Durmitor National Park

Tickets and opening hours

The ticket is per person per day and covers the visitor centre and the educational trails. It is sold at the checkpoints (Black Lake, Sedlo, Ćurevac, Đurđevića Tara bridge, Splavište, Sušica, Zminje jezero, Ivan Do, Radovan Luka and the Vojno odmaralište) and online at ulaznice.nparkovi.me. The park is open all year.

Entry is free for everyone on 22 April, 21, 22 and 24 May, the second Sunday of June, 13 July, 31 July and 6 September (Durmitor Day). The visitor centre is in the park administration building in Žabljak, where bikes and snowshoes are also rented; a second centre near the Black Lake trail is out of use.

What to see

• Black Lake (Crno jezero): the largest of the park's glacial lakes, 0.52 km² at 1,418 m and 49.1 m deep, 3 km south-west of Žabljak. Two lakes joined by a channel that can dry out in late summer; the water drains underground to both the Tara and the Piva.
• Bobotov kuk: the highest point of the park at 2,522 m (2,523 m on the park's own signs) and the highest peak lying entirely in Montenegro. The first recorded ascent was Oscar Baumann's, in 1883. It is reached from the Sedlo pass or from Žabljak via Lokvice.
• The Tara canyon: about 78-80 km long and 1,333 m deep between Obzor and Štuoc; the Ćurevac viewpoint at 1,625 m looks straight into it. The Đurđevića Tara bridge (365 m long, built 1937-1940) crosses it at the junction of the Žabljak, Mojkovac and Pljevlja roads.
• Sedlo pass (1,907 m) and Sedlena greda (2,227 m), the "saddle of the gods"; the view takes in Valovito and Modro lakes.
• Zminje jezero: a small, greenish lake in conifer forest at about 1,520 m, a short walk above Black Lake.
• Vražje jezero: a round glacial lake on the Jezerska plateau, about 12 km from Žabljak on the old Nikšić road, with two necropolises of medieval stećci nearby.
• Škrka lakes and the Sušica valley: a strict nature reserve of about 2,360 ha with the park's two mountain huts.
• Tara valley monasteries: St George at Dobrilovina, the Dormition at Dovolja and St Archangel Michael at Đurđevića Tara.

Hikes and trails

The park maintains 25 marked mountain trails with a total length of about 150 km. Lengths and times:

• Black Lake educational trail: 3.6 km loop, about 1 hour, flat.
• "Tri jezera" loop from Black Lake via Bosača, Jablan and Barno lakes: 8.9 km, +172 m, easy.
• "Jezera" trail (Suva lokva, Modro, Srablje and Valovito lakes): 6.2 km loop, about 3 hours, easy.
• Sedlo to Sedlena greda: 1 h 30 min one way, medium.
• Savin kuk (2,325 m): 4.8 km one way, +815 m, medium.
• Bobotov kuk from the Sedlo pass: 12.7 km round trip, +722 m, about 3 hours up and 2.5 down; well marked and not very technical, but graded heavy.
• Dobri do, Škrčko ždrijelo, Prutaš and the Škrka lakes: the long route through the flysch ridge.

Two huts are open in summer: Škrka, between the two Škrka lakes on the Bobotov kuk route (mid-June to end of September, sleeping bag needed), and Sušica by Sušičko lake (end of June to end of September, €10 per person). The Lokvice shelter (1,800 m, 20 people) and the climbers' shelter Kalice (2,020 m, 6-12 beds) are open all year. More routes are on the hiking hub and the Durmitor hiking page.

Activities

Rafting on the Tara runs on three sections: Splavište to Žugića luka (14 km), Splavište to Radovan luka (24 km) and Splavište to Šćepan polje (60 km, 2-3 days). By water level the safest period is 1 July to 15 September; trips run from April to October, with the strongest water in April and May. Details are on the Tara rafting page.

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Skiing is at Savin kuk, about 5 km from Žabljak inside the park: 4.6 km of pistes (three blue, one red, one black, a baby slope), two two-seat chairlifts, three surface lifts and night skiing on one floodlit lift. After a fatal accident on the upper chairlift in December 2025 only the surface lifts and the lower chairlift ran in the 2025/26 season, so check which lifts are running before you go. In winter the park also marks a 6.7 km snowshoe trail from the ski centre to Black Lake (snowshoes €4 a day).

Other options: the zip line at the Đurđevića Tara bridge; a 38 km bike loop Žabljak, Njegovuđa, Bare Žugića, Vražje jezero, Banjske kuće, Javorje; the panoramic Durmitor Ring road (about 4 hours of driving and short walks; the park's van tour costs €20 and the jeep tour €30 per person, entrance included); rowing boats on Black Lake; tandem paragliding from the Savin kuk take-off at 2,244 m.

Rules

• Camping only at the designated sites: Žugića Luka, Radovan Luka, Škrka, Sušica, Šarban, Lokvice and Dobri Do. Wild camping, or camping without paying, is an offence under the Law on National Parks.
• Fires only at designated fireplaces (€5 a day, wood included); no driving off the roads.
• Fishing is allowed on Veliko Crno jezero and in parts of the Tara canyon only, with a daily permit from the duty ranger (Black Lake €20), one rod and artificial lures. Hours are 14:00-19:00, never on a Monday; on Black Lake the limit is 4 trout of at least 25 cm. The Tara inside the park is closed from 1 October to 1 May, and fishing is banned altogether on Malo Crno, Zminje, Pošćensko, Valovito and Svrablje lakes, on the Tara from the Ravnjak mouth to Splavište and from the second Bijela vrela to the Tepca bridge, on the right bank from Splavište to the Sušica mouth, and on the whole Mlinski potok.
• Closed seasons in the north: all trout 1 November to 15 March, grayling 1 March to 1 June; huchen, pike, marble trout, Zeta soft-mouth trout and burbot are protected in all waters until 1 April 2029, and anything caught in a closed season goes back alive. Minimum sizes: grayling 30 cm, brown trout 25 cm.
• Rafting the Tara without paying the park fee, and fishing from a raft or kayak, are prohibited.
• Drones need a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency, a Civil Aviation Agency permit if the drone weighs more than 249 g, and the park's approval. Commercial filming costs €200 a day (films) or €400 (adverts, music videos).

Getting there

There is no railway. Buses reach Žabljak from Podgorica (124 km, about 2 h 20 min), Nikšić (74 km, about 1 h 20 min), Pljevlja (60 km, about 1 h 10 min) and Mojkovac (70 km, about 1 h 25 min), with tickets online at busticket4.me. By car, driving times below are without traffic or snow; Dubrovnik is 169 km via Trebinje and Nikšić.

From the town centre it is 2.7 km to the Black Lake checkpoint (about 6 minutes by car, where parking costs €1 an hour) and 14.3 km to the Sedlo pass (about 17 minutes). Ćurevac and the Đurđevića Tara bridge are also reached by car; the park's van and jeep tours cover the Durmitor Ring for those without one.

When to visit

The park is busiest from July to mid-September, and the Black Lake and Tara zones take most of that traffic. The mountain hiking season runs from June to the end of October; the huts open mid-June. Fishing on Black Lake is allowed May to October, rafting is safest from July to mid-September, and winter brings skiing and the snowshoe trail. The plateau itself averages 1,450-1,500 m.

Nearby

The road to Pljevlja leaves from the Đurđevića Tara bridge; Sinjajevina is the neighbouring massif. To the west, the Piva reservoir (675 m, 187.5 m deep) and the Piva canyon road lead to Šćepan Polje, where the Tara and Piva form the Drina. Biogradska gora National Park is reached via Mojkovac and Kolašin. The other parks are listed on the national parks hub.

Questions

Is there an entrance fee?

Yes: €5 per person per day, free under 15, or €13.50 for a year in all five parks. The ticket covers the visitor centre and educational trails; boats, bikes, camping and fishing are extra.

Do you need a car?

Black Lake is a 3 km walk from Žabljak, so the lake and the trails that start there work without one, and buses run to Žabljak from Podgorica, Nikšić, Pljevlja and Mojkovac. Sedlo, Ćurevac, the Tara bridge and the Vražje jezero plateau are road trips; the park's Durmitor Ring tours (€20-30) cover them.

Can you swim in Black Lake?

The water reaches about 20 °C in summer and swimming is customary, though the park's rules neither allow nor forbid it; there is no organised bathing area.

Can you fish in the park?

Only on Black Lake and the open parts of the Tara, with a park permit (Black Lake €20 a day), never on Mondays and only 14:00-19:00 on other days. Fishing on the Tara is closed from 1 October to 1 May.

Is Bobotov kuk hard?

From Sedlo it is 12.7 km there and back with 722 m of climbing, about 5.5 hours in total, on a well-marked path that is not very technical. It is still graded heavy; the hiking season is June to the end of October.

Which hike suits beginners?

The Black Lake loop (3.6 km, 1 hour) and the Tri jezera loop (8.9 km, easy) need no experience. The Jezera trail (6.2 km, 3 hours) is the easy option up on the plateau.