Mountains of Montenegro

Highest peaks

Heights follow the official survey of peaks; Zla Kolata, which the survey leaves out, is given at 2,534 m, the figure in common use.

The main massifs

Durmitor. Limestone massif above Žabljak: Bobotov kuk 2,522 m, 48 peaks over 2,000 m, 18 glacial lakes and the Tara canyon on its edge, all inside the national park. 25 marked trails of about 150 km; the climb to Bobotov kuk from the Sedlo pass is 12.72 km with 722 m of ascent, about three hours up.

Prokletije. The southern end of the Dinaric Alps, on the Albanian and Kosovo borders above Plav and Gusinje: Zla Kolata 2,534 m, the Grebaje valley and the Ropojana valley. Every trail in the national park is graded demanding, snow can lie into summer, and a park guide costs €40 for four hours.

Komovi. Three rock summits above the Štavna plateau at about 1,900 m: Kučki Kom 2,487 m, Ljevorečki Kom and Vasojevićki Kom, a nature park shared by Andrijevica, Kolašin and Podgorica. Routes start at the Štavna katun (1,764 m): Kučki Kom is 7 km and about three hours, with an exposed ridge before the summit, and the loop of the Koms rounds all three.

Bjelasica. Grassy massif between the Tara and the Lim: Crna glava 2,137 m, Biogradska gora National Park, four glacial lakes and the Kolašin 1600 and Kolašin 1450 ski centres. From the Vranjak katun, Zekova glava is a walk of 1 h 20. The town is Kolašin.

Sinjajevina. A high pasture plateau about 40 km long between Kolašin and Šavnik, with summer katuns; the highest point is Torna, also called Babin zub.

Lovćen. Karst mountain between Kotor and Cetinje: Štirovnik 1,749 m and Jezerski vrh 1,657 m with the Njegoš Mausoleum, a national park since 1952. Its trails follow old Austro-Hungarian roads, and the Kotor-Lovćen cable car climbs from the bay side.

Orjen. Karst mountain behind Herceg Novi: Veliki kabao 1,895 m (1,894 m by the nature park), the highest point on the Adriatic coast, a nature park since 2018 with trails from Vrbanj.

Maglić and the Piva mountains. Maglić, 2,386 m, is a border summit above Plužine in the Piva nature park, beside Bioč (2,396 m) and Volujak, with the heart-shaped Trnovačko jezero below.

Hajla. A 2,403 m summit about 15 km from Rožaje, with the Štedim plateau, the Grope hut at 1,900 m and the Bandžov base for easy routes.

Visitor. A 2,210 m mountain above Plav with the glacial Visitorsko jezero, hiked from June to October alongside Prokletije.

Rumija. Coastal ridge of 1,594 m in the municipality of Bar, between the Skadar Lake basin and the sea, with Old Bar at its foot.

Central Montenegro. Moračke planine between the Morača and the Mrtvica canyon, with Kapetanovo jezero at 1,678 m; also Prekornica, Garač, Vojnik, Žijovo and Kučka korita.

Which mountain for what

• A big summit day: Bobotov kuk on Durmitor, 12.72 km and 722 m of ascent from Sedlo, about three hours up.
• Alpine and remote: Prokletije, where every park trail is graded demanding and snow lies into summer; inexperienced walkers take a licensed guide.
• An exposed ridge: Kučki Kom on the Komovi, 7 km and about three hours from Štavna.
• Easy walks: the Lovćen trails on old Austro-Hungarian roads, and Bjelasica from the Vranjak katun, Zekova glava in 1 h 20.
• Skiing: Bjelasica with Kolašin 1600 and Kolašin 1450, and Durmitor with Savin kuk; see Skiing.
• Sea views: Orjen, Rumija and Lovćen, the coastal ranges, walkable from mid-April to October.

Season, trails and rules

Montenegro has about 3,000 km of mountain trails, about 1,480 km of them marked and about 800 km inside the national parks. Trails are marked and graded easy, medium or hard by the Mountaineering Association, and under the law on mountain trails you walk at your own risk; a licensed guide and an organised group are recommended, solo tours are not, and 112 reaches mountain rescue. The coastal mountains walk from mid-April to October, the high massifs from June to October with Durmitor at its best from July to September, Bjelasica and Sinjajevina from May to October. Routes with lengths, times and grades are on the hiking page.

Getting to the mountains

Driving distances and free-flow times, without traffic, snow or queues.

Kolašin also has a station on the Bar-Belgrade railway; the coach lines to the other towns are on Buses.