Trnovačko jezero (Trnovačko Lake)

The lake in figures

The heart of the mountains

Seen from the slopes above, the lake has the outline of a heart, which is why the nature park calls it the heart of the mountains (srce planina). It is a glacial lake with no stream running out of it: rain, snowmelt and a few short seasonal streams fill it, and it loses water only through evaporation and seepage. The register puts its area between 0.12 and 0.40 km² over the year.

Maglić, 2,386 m, and Volujak stand on either side of the hollow. The lake lies inside Piva Nature Park, the first nature park in Montenegro, proclaimed on 22 April 2015 over nearly 32,500 ha of Plužine municipality as the link between Sutjeska National Park in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Durmitor National Park.

Getting to the lake on foot

No road reaches the lake. Mountain paths come in from three directions, and the national tourism organisation lists the lake with Piva Lake and the Komarnica canyon as the hiking goals of the Piva area. The Via Dinarica White Trail, the long-distance route along the Dinaric Alps, enters Montenegro at the lake on its way from Bosnia and Herzegovina towards the Piva canyon; see the Via Dinarica page.

The lake is 2 km from the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina; plan the walk with a hiking map.

When to go

Mountain hiking in the Maglić area runs from June to the end of October. The lake's area changes with the season, between 0.12 and 0.40 km² over the year.

The Stabanjska lakes

Two smaller glacial lakes lie on Bioč, about 4 km north-north-west of Stabna village (the park brochure gives 4.5 km). Veliko Stabanjsko jezero sits at 1,319 m: 0.04 km², about 305 m long and up to 9.7 m deep. Malo Stabanjsko jezero, lower at 1,194 m, is 0.011 km², about 165 m long and 4.3 m deep. Both are in Piva Nature Park.

The park marks two trails from them. The harder one runs Stabanjska jezera-Kručica-Krvava brda-Ćuprija-Vitao to Veliki Vitao (2,397 m), the highest point of the park. The easier one goes Stabanjska jezera-Zemunica-katun Kručica-Stabna.

Getting there

Stabna, the settlement the water register assigns the lake to and where the easier Stabanjska lakes trail ends, is 13.1 km (about 30 minutes) from Plužine and 71.0 km (about 1 h 45) from Nikšić by car. Plužine is 108.2 km (about 2 h 15) from Podgorica. The lake itself is reached only on foot.

Nearby

• Maglić, 2,386 m, the mountain above the lake.
• The Stabanjska lakes on Bioč, above Stabna village.
• Piva Lake and the Piva canyon road from Plužine.
• Durmitor National Park to the east, with the Škrčka jezera in the same municipality.
• Other lakes on the lakes hub; more routes on the hiking page.

Questions

Can you drive to Trnovačko jezero?

No. The lake is reached only on foot, by mountain paths from three directions.

How big is the lake?

Between 0.12 and 0.40 km² depending on the season, about 825 m long and 715 m wide, up to 9.2 m deep, at 1,517 m above sea level.

Why is it called the heart of the mountains?

Because of its shape: from above, the lake looks like a heart. The nature park uses the name srce planina.

Which mountains stand around it?

Maglić, 2,386 m, and Volujak. The border with Bosnia and Herzegovina is about 2 km away.