The two lakes
Crno jezero is really Veliko and Malo — Large and Small — joined by a shallow channel. In spring, with the snowmelt in, the channel is under water and it reads as one lake. By August the water has dropped, the channel dries, and you can walk across the gravel bar between them.
This is why photographs of the place disagree with each other. Neither is wrong; they were taken three months apart.
Practicalities
| Park entry | €3 per person per day |
| From Žabljak centre | 20 min walk, or 3 min drive |
| Circuit around both lakes | 3.5 km, about 1 hour |
| Ascent on the circuit | Almost none — it is genuinely flat |
| Altitude | 1,416 m |
| Swimmable | July and August, and it is cold even then |
The easy walk
The circuit is a wide, level path through black pine, most of it in shade, with the water on one side and the wall of Međed above. It suits pushchairs, grandparents and anyone who came for the view rather than the exercise. An hour at a slow pace, less if you keep moving.
Do it anticlockwise. The best view of Međed reflected in the water arrives about two thirds of the way round, which is a better place to have it than at the start.
The real one
From the far side of the lake a marked path climbs towards Crvena greda and, further, to the Škrčka jezera valley. This is a different proposition: 700 metres of ascent, five to seven hours return, and above the treeline for most of it. It is the walk that shows you why Durmitor is a national park rather than a nice lake.
Take a map. The signage above the treeline is paint on rock and it is easy to lose in cloud. There is no phone signal for most of the route.
When to go up
Snow lies on the high paths into June, sometimes July after a heavy winter. Late June to mid-September is the reliable window. Afternoon thunderstorms build quickly in July and August — start early and be off the ridge by two.
