Photo Montenegro

When you step on Prokletije the doors of an astonishing ecological treasury will immediately open in front of you. If you want to get rid or consumer mania and you have enough adventure some spirit for a close encounter – Prokletije mountains are what you have been dreaming of.

Montenegrin Prokletije is just a small part of this special mountain range between Dinaridi and Sarskih planina (Sars mountains) located in Albania. The mountain range, 70km long, rises gradually toward the southwest and northeast from the Zetsko – Skadarska valley ending up with the highest peaks of Bogicevica and Cakor and Rugova passes, where the highest crests – This powerful high mountain range continues geographyc toward the north with Nedzinata (2341m), Cakor (2046m), Mokre planine (1932m), Hajle (2403) and Mokra Gora (2154m).
Highest mountain peak of Montenegro is on Prokletije (Zla Kolata – 2.536 m).

Text: http://montenegro.travel

Durmitor is a mountain and the name of a national park in Montenegro. It reaches a height of 2,522 meters (Bobotov Kuk).

Name Durmitor is probably derived from Balkan Romance (some Romanian/Vlach dialect), and it means “sleeping” (cognate with English dormitory). There are similarly named mountains such as Visitor (< visător, “dreaming”) and Cipitor (< aţipitor, “sleeping”) across ex-Yugoslavia. Another etymology could be from Celtic meaning “mountain with water”

The Durmitor National Park, created in 1952, includes the massif of Durmitor, the canyons of Tara, Sušica and Draga rivers and the higher part of the canyon plateau Komarnica, covering the area of 390 km².

It was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1980. There are beatuifull landscapes and unique nature.

A part of the National park Durmitor is also the Tara River Canyon, 80 km long and 1,300 m deep, second largest in the world, just behind Grand Canyon in Arizona.
Durmitor mountain is the centre of Montenegrin mountain tourism. The tourist facilities are concentrated around the town of Žabljak.

During the winter, main activities on Durmitor are skiing and, increasingly, snowboarding. In the summer, the activities shift to mountaineering and recreational tourism. One of the most prominent attraction of Durmitor mountain are 18 glacial lakes, best known being Crno Lake.

The area and the mountain was the location of the Battle of the Sutjeska in 1943 in World War II, when the Germans and Italians pursued Tito’s Partisans. There is a monument commemorating the battle in Tjentište.

Wikipedia Article

Lovćen (Montenegrin: Lovćen/Ловћен) is a mountain and national park in southwestern Montenegro.

The Mount Lovćen rises from the borders of the Adriatic basin closing the long ang twisting bays of Boka Kotorska and making the hinterland to the coastal town of Kotor. The mountain has two imposing peaks, Štirovnik (1,749 m) and Jezerski vrh (1,657 m).

The mountain slopes are rocky, with numerous fissures, pits and deep depressions giving its scenery a specific look. Standing on the border between two completely different natural wholes, the sea and the mainland, Lovćen is under the influence of both climates. The specific connection of the life conditions has stipulated the development of the different biological systems. There are 1158 plant species on Lovćen, out of which four are endemic.

National Park encompasses the central and the highest part of Lovćen mountain massif and covers an area of 62.20 km². It was proclaimed a national park in 1952. Besides Lovćen’s natural beauties, national park was established to protect rich historical, cultural and architectural heritage of the area.

Lovćen’s area abounds in numerous elements of national construction. The old houses and village guvna are authentic as well as the cottages in katuns – summer settlements of cattlebreeders.

A particular architectural relic worth mentioning is Lovćen’s serpentine road winding uphill from Kotor to the village of Njeguši, where the birth house of Montenegrin royal family of Petrović is situated.

Wikipedia Article

Biogradska Gora is a forest and a national park in Montenegro within Kolašin municipality.

Biogradska Gora is located in the mountainous region of Bjelasica in the central part of Montenegro between the rivers Tara and Lim, and is surrounded by three municipalities: Kolašin, Berane and Mojkovac.

The National Park is 54 km² in area. Basic elements of the Park are: untouched forest, large mountain slopes and tops over 2000 meters high, six glacial lakes, five at an altitude of 1820 meters and one easy accessible low land lake located at the very entrance to the park, Biogradsko Lake. Swift streams cut through scenery of Biogradska Gora, green pastures and clear lakes reflecting centennial forests. The Park is renowned as a unique geomorphological region and, as such, it is attractive for scientific research. The seat of the park is in Kolašin. The national park abounds in cultural and historic heritage consisting of sacral monuments national building and archeological localities. Numerous authentic buildings of traditional architecture are found throughout the pastures and villages next to the virgin forest reserve on the Bjelasica mountain range.

Although it is the smallest of four National Parks in Montenegro, Biogradska Gora National Park contains great diversity of flora and fauna. There are 26 different habitats of plants with 220 different plants, 150 kinds of birds, and 10 kinds of mammals live in this Park and in its forest, there are 86 kinds of trees and shrubs. In the waters of the park exist three kinds of trout and 350 kinds of insects.

The thing that makes the national park unique is its virgin forest, Biogradska Gora (16 km²) with trees over five hundred years old. In the very heart of Biogradska’s virgin forest is Biogradsko Lake, the largest glacier lake in this National park. The most common tree species around the lake are European Beech, Sycamore Maple and European Ash, and on the slopes Beech and Silver Fir.

When Kolašin liberated from Turkish rule in 1878, people from the Morača and Rovca presented a part of the forest to King Nikola I Petrović-Njegoš of Montenegro. This forest was known as “Branik Kralja Nikole” and was protected. Biogradska Gora was proclaimed a National Park in 1952.

In close vicinity of the National Park, there took place a battle between the Turks on one side and Montenegrins and Serbs on the other side. There were also important battles fought in the First Balkan War of 1912 and this region represented the center of activities of partisans in World War II. For years back, shepherds used rich pasture in this region for grazing sheep and other cattle. These slopes still used as pastures and visitors to the park can enjoy the hospitality of shepherds in their summer houses.

Wikipedia Article

Lake Scutari, also called Lake Skadar and Lake Shkodër (Albanian: Liqeni i Shkodrës; Montenegrin: Скадарско језеро Skadarsko jezero) is a lake on the border of Montenegro with Albania, the largest lake in the Balkan Peninsula. It is named after the city of Shkodra in northern Albania (Albanian: Shkodra or Shkodër, Montenegrin: Скадар/Skadar, Italian: Scutari).Its surface, 6 m (20 ft) above sea level, can vary between 370 km2 (142.9 sq mi) and 530 km2 (204.6 sq mi), of which 2/3 is in Montenegro. The lake is a cryptodepression, filled by the Morača River and drained into the Adriatic by the 41 km (25 mi) long Bojana River, which forms the international border on the lower half of its length.

The Montenegrin part of the lake and its surrounding area were declared a national park in 1983. It is one of the largest bird reserves in Europe, having 270 bird species, among which are some of the last pelicans in Europe, and thus popular with birders. The lake also contains habitats of seagulls and herons and is abundant in fish, especially in carp, bleak and eel.In 1996, by Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, it was included in the Ramsar list of wetlands of international importance.Wikipedia Article