel plateau (1,336 m) to 1,560 m, two surface lifts above it, 5 km of runs and the Lokve 1 slalom piste homologated for FIS races. The centre opened in the first half of the 1980s, has stood idle for long periods since 2005 and reopens only once its operating permits are in place, so confirm that the lifts are running before planning a ski day there. The working resorts nearest to Berane are Kolašin 1450 and Kolašin 1600 on the far side of Bjelasica, 36.2 km away by road; residents of Berane ski free at Kolašin 1450 on a day pass from Monday to Thursday (adults show an ID card, and their children and young people ski free with a parent). On Bjelasica the state operator plans the Jelovica resort (base at 1,330 m, seven lifts, 35 km of pistes), which depends on the Kolašin-Lubnice-Berane road and has no date. Berane is one of the three municipalities of Biogradska gora National Park, with Kolašin and Mojkovac; the park entrance and Biogradsko jezero (1,094 m) are on the Kolašin side. The hiking season on Bjelasica runs from June to October. All centres are compared on the skiing page.

History in brief

The name comes from the Proto-Slavic word for ram. The medieval district here was Budimlja, with Đurđevi Stupovi as its church; the Ottomans conquered it in 1455. The town counts its foundation from the Battle of Rudeš on 7 April 1862, when it marked its 150th anniversary in 2012, and was freed from Ottoman rule on 6 October 1912, when it joined Montenegro. From 21 July 1949 to March 1992 it was called Ivangrad, after Ivan Milutinović. The airfield outside town has had no commercial traffic since the 1980s.

Getting there and around

• By air: Podgorica Airport is 103.7 km away, about 1 h 53 min by road; Tivat Airport 177.8 km, about 3 h 20 min.
• By train: Berane has no railway. The nearest station is Bijelo Polje on the Bar-Belgrade line, 34.8 km down the valley, about 44 min.
• By road: the Lim valley road links Berane with Andrijevica and Plav upstream and Bijelo Polje downstream; the main road east passes Lokve on its way to Rožaje; from Podgorica the route runs over the Smokovac-Mateševo motorway and on through Andrijevica.
• Health: Kliničko-bolnički centar Berane, Svetosavska 33, telephone +382 51 230 630, is the hospital for the whole east of the country; the health centre (Dom zdravlja) is at Miljana Tomičića bb, telephone +382 51 233 324; ambulance 124. Postcode 84300.

Road distances below are free-flow routing on OpenStreetMap data, without traffic or snow.

When to visit

June to October is the season for Bjelasica and the Prokletije trails, and the fishing year turns on the closed seasons: grayling from 1 June, trout until 1 November. The Kolašin resorts open in December; Lokve runs only in winters when it has its permits and snow. The monastery, the museum and the Jasikovac memorial can be seen in any month.

Nearby

• Bijelo Polje, 34.8 km down the Lim, with the railway station.
• Rožaje, 30.7 km east past Lokve, below Hajla.
• Kolašin, 36.2 km across Bjelasica, with the two ski centres and Biogradska gora.
• Andrijevica and the Knjaževac memorial park, up the Lim.
• Plav, 41.1 km, with Lake Plav (1.99 km², 906 m) and Prokletije National Park.

Questions

Is the Lokve ski centre open?

It runs only in winters when its operating permits and snow are in place, and it has had long idle periods since 2005. Confirm with the operator before travelling; the Kolašin 1450 and Kolašin 1600 resorts, 36.2 km away, are the reliable alternative.

Is Berane on the railway?

No. The nearest station is Bijelo Polje on the Bar-Belgrade line, 34.8 km away, about 44 min by road.

How far is Berane from Podgorica?

92.8 km, about 1 h 37 min by car over the Smokovac-Mateševo motorway; Podgorica Airport is 103.7 km, about 1 h 53 min.