Rožaje

What to see and do

• The Sultan Murat II mosque, the largest in town, dated to 1450.
• The Kučanska mosque of 1830, built mostly of wood and preserved in its original form.
• Ganića kula, a fortified tower house and one of the oldest buildings in town, now the Homeland Museum (Zavičajni muzej "Ganića kula"). Other collections in the country are on the museums page.
• Vrelo Ibra, the spring of the Ibar, about 10 km from the centre: the river rises from six springs below Hajla at 1,360 m, receives 23 tributaries and leaves Montenegro after 33.5 km on its 276 km way through Kosovo and Serbia to the West Morava.
• Livestock fairs, the trade the town grew on, and the Days of Mushrooms and Medicinal Herbs, the autumn event of the surrounding forests.

Hajla and the mountains

Hajla, 2,403 m, is about 15 km from the centre and has no protected status. Two bases serve it: the Bandžov picnic area at about 1,400 m, with the Jelenčica hut, the Dermano restaurant and eco-katuns, where the easy routes start, and the Grope mountain hut at about 1,900 m below the summit, with room for about 60 people. Rujišta lake lies at about 1,500 m. The Štedim plateau, between 1,700 and 2,000 m, is used in winter for ski touring and snowshoeing. The hiking season runs from June to the end of October; trail rules are on the hiking page, and the emergency number 112 covers mountain rescue. The climate is continental with mountain features: about 900 mm of precipitation a year, most of it in May and least in August, and long snowy winters.

Skiing

The Hajla ski centre stands on Turjak, 8 km from Rožaje on the Berane side of town, and not on Hajla itself: a baby lift and an anchor lift carrying 840 skiers an hour, a run of 1,019 m, parking for 200 cars, equipment rental and repairs, a ski and snowboard school and the Košuta restaurant 150 m from the piste. It is a small local area that opens when there is snow. The two surface lifts of the former Turjak hotel, on private land nearby, have been out of service since 2005. The state is building a larger centre, Hajla-Štedim, on the Štedim side: the 7.2 km road from town to Štedim has been rebuilt and the pylons and bottom station of a six-seat chairlift stand, with the base station and water supply still to come. All centres in the country are compared on the skiing page; the nearest working resorts with chairlifts are Kolašin 1450 and Kolašin 1600, 66.7 km away.

History in brief

Settlement here goes back to the 7th century, and the archaeological sites around the town show older Illyrian and Roman traces, among them an Illyrian settlement on Brezovačko brdo. The name Rožaje is first recorded in 1585. The town grew as a trading centre with livestock fairs. The Sultan Murat II mosque (1450) and the Kučanska mosque (1830) are its oldest dated buildings, and Ganića kula one of its oldest structures.

Getting there and around

• By air: Podgorica Airport is 134.2 km away, about 2 h 36 min by road; Tivat Airport 208.2 km, about 4 h 03 min.
• By train: Rožaje has no railway. The nearest station is Bijelo Polje on the Bar-Belgrade line, 65.2 km away, about 1 h 19 min.
• By road: the main road runs west over the Lokve pass past Cmiljevica and the Lokve ski centre (14 km from Berane) to Berane, and on through the Lim valley to Bijelo Polje or, via Andrijevica and the Smokovac-Mateševo motorway, to Podgorica. Hajla's huts are reached from Bandžov; the Turjak ski area lies off the Berane road.
• Health: the health centre (Dom zdravlja Rožaje) is at 29. novembra bb, telephone +382 51 271 347; ambulance 124. The nearest hospital is Kliničko-bolnički centar Berane, Svetosavska 33, telephone +382 51 230 630, in Berane. Postcode 84310.
• Tourist information: Turistička organizacija Rožaje, Maršala Tita bb, telephone +382 51 270 158.

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

When to visit

June to October is the season for Hajla and the Štedim plateau on foot; the ski area on Turjak and the touring routes on Štedim open when there is snow, in winters that are long here. The town's events are the memorial winter climb of Hajla "Safet Mavrić Ćako" and the Zlatna pahulja children's song festival in winter, the Dan Hajle mountain marathon, the Days of Mushrooms and Medicinal Herbs and Rožaje Cultural Summer; dates are announced each year. The mosques and Ganića kula can be seen in any month.

Nearby

• Berane, 30.7 km west over the pass, with the Lokve ski centre on Cmiljevica between the two towns.
• Bijelo Polje, 65.2 km, the nearest railway station.
• Kolašin, 66.7 km, with the two Kolašin ski resorts and Biogradska gora.
• Plav, 71.5 km, with Lake Plav and Prokletije National Park, where Zla Kolata (2,534 m) is the highest point of Montenegro.

Questions

Is there skiing in Rožaje?

Yes, a small area on Turjak, 8 km from town: two surface lifts and a 1,019 m run, open when there is snow. The larger Hajla-Štedim centre is under construction; the nearest resorts with chairlifts are at Kolašin, 66.7 km away.

How far is Hajla from town?

About 15 km to the summit area. The easy routes start at Bandžov (about 1,400 m) and the Grope hut at about 1,900 m sleeps about 60.

How do you get to Rožaje from Podgorica?

By road through Berane: 124.2 km, about 2 h 23 min. Podgorica Airport is 134.2 km away, about 2 h 36 min. There is no railway; the nearest station is Bijelo Polje, 65.2 km away.