Photo Montenegro

Škurda River located north of the town of Kotor. No one can say with certainty where is its source, but it is assumed that is  Njegusi, where it dives and  breaks again on the slopes of  Lovcen with its magic  canyon finishing the run near walls of the town of Kotor and empties into the Bay. Škurda is the main city water supplies, but during the summer months, spring is salty. Luckely, in the same period , sources of fresh water in Orahovac  increases the capacity. Škurda Canyon is very atractuve for the fans of canyoning. .The canyon is passable throughout the year, except during heavy rains when water power is becoming too dangerous.

National park of Durmitor is surrounded by 5 impressive canyons – Tara Canyon, Piva Canyon, Komarnica Canyon, Draga Canyon and Sušica Canyon. On the western side of Durmitor is placed one of the most beautiful canyon of Montenegro – Sušica Canyon. Precisely, that impressive canyon with its amazing untouchable wild beauty is placed between the high cliffs of the SW part of Durmitor’s massif. On both sides, Sušica Canyon is surrounded by high vasty plateaus. Sušica Canyon is connected with Dolina Škrčkih jezera (Škrka Lakes Valley), another pearl of Durmitor National Park.

In the past Sušica river flows in usual river’s valley. After glacial erosion the water of Sušica river created Sušičko Jezero (Sušica Lake), which belong to the group of few periodical lakes in Durmitor. The glacier which was moved through the Sušica Canyon was 10 km long. During time of most intensive glaciation that glacier created some geological and morphological effects at the altitude 1140 m. Because of that influence Sušičko Jezero was formed. During melting of glacier the lake existed like a permanent object.

text by: vvujisic

Morača (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Морача) is a river in Montenegro. It originates in northern Montenegro, under Rzača mountain. It generally flows southwards for some 113 km (70 mi), before emptying into Lake Skadar.

In its northern part, the Morača is a fast mountain river, and has cut a canyon north of Podgorica. After merging with its largest tributary, Zeta, just north of Podgorica, the Morača enters the Zeta plain. It flows through this flat area of Montenegro until it empties into Lake Skadar.

The Morača is a relatively small river, rarely more than 100 m (328 ft) wide and mostly shallow, so it is generally not navigable. Its canyon is currently a corridor for the main road leading from Montenegro’s coast and Podgorica to northern Montenegro and Serbia. This road is considered very dangerous, and will likely be bypassed in future by a motorway which is currently being planned.

The Morača River is considered one of the symbols of Podgorica, and is the biggest river that flows through the city. It is featured on some flags and country symbols.

Wikipedia

The Tara (Montenegrin: Ријека Тара / Rijeka Tara; Tr. Riyeka Tara) is a river in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. It emerges from the confluence of the Opasnica and Veruša Rivers in the Prokletije mountain, part of Dinaric Alps of Montenegro. The total length is 144 km, of which 110 km are in Montenegro, while the final 34 km are in Bosnia and Herzegovina; it also forms the border between the two countries in several places. The Tara flows from south to north – north-west and converges with the Piva at the Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro border between the villages of Šćepan Polje (Montenegro) and Hum (Bosnia and Herzegovina) to form the Drina river.

The Tara River cuts the Tara River Gorge, the longest canyon in Montenegro and Europe and second longest in the world after Grand Canyon, at 78 kilometers in length and 1,300 meters at its deepest. The canyon is protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is a part of Durmitor national park.

Rafting is very popular on Tara River. It is also one of the most popular things to do in Montenegro. The one day rafting route, from Brstnovica to Šćepan Polje is 18 km long and it takes 2 to 3 hours, but most popular is part which included few kilometers of river Drina all together 25 km to Rafting center Drina-Tara. Among the attractions of the area is Đurđevića Tara Bridge, on the crossroads between Mojkovac, Žabljak and Pljevlja.

Rafting starts at Splavista from where you start the adventure 100 km long in the most beautiful and exciting part of canyon. Already at the beginning the Tara, the waterfalls of Ljutica are shown and then, you will pass under monumental bridge of the Tara, 165 metres high and then, you come up to the old Roman road and then pass through the. Lever Tara. “Funjički bukovi” and “Bijele ploče” will make you realise how calm and up to this moment nice Tara becomes wild beauty. “Nisovo vrelo” is the deepest part of canyon of 1100 metres high. Further is the bottom of the mountain top, “Curevac” (1650 m), that rises above Tara as its “eternal guardian” and one of the nicest bellevue of Durmitor. Then you end up at the waterfalls of Draga and then pass through the Radovan luka. Then you pass through the “Canyon of Susica”, “Tepački bukovi”, “Brstanovički bukovi” and “Bailovica sige.” Rafting will end at Sćepan Polje.

Wikipedia Artcle

The Piva (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Пива) is a river in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, shorter headwater of the Drina river, which it forms with the Tara river on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina.The Piva springs from the Sinjac (Cyrillic: Сињац) spring on Golija mountain, near the Monastery of Piva (also called Vrelo Pive; Cyrillic: Врело Пиве; Well of Piva). Before the artificial Lake Piva was formed, the water from the well rushed into the river Komarnica (Cyrillic: Комарница) thus creating the Piva river for the next 34 km. However, Komarnica is part of a 86 km long river system (Tušina-Bukovica-Bijela-Komarnica), so measured from the source of the Tušina river (Cyrillic: Тушина), the Piva, nicknamed ‘the river with five names’ is 120 km long.

The Tušina originates from the mountain Sinjajevina in the Uskoci region of central Montenegro, just few kilometers away from the source of another important Montenegrin river, Morača. The river flows to the west, between the Sinjajevina and Lola mountains, next to the villages of Krnja Jela, Bare, Boan and Tušina. It receives from the north the Bukovica river (Cyrillic: Буковица), and continues further under this name. After the river passes the regional center of Šavnik and the villages of Gradac and Pridvorica in the region of Drobnjaci, the stream receives from the north the Komarnica and takes its name.

Bridge over the Piva River canyon

Piva River

The Komarnica continues between the mountains of Vojnik and Treskavac, in an almost uninhabited area (village of Duži) and enters the high Piva Pleateau, where it turns north (almost all of the Komarnica’s course is flooded by the reservoir of the Lake Piva), receives from the right outflow of the Piva well and enters the deep Piva canyon.

The canyon is cut between the mountains of Bioč, Volujak, Maglić and Pivska planina, its 33 km long, deep up to 1.200 m and river generates immense power used for the power station of Mratinje (342 MW) which dammed the canyon in 1975. The dam is 220 m high, one of the highest in Europe and creates Lake Piva, third largest in Serbia and Montenegro (12,5 km², altitude 675 m, 188 m deep), which flooded the old location of the monastery of Piva from the XVI century, so the monastery was moved to the new one. The Vrbnica river flows from the left into the lake.

After the dam, the Piva continues straight to the north, meets the Tara at Šćepan Polje on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina and creates the Drina.

The Piva belongs to the Black Sea drainage basin with its own drainage area of 1.270 km² and is not navigable.

Wikipedia Article

Nevidio – “Unseen” – the last conquered canyon in Europe

Among the grayness of the Montenegrin karsts, where thousands of years ago the steep slopes of Durmitor and Vojnik clashed during big geological movements, carved into the hard rock, lies the Komarnica canyon, the last conquered canyon in Europe.

In 1965, Montenegrin mountaineers finally explored this canyon with considerable effort. Its symbolic name Nevidio (“Unseen”) or Nevidbog (“Unseen by God”) as it is also called, reminds us of the secret of the canyon, which was hidden from human eyes for a long time.

Some hundred meters before the entrance into the canyon, there is a big waterfall, Grabovine. Vertical cliffs, waterfalls, gorges, foaming cascades, narrow channels and the real gallery of the stone figures – are the main actors in the story about Nevidio.

text: http://montenegro.travel