Plužine

Getting there

The M-3 Podgorica-Sarajevo road runs through the middle of the municipality and through the town; from Podgorica it is 109 km, about 2 h 20, via Nikšić. The border crossing to Bosnia and Herzegovina is at Šćepan Polje, 26 km down the canyon, with Hum on the other side. The second road in, Plužine-Trsa-Žabljak over the Sedlo pass, is closed by snow in winter; check the road conditions before relying on it. There is no railway, and no bus timetable for Plužine is published: the nearest main bus stations are Nikšić (+382 40 213 018) and Podgorica (+382 20 620 430); the buses guide explains the network. For roadside help call AMSCG on 19807. Distances by car from the town, without traffic:

On the lake

Park prirode Piva, the nature park run from the town, offers a cruise on the lake and rents out four kayaks; in summer the water is warm enough to swim, though no official bathing site is listed and the level rises and falls with the power plant. The figures for the lake are on the Piva Lake page, paddling on the kayaking and SUP page.

The Piva Lake zip line, 1,400 m and the longest in Montenegro, runs from the Eko-Piva guesthouse across the lake to the bridge. Via Ferrata Piva, about 4,500 m long, starts near the bridge and opened in October 2024. The Piva climbing crag, about 2 km from town, has 61 equipped routes of 10-80 m in two zones. The Endless Landscapes (Top Trail 4) cycling route passes through Plužine, and the park recommends the ride Unač-Barni Do-Babići-Žeično-Crkvičko Polje.

Down the canyon to Šćepan Polje

Piva Monastery at Goransko is 8.3 km from town, about 13 minutes by car. It stood at Sinjac, at the source of the Piva, and between 1970 and 1982 it was taken down and rebuilt at Goransko, frescoes included, to save it from the reservoir. No official opening hours are published.

From town the M-3 follows the lake to the Mratinje dam (16.3 km), a 220 m concrete arch whose crest carries the road, then passes the Piva canyon viewpoint at Babići (18.4 km) and reaches Šćepan Polje (26.1 km, about 38 minutes), where the Piva meets the Tara at 433 m, the lowest point of the municipality, on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Zagrađe monastery viewpoint looks over the confluence, and Grčko groblje at Zagrađe is one of Montenegro's three sites on the UNESCO list of stećci graveyards. One-day Tara rafting trips start at Brštanovica, in Plužine municipality, and end at Šćepan Polje; the season runs from April to October (see rafting in Montenegro).

Up to Durmitor

The Plužine-Trsa-Žabljak road climbs from the lake to the Sedlo pass (1,907 m, 34.8 km, about 42 minutes), on the boundary with Žabljak municipality, and on to Žabljak. It is part of the Durmitor Ring, also a cycling route, and the snow closes it in winter; in a light winter it has reopened in mid-April, in others not until late spring. Sedlo is a trailhead for Bobotov kuk (2,522 m), the highest peak of Durmitor and the highest point of Plužine municipality, and for the Škrčka lakes.

On the way up, the Kruška viewpoint looks over the lake, the town, Ledenice and Bioč, and the Nedajno viewpoint (1,480 m), 5 km from the Trsa junction, looks into the canyon of the Sušica. On the Pišče plateau and Pivska planina, try pivski skorup, prljo (a skimmed-milk cheese), sour milk and grušavina; see local food. Soko peak, Maričina greda and Muratovica, in the south of the municipality, are the other viewpoints with their own pages.

Maglić, Bioč and the mountain lakes

Much of the municipality between the Bosnian border and Durmitor National Park is Park prirode Piva, Montenegro's first nature park: almost 32,500 ha linking Durmitor with Sutjeska National Park in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with more than 1,500 plant species, forests of pine, beech, fir and spruce, bears, wild boar and roe deer, and about 20 small villages and many katuns. On the border rise Maglić (2,386 m), Bioč and Volujak, climbed from June to the end of October; Veliki Vitao on Bioč, 2,396 m or 2,397 m depending on the survey, is the park's highest point. Trnovačko jezero, a heart-shaped lake at 1,517 m (825 by 715 m, 9 m deep), is reached only on foot. The two Stabanjska lakes, Veliko at 1,319 m and Malo at 1,194 m, lie 4.5 km from the village of Stabna, with marked trails to Veliki Vitao and back by the Kručica katun.

A town built for a lake

Plužine belongs to historic Old Herzegovina and was joined to Montenegro after the Congress of Berlin in 1878; with Šavnik and Žabljak it forms the Durmitor region of northern Montenegro. In 1975 the 220 m arch dam at Mratinje closed the Piva, and the Piva hydropower plant dates from 1976. The reservoir, 42 km long, drowned most of the Piva and Komarnica canyons and split the municipality in two. Old Plužine, then the municipal centre, lay lower down and went under the water; the new town was built right beside it at the end of the 1970s, which makes it one of the youngest towns in the region.

Practical information

The Nature Park Piva tourist information centre is at Baja Pivljanina 10 (+382 40 270 069). The town has a health station (Plužine bb, +382 40 271 135), an emergency unit (124), a Montefarm pharmacy at Marka Kulića 2, ATMs (CKB at the IDEA supermarket among them), a post office (81435; Donja Brezna 81432, Trsa 81437) and a Jugopetrol station; the nearest general hospital is in Nikšić, 58 km away. Places to stay range from hotels, hostels and private rooms to bungalows, campsites on the lake and in Goransko, eco and ethno villages and rural households; the park's own listings are the fullest directory.

When to visit

Summer and early autumn are the season: the Sedlo road to Žabljak is open, the Tara is rafted from April to October, the border mountains are climbed from June to the end of October, and the lake is warm enough to swim. In winter the lake road through Nikšić stays the way in and out, and the Sedlo road is closed by snow. The Žabljak in 3 days plan and the 7-day and 10-day loops pass this way.

Questions

What is there to do in Plužine?

The nature park's lake cruise and kayaks, the 1,400 m zip line, Via Ferrata Piva and the climbing crag, all in or near town. Piva Monastery is 8.3 km away, the Babići canyon viewpoint 18.4 km, and Tara rafting trips start at Brštanovica in the same municipality.

How far is Plužine from Žabljak?

49.1 km over the Sedlo pass, about an hour by car. That road is closed by snow in winter; the all-year way round is through Nikšić and Šavnik.

How far is Plužine from Podgorica?

109 km by the M-3 through Nikšić, about 2 h 20 without traffic.

Was the old town flooded?

Yes. Old Plužine, then the municipal centre, went under the reservoir after the Piva was dammed in 1975; the new town was built beside it at the end of the 1970s.

Can you swim in Piva Lake?

In summer the water is warm enough, but no official bathing site is listed and the level changes with the power plant. Swim from the shore near the town.

Where is the border crossing to Bosnia?

At Šćepan Polje, 26.1 km down the canyon road, where the Piva meets the Tara; Hum is the crossing on the Bosnian side.

How many people live in Plužine?

1,083 in the town and 2,177 in the municipality at the 2023 census. The municipality's average age, 47.32 years, is the highest in Montenegro.