Durmitor and the north

Kolašin: The North's Most Convenient Base

Žabljak gets the attention because Durmitor is next to it. Kolašin gets the trains, and for anyone without a car that decides it.

Updated · 2 min read

Why it is easy

FromHowTime
PodgoricaTrain through the Morača canyon1 h 30
PodgoricaCar, E65/E801 h 15
Podgorica airportCar1 h 30
KotorCar2 h 30
ŽabljakCar via Mojkovac1 h 30
Biogradska GoraCar or taxi20 min

The train is the point. It climbs the Morača canyon and crosses the Mala Rijeka viaduct, 200 metres up, once the highest railway bridge in the world. It costs a few euros and it is a better journey than the road.

What is around it

  • Biogradska Gora, twenty minutes away — one of the last primeval forests in Europe, with a flat hour-long circuit round a glacial lake.
  • The Bjelasica massif directly above the town, with marked trails up to Crna glava at 2,139 m.
  • Kolašin 1600 and Kolašin 1450 ski areas, connected, with more terrain and better lifts than Žabljak.
  • The Tara canyon an hour north, for rafting put-ins on the upper river.
  • Katuns on the high pastures, where families still bring cattle up for the summer.

Winter

Kolašin's ski area was substantially expanded and it is now the better of Montenegro's two — more lifts, more vertical, modern gondola. Day passes run around €25 to €35, which is still a fraction of Alpine pricing, and queues are short outside the New Year period.

The season runs roughly December to March and depends on natural snow, with limited artificial cover.

Summer

The town sits at 950 metres, which means it is fifteen degrees cooler than Podgorica in August and about ten cooler than the coast. That alone is a reason to spend two nights there in the middle of a summer trip.

The gondola runs in summer for walkers, which turns a long climb into a ridge walk.

Eating

This is northern food and it is different from the coast: kačamak and cicvara, both cornmeal and cheese dishes, lamb and veal cooked under the sač, smoked trout from the Tara, and kajmak on everything. Portions are large and prices run a third below the coast.

A main course is €7 to €11. A litre of house wine is €6.

Where it fits in a trip

Kolašin is the natural stop between Podgorica and Durmitor, and the natural base for anyone doing Montenegro by public transport. For drivers it works as one night on the way north and one on the way back, which costs nothing in driving time and turns a long transfer into two short ones.

Book locally

Run by a licensed operator in Žabljak. Send a request, pay the operator on the day.

Tara Rafting 14 km — Durmitor National ParkRafting · ŽabljakTara Rafting 14 km — Durmitor National ParkThe shortest Tara section Tara Kula runs: a half day on the river inside Durmitor National Park, passing under the Đurđevića Tara bridge.from €60 Tara Canyon Rafting 36 km — the Deepest PartRafting · ŽabljakTara Canyon Rafting 36 km — the Deepest PartA full day on the Tara through the canyon’s deepest stretch, with a jeep leg and an optional lunch.from €120 Family Day: 3 h Rafting + 4 h Jeep SafariRafting · ŽabljakFamily Day: 3 h Rafting + 4 h Jeep SafariHalf the day in a jeep, half on the calmer lower Tara, with breakfast and lunch sorted.from €120 Durmitor Retreat — Apartment in ŽabljakStay · ŽabljakDurmitor Retreat — Apartment in ŽabljakA renovated apartment in the middle of Žabljak, two minutes on foot from the rafting agency.Book on Airbnb

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