Mrtvica canyon trail

Key facts

The route

The trail starts at the car park below Međuriječje and follows the river upstream. Within the first kilometre, at the pool called Zeleni vir, the stone bridge Danilov most crosses the Mrtvica; Prince Danilo Petrović built it in 1858 in honour of his mother Krstinja. A second bridge comes further up the canyon.

The named points along the way are Zeleni vir, the Gate of Wishes (Kapija želja), a natural rock arch with a legend about a fairy of Maganik who grants a wish to those who pass through it, a beach about halfway, and the springs Jama, Zvona, Rikavac and Bijeli Nerini in the lower canyon. Part of the path runs through a passage blasted in 1973, when General Danilo Jauković, local people and the army cut it through the rock to link Mrtvo Duboko with Velje Duboko.

The marked trail ends at Plaža. The footpath continues up the canyon towards Velje Duboko; the whole path through the canyon is about 12.5 km.

Depth and length

The canyon lies below the Maganik and Tali mountains. It is about 10 km long and about 1,250 m deep, the second deepest in Montenegro after the Tara; the cliffs on both sides of the path rise 600 to 700 m.

Getting there

• By car: about 30 km from Kolašin on the old main road towards Podgorica, past the Morača monastery. At Međuriječje a sign on the right leads down to the car park where the marked trail begins.
• From Podgorica: the same old road up the Morača valley.
• Climb: from 190 m at the start to 586 m at Plaža, about 396 m.

When to go

Spring, summer and autumn. Spring is the best time, for the water level and the greenery; the round trip of about 13 km is moderately demanding. A longer, more remote route links the Lukavica valley, Kapetanovo jezero, the Mrtvica canyon and the Gate of Wishes.

Protection

In 2023 Kolašin municipality drafted a decision to protect the canyon and its surroundings as a nature park, Park prirode Rijeka Mrtvica sa okolinom, category IV, of 7,322.06 ha in the cadastral areas Velje Duboko i Liješnje, Osreci, Međuriječje, and Vlahovići i Bulatovići. The draft's zone II covers the Mrtvica and Morača watercourses, the Mrtvičke grede section of the canyon with its canyon beech and the munika pine stands on Maganik, and bans fishing from 1 October to 1 May; the river holds Adriatic brown trout.

Safety

Plaža is the name of a spot on the river, not a managed bathing place. The emergency number is 112.

Nearby

The Mrtvica river page has the fishing rules. The canyon is the western edge of the Moračke planine, and Maganik rises on its other side. The Morača monastery is on the same road from Kolašin. Other marked walks are on the hiking page.

Questions

How long is the Mrtvica canyon walk?

6.6 km from Međuriječje to Plaža, about 2 hours one way; about 13 km there and back.

How deep is the canyon?

About 1,250 m, the second deepest in Montenegro after the Tara; the cliffs beside the path are 600 to 700 m high.

Where does the trail start?

At the car park below Međuriječje, about 30 km from Kolašin on the old main road towards Podgorica; a sign on the right marks the turn.