National parks of Montenegro

The five parks at a glance

The ticket is per person per day.

The parks one by one

Durmitor

The largest and the best known: 48 peaks above 2,000 m, 18 glacial lakes, 25 marked trails of about 150 km and the deepest canyon in Europe, the Tara. Black Lake is 3 km from Žabljak, the highest town in the Balkans at about 1,450 m. Two mountain huts open from mid-June to the end of September, Tara rafting is safest from July to mid-September, and in winter the Savin kuk lifts work inside the park. World Heritage since 1980, with the boundary extended in 2005.

Biogradska gora

The smallest park and the one built around a forest: 1,600 ha of beech, fir and spruce over 40 m tall and up to 500 years old, protected from felling since 1878. Most visitors walk the flat loop around Biogradsko jezero (1,094 m), 3.5 km in about an hour, and rent a rowing boat or kayak on the shore. The park lies inside the Tara River Basin biosphere reserve and is on Montenegro's tentative World Heritage list, not on the list itself. Kolašin, 22 km away, has the nearest railway station.

Lovćen

The karst mountain between Cetinje and the Bay of Kotor, with the Njegoš Mausoleum on Jezerski vrh (1,657 m), reached through a tunnel of 461 steps. Two tickets apply: the park charges €3 and the mausoleum, run by the National Museum, €8, open from mid-April to 15 November. Five marked trails, partly on old Austro-Hungarian stone roads, and three mountain-bike loops; the visitor centre is at Ivanova korita, about 10 km above Cetinje.

Skadar Lake

The largest lake in the Balkans, 370 km² in summer and 540 km² in winter, shared with Albania; the park covers the Montenegrin side with its reed beds, islands and the drowned valley of Rijeka Crnojevića. 281 bird species have been recorded, with Montenegro's main Dalmatian pelican colony. Licensed boats leave from four piers (Vranjina, Virpazar, Rijeka Crnojevića and Plavnica), the park rents kayaks, and nine marked trails run along the shores. April to June brings the most species, winter the largest flocks.

Prokletije

The youngest park and the highest ground of all five, on the Albanian border above Plav and Gusinje: Zla Kolata at 2,534 m, the Grebaje and Ropojana valleys and Hridsko jezero. All 13 marked trails, about 200 km in total, are graded demanding, and snow can lie into summer, so inexperienced walkers hire a licensed guide (€40 for 4 h, €80 for 8 h). Only the Grebaje and Gradine checkpoints are staffed all year; four others open in season. No fishing permits are issued here.

Tickets and passes

The day ticket is per person and includes the visitor centre and the educational trails; in Durmitor a visitor-centre-only ticket costs €1. Children under 15 enter free, organised groups of 20 or more get 50% off, and the annual ticket for all five parks (€13.50) is sold at the park points only. Tickets are sold at the checkpoints and online at ulaznice.nparkovi.me. Entry is free in every park on 22 April, 21, 22 and 24 May, the second Sunday of June, 13 July and 31 July, and in Durmitor also on 6 September, Durmitor Day.

The same services cost the same in every park: parking €1 an hour for a car (€3 for a van, €5 for a bus), a park guide €40 for four hours or €80 for eight, a tent pitch at a designated site €3 a day and a serviced camp space €20. The Njegoš Mausoleum on Lovćen is a separate National Museum ticket (€8, which includes Njegoš's birth house in Njeguši).

Which park for what

• Serious hiking: Durmitor, with 25 marked trails of about 150 km and 48 peaks above 2,000 m, and Prokletije, 13 trails of about 200 km, all graded demanding. Routes by difficulty are on the hiking page.
• An easy walk: the Black Lake loop in Durmitor, about 3.6 km in an hour, and the Biogradsko jezero loop through the primeval forest, 3.5 km in about an hour. Both start at a car park with a ticket point.
• Birds and boats: Skadar Lake, 281 recorded bird species and boat trips from Vranjina, Virpazar, Rijeka Crnojevića and Plavnica.
• Views and history: Lovćen, with the Njegoš Mausoleum and its 461 steps, and lookouts over the Bay of Kotor and Cetinje, the old royal capital, at its foot.
• Winter: Durmitor, where the Savin kuk lifts stand inside the park 5 km from Žabljak, and Biogradska gora, next to the Kolašin 1600 and Kolašin 1450 centres; Durmitor, Lovćen, Biogradska gora and Prokletije rent snowshoes at €4 a day.
• Camping: only at designated sites, €3 a tent pitch; Durmitor has six, Biogradska gora the lake shore and Kraljevo kolo, Skadar Lake and Prokletije serviced spaces at €20.

Getting there

Driving distances and times are for a car without traffic; the park pages list more starting points.