Rivers of Montenegro

Longest rivers

Lengths inside Montenegro follow the Water Administration's register of 2024; where the statistical yearbook gives another figure, it is in brackets.

The Lim is the longest river that touches Montenegro, but it leaves the country at Bijelo Polje after passing Plav and Berane; the Tara, with 142.2 km inside the border, is the longest Montenegrin river. The Tara and the Piva meet at Šćepan Polje, where the Drina begins. The Piva's own free channel is short because most of its valley lies under Piva Lake, 187.5 m deep behind the 220 m Mratinje dam. The Zeta sinks at the southern edge of the Nikšić field and re-emerges about 3 km later at Glava Zete, so the register counts the lower river only. The Ibar is the longest river on the list and the shortest in the country: 33.5 km from its springs below Hajla near Rožaje to the border. Smaller rivers with their own pages: the Ljuča and Zlorečica near Plav, the Bistrica at Berane, the Ljuboviđa, the Šavnik rivers, the Draga and Sušica on Durmitor, the Ribnica in Podgorica and the Sutorina at Herceg Novi.

Canyons

The Tara canyon runs 78 km from the mouth of the Bistrica to Šćepan Polje and is 1,333 m deep between Obzor and Štuoc; the round figures of 80 km and 1,300 m are also in use. The deepest part lies inside Durmitor National Park, with Žabljak as the base and the Ćurevac viewpoint at 1,625 m looking straight into it. The Mrtvica canyon above the Morača is about 10 km long and about 1,250 m deep, the second deepest in the country, and the one to walk: a footpath follows the river past the Zeleni vir pool, the Gate of Wishes and a stone bridge of 1858, reached from Kolašin. The Morača canyon is about 30 km long and up to 1,000 m deep around Tisov vrh; the main road from Podgorica to the north runs through it, past Morača Monastery of 1252. The Piva canyon is 33 km long and up to 1,200 m deep, with a road along it and the Mratinje dam at its head. The Sušica canyon on the Durmitor side of the Tara is 15 km long and up to 700 m deep and once carried a timber railway. The Cijevna canyon in Tuzi municipality is a protected Nature Monument with a road through it.

The narrowest canyon is Nevidio on the Komarnica below Durmitor: about 2 km of slot (3.5 km in some counts), less than a metre wide in places and about 150 m deep, first passed in 1965. It is Montenegro's main canyoning route, a traverse of 3 to 4 hours, offered from 15 June to 30 September; see canyoning.

Rafting, kayaking and swimming

Commercial rafting runs on one river, the Tara. One-day trips start at Splavište near Žabljak (14 km in 3 to 4 hours, or 24 km in 5 to 6 hours) or at Brštanovica on the Plužine side (18 km to Šćepan Polje); the full 60 km from Splavište to Šćepan Polje takes two or three days. The season is April to October, with the strongest water in April and May after the snowmelt and the calmest from 1 July to 15 September; the water stays at 15 °C or below even in summer. Sections, rules and operators are on the rafting page and the Rafting on the Tara page. Kayakers run the same water, graded I-III between Splavište and Brštanovica; the flat alternatives are the Rijeka Crnojevića and Lake Skadar, on the kayaking page.

Swimming in the mountain rivers is a short dip at a rafting stop rather than a day at the water. For a warm river day go south: the Bojana ends at Ada Bojana near Ulcinj, and the national park's equipped beaches on Lake Skadar are Pješačac, Pelinovo and Murići.

Fishing

Daily permits for river zones come from the sport-fishing club that manages each stretch; fly zones allow a single barbless hook and most are catch-and-release. Inside Durmitor National Park the Tara is open from 1 May to 1 October with a €20 daily permit from the duty ranger, the same price as for the Black Lake. On Lake Skadar and the Rijeka Crnojevića the park sells permits for a day (€5), seven days (€20) or a year (€100). The Lim has four fly-fishing zones between Plav and Bijelo Polje, the Ćehotina a catch-and-release zone at Pljevlja, and the Morača a city zone in Podgorica that is open all year.

The national order of 2026 (Sl. list CG 75/2026, in force since 11 June 2026) sets the closed seasons: in the northern municipalities all trout from 1 November to 15 March and grayling from 1 March to 1 June; in Podgorica and Danilovgrad waters trout from 1 November to 1 April. Huchen, pike, marble trout and the Zeta soft-mouthed trout must be released in all waters until 1 April 2029, and several tributaries are closed entirely; the dates for each water are on its river page. Zones and guides across the country: fly fishing.

Which river for what

• The big canyon and rafting: the Tara, from Žabljak or Brštanovica.
• A canyon on foot: the Mrtvica from Kolašin; the Sušica for the Durmitor side.
• Canyoning: Nevidio on the Komarnica.
• A canyon from the car: the Morača on the Podgorica-Kolašin road and the Piva on the road to Šćepan Polje.
• A boat and a bridge: the Rijeka Crnojevića, 12.3 km from a cave below Obod to Lake Skadar, with Danilo's bridge of 1853 and the site of the Obod printing house, whose first book came out in 1494; reached from Cetinje or Virpazar.
• Fly fishing: the Lim, the Ćehotina and the Podgorica stretch of the Morača.
• Sea and river in one day: the Bojana and Ada Bojana.