Morača

Course

The catchment is 3,257 km². From the source below Rzača, in the Moračke planine, the river falls more than 900 m, which makes it steep for its 100 km. Its two main tributaries in the upper course are the Mala Rijeka and the Mrtvica, which comes out of its own canyon at Međuriječje. Below the canyon the valley opens, and 3 to 4 km above the centre of Podgorica the Zeta comes in under the walls of the Roman town of Duklja (Doclea). In the city the Morača receives the Ribnica, and below the city the Cijevna. The last stretch is a lowland river that enters Lake Skadar inside Skadar Lake National Park.

The canyon

The canyon fills the middle course for about 30 km and is up to 1,000 m deep, deepest around Tisov vrh, in the municipalities of Kolašin and Podgorica. The main road between Podgorica and the north runs through it, so most people see the Morača from a car or bus window; closures and restrictions are on the road conditions page. The Bar-Belgrade railway, climbing from Podgorica to Kolašin, crosses the Mala Rijeka, the Morača's tributary, about 20 km north of the city on a viaduct 498.8 m long and 198 m above the stream.

Morača Monastery

The Morača Monastery stands on the river bank 25 km from Kolašin towards Podgorica, and 45.8 km, about an hour's drive, from Podgorica. Stefan Vukanović Nemanjić founded it in 1252; it has two churches, the Dormition of the Virgin and the smaller St Nicholas, and a konak, and its 13th-century fresco of the raven feeding the Prophet Elijah is the oldest and best known in the complex.

The Morača in Podgorica

The river crosses the capital, with the Millennium Bridge as its landmark crossing. The Ribnica meets it at Sastavci, in the centre, where the old Ribnica bridge stands below the Ottoman Ribnica fortress; the Vysotsky monument is on the bank between the Moscow Bridge and the Millennium Bridge, and Gorica hill looks over the right bank and the Millennium Bridge. The city's fly-fishing zone runs from the Millennium Bridge to the Union bridge and is catch-and-release all year. No bathing place is designated on the Morača, in the city or in the canyon, so any swimming is wild swimming at your own risk.

Fishing

The Podgorica zone, from the Millennium Bridge to the Union bridge, holds Adriatic trout, marble trout, the Salmo dentex trout, grayling and cyprinids and is fished catch-and-release the whole year, with a daily permit from the local club. On the Kolašin stretch only artificial lures, spinners and flies, are allowed. Under the national order of 2026 (Sl. list CG 75/2026, in force 11 June 2026) trout in Podgorica and Danilovgrad waters are closed from 1 November to 1 April; in Kolašin waters all trout from 1 November to 15 March and grayling from 1 March to 1 June; marble trout, huchen and pike are closed in all waters until 1 April 2029 and must be returned alive; and sport fishing at night is banned everywhere (spring 20:00-05:00, summer 21:00-04:00, autumn 19:00-06:00, winter 17:00-06:00). Zones and guides are on the fly-fishing page.

Kayaking

Rafting in Montenegro is on the Tara; on the Morača the paddle sport is kayaking. Trips run in the Morača canyon at Bioče, about 15 km from the city centre, and the Morača and the Cijevna count as the calmer rivers near the capital against the whitewater of the Tara. The offer is on the kayaking page.

The spring

The Morača spring is a stop on a marked loop in the Moračke planine: from the school at Ljevišta (922 m) past the Gojkova sika waterfall and the spring to the Vragodo katun, Šuplja greda, Rupočajska glava and Šljeme and back by Bljušturni do, 16.4 km with 1,466 m of climbing, graded hard, about 5 hours, with water at several springs. The start is reached from the Mioska-Semolj-Boan-Šavnik road, turning off at Dragovića Polje after 12.1 km.

Getting there

• Podgorica: the river runs through the centre; the Millennium Bridge is the landmark crossing, and Sastavci, the Ribnica confluence, is below Stara Varoš.
• The canyon: on the main road north from Podgorica towards Kolašin; the monastery is 25 km before Kolašin and 45.8 km from Podgorica.
• Kolašin: the base for the upper river, the Mrtvica canyon and the Moračke planine.

Questions

Can you swim in the Morača in Podgorica?

No bathing place is designated on the river, so any swimming is wild swimming at your own risk.

Is the canyon road open in winter?

It is the main road to the north; closures and restrictions are listed on the road conditions page, so check it on the day.

How long is the Morača?

100.67 km in the Water Register, 99.5 km in MONSTAT's yearbook.

Where does the Morača end?

In Lake Skadar, from which the Bojana carries the water to the Adriatic.

How far is the Morača Monastery from Podgorica?

45.8 km by road, about an hour's drive; from Kolašin it is 25 km.