3 days in Žabljak: Durmitor in summer and in winter

Walk or drive the 3 km from the centre to the park checkpoint at the lake; from there the day is on foot. Black Lake is the largest of the park's 18 glacial lakes, 0.52 km² at 1,418 m and 49.1 m deep, two basins joined by a strait that can dry out in late summer; the 3.5 km path round it takes about an hour, rowing boats are EUR 10 an hour, and it is the busiest place in the park, so walk it first thing. Zminje jezero, a small lake in dense spruce forest at about 1,520 m, is a short forest walk above it on the park's recommended loop past Barno jezero. The Ice Cave, which keeps its ice through midsummer, is the day's effort: the marked route from Black Lake via the Lokvice katun is 6.55 km one way, climbing from 1,425 to 2,185 m, and the Lokvice shelter at 1,800 m is open all year; it is a July to September walk, and the Ice Cave return makes this a full day. The lighter alternative, or the arrival-afternoon extra, is the Savin kuk panoramic chairlift, about 5 km from town: it runs 10:00-16:30 with the last ride up at 15:00 and the last down at 15:30, EUR 12 for adults and EUR 8 for children in summer (EUR 10 for the first section only). The first lift is 1,550 m long and ends at 1,907 m; the second runs 700 m to 2,213 m near the Savina voda spring, but it was closed after the accident of 20 December 2025, and the operator publishes no season dates. Above the lift top, the Savin kuk viewpoint at 2,325 m looks over Black Lake and four other lakes; on foot from the Žabljak side it is 4.76 km one way with 815 m of climb, graded medium.

The Ring is the asphalt loop round the massif: 76 km from Žabljak by the Ministry's guide (about 83 km on the cycling page, depending on where it is measured), signposted both ways with brown "Panoramic Roads" signs numbered 2; the audio guide runs anticlockwise, campers are advised to drive clockwise, and one section is not suited to large campers. The Žabljak tourist board lists it as a May-October cycling route; the plan on this page starts in June because of the snow on Sedlo. The Sedlo pass is the high point, 1,907 m by the park (1,895 m by the tourist organisation), climbed at 8% from the Pošćenje side and dropped at 8% into Dobri do, with a rest area and parking, the view of Sedlena greda and the trailheads to Škrka lake and Bobotov kuk; the hike to the top of Sedlena greda, 2,227 m, is about 1 h 30. The park lists a ticket checkpoint at Sedlo; check with the park whether a booth operates there and whether the fee applies to driving the public road. Beyond Trsa, the Nedajno viewpoint at 1,480 m looks into the Sušica canyon and across to Mala Crna Gora; it is 5 km from the Trsa junction and the last 900 m are gravel. The NTO says the Ring villages are cut off for a few months a year, which is why this day has no shoulder-season version. With a fourth day, Bobotov kuk, 2,522 m, the highest peak of the park, replaces the Ring: 12.72 km there and back from the Sedlo pass with 722 m of climbing, about 3 hours up and 2.5 down, well marked, graded hard, a whole day.

Start with Ćurevac, 1,625 m, the viewpoint every official source names for the Tara canyon: on the Ring road 4 km from the centre of Žabljak a road turns right to it, and the tourist organisation recommends the detour; parking at the end of the road is not described, and the marked loop on foot from Žabljak is 17.74 km with 340 m of climb, graded medium. The trail looks straight down into the canyon, 1,333 m deep at its deepest, and onto the village of Tepca. Then the Đurđevića Tara bridge, 365 m long and built 1937-1940, the canyon's road crossing, where the park sells its tickets at a checkpoint. The zip lines cross the canyon beside it, 1,050 m and 824 m long and about 150 m above the river, with no advance booking needed; prices, season, age and weight limits and the operator's name are not published, so ask at the bridge. With a fourth day, rafting is a full day, not an add-on: trips start from Splavište by the bridge or from Brštanovica on the Plužine side, a long drive from Žabljak, the park calls 1 July to 15 September the safest period by water level, and the law sets a minimum age of 7 and a certified raft leader on every raft. The bridge and the canyon road can close: check the road conditions page before setting off.

Savin kuk is the ski area inside the national park, about 5 km from Žabljak, run by the state company Turistički centar Durmitor. Two two-seat chairlifts, three surface lifts (one floodlit for night skiing), a children's lift and a moving carpet serve 4.6 km of pistes: three blue, one red, one black and a baby slope, with a tubing run and two snow guns added in the last two seasons. Savin kuk I is 1,550 m long and ends at 1,907 m; Savin kuk II continued to 2,213 m, but on 20 December 2025 an accident on it killed one visitor and injured another, both chairlifts closed, the surface lifts reopened after a double inspection, and Savin kuk I reopened on 31 January 2026 with skiing to the middle station. The government plans a completely new lift system. The operator publishes no winter price list; the press gave a day pass of EUR 16 for adults and EUR 10 for children. Rental, a ski school and a ski service are at the centre and in Žabljak. The tourist organisation's winter season opens in late December, with its programme at the main square, the sports centre, Black Lake or Savin kuk.

The marked winter trail between Black Lake and the Savin kuk ski centre is 6.7 km one way with about 268 m of ascent, about 2 hours, graded easy; snowshoes are hired at the park visitor centre in town (EUR 4 a day) and at the ski centre. The lake itself freezes in winter, and the tourist organisation names it among the venues of its winter-season opening. Walk from the town rather than drive: the lake is 3 km from the centre on the road past the park building, and whether that road is cleared for cars in winter is not published. The park ticket (EUR 5 per person per day) applies all year, and the park has no closing season. The NTO gives December to March as the season for snowshoeing and ski touring; the tourist organisation also lists Nordic skiing and snowmobiles among winter activities, without places or prices.

A long day on the M-6, the main road from Žabljak to Pljevlja, which crosses the Đurđevića Tara bridge; the canyon road and the bridge can close, so check the road conditions page before setting off, drive on winter tyres (compulsory in winter conditions from 15 November to 1 April) and start early for the daylight. Pljevlja is the northernmost town, in a basin on the Ćehotina. The Husein-pasha Mosque in its centre was built in 1569 as the endowment of Husein-pasha Boljanić, with a 42 m minaret, marble from Alexandria, a 16th-century illuminated Qur'an and a leather-backed Egyptian carpet of 400 kg ordered around 1573; it is an active mosque and no visiting hours or rules are published, so ask at the door and dress as for any place of worship. The Ćehotina meanders viewpoint is the tourist organisation's excursion site about 20 km from town on the Bijelo Polje road, above the tight bends the Otilovići reservoir made of the river; several lookouts exist, the organisation does not say which it means, parking and the walk from the road are not described, and the marker on the map is approximate. The Žarski ski centre on Bjelasica, in Mojkovac municipality, is still under construction with no opening date, so it is not a stop.