ZABLJAK, CITY ON THE HIGHEST ALTITUDE OF THE BALKANS

                                ZABLJAK 

            The City on the Highest altitude of the Balkans

I am a mountain person  more than a beach or a City . Unfortunately i always got chance to have  a city break rather than to dive deep into the mountains. But i never regrated it so far. This time i choose to visit Montenegro just because of its stunning Mountains. With the initial research i realized it is not  easy to get there up in mountains using public transport. Luckily my trip end up doing an unforgettable road trip in Montenegro because of good friends. Now let me talk about the beautiful little town tucked into a stunning mountain range in the north east of the Montenegro called Zabljak.

 

Zabljak is the highest town in all of Balkans. It is situated in the north of Montenegro. You can take a bus from the capital of Montenegro , Podgorica . While it is possible to reach Zabljak by Bus ,i recommend renting a car from Podgorica Airport. Check my essentials to know before your trip to Montenegro blog to know about our car rental. In my genuine opinion you surely need a car to travel to the area of the country to witness the untouched nature.  You can drive in Montenegro with your native country license if it is in English. If it is in your local language you might need  to covert to International license. We landed in Podgorica in the morning nearly half ten  and collected our rental car from airport and started our journey to the mountains. Language is a problem in Montenegro as a tourist .Soon after we collected the Car we realized there is no phone holder in car which help the person driving to see himself the route ,speed and rest of the road details. Our Car did had a display screen but it too had the local language. We tried twice with the help of  google translator in store but doesn't work. Montenegrin is the language spoken in Montenegro ,but my initial research shows all Slavic in Serbia, Bosnia, & Herzegovina and Croatian people speaks pretty much the same language with word difference. For this reason we have to translate in Serbia, Montenegrin to communicate. If you have a good research on the place and details you can tackle this hurdle. We started our journey from Podgorica and witness the change of terrain .The road in Montenegro ,i cant say enough of it . The drive up and down was very smooth. It usually take two hours drive to reach Zabljak from Podgorica but i had another plan on the way which later realize was a bad plan. 50km from Podgorica we visited Ostrog Orthodox Monastery.  

The Ostrog Orthodox Monastery is a Serbian Orthodox church situated up in the large rock of Ostroska Greda. The Monastery was originally noted on a 1640 map of Montenegro and was founded in the early 17th century by Vasilije Jovanović, the Metropolitan of Herzegovina. Vasilije passed away there in 1671, and he was elevated to a noble status a few years later. In the cave-church devoted to the Presentation of the Mother of God to the Temple, his body is preserved in a reliquary. One of the most visited Orthodox monasteries in the Balkans is Ostrog. Every year, more than 100,000 people visit it. It is visited by believers from various corners of the world, either alone or in groups. It stands for the gathering place for all confessions, including Muslims, Catholics, and Orthodox. Stories from pilgrims claim that many have been cured or had their life's hardships lessened by praying near his body.

All above are true but we were stuck in the narrow road for hours before reaching the destination. It is a crowded pilgrim place so if you are a tourist i would say you will have to give a lot of time there because of the traffic. And after reaching the car park you have to climb flights of stairs to reach the Monastery . I was spinning climbing the stairs and it was boiling .You have to cover you shoulders and legs ,of course it is a pilgrim place. You have to respect it. We climbed the stairs walk around came back straight because there is a long queue for entering the Monastery. It is unique and beautiful to see the Church carved inside the Rock. We started our journey back and hit the road to Zabljak. As we drive the closer to the beautiful Village , the terrain started to change and huge mountains started to appear. After some more drive tiny beautiful huts started to appear. As we enter to the town of Zabljak it was like entering into a fairytale world. A calm and quick beautiful place with beautiful huts which basically are homestays. 

 

Etno villages are situated within the boarderes of Durmitoor National Park which is surrounded by mountains. These homestays attract tourist with it unique shapes and views of Zabljak and its mountains. You can book stay through booking.com and other websites. We stayed in a guest house named Tiha Noc which was run by a Montenegrin family .A twin bed room with all the basic amenities. We had a great view of mountain .

 The host recommended the restaurant and few places. We drive through the P14 road which had some of the beautiful view of Zabljak. Our main destination was Durmitoor National Park. We had our dinner at the restaurant which was recommended  by our host. The restaurant has the dreamy location .This remind me of road side motels which i saw in Movies. The food was also great with great price. As we roam around the P14 we saw a picturesque lake with a walking trail in a distance. I took Picture and a saw camping site opposite to the road. There was a Cemetery in the distance. So this is actually Lake called Vrazje Jezero .There is also a Stand up paddle renting outlet next to it. But it was closed.

 We usually plan about the places to visit before the trip but, where we are there we will skip some destination due to tiredness or because of tight schedule. One such places are Tara Canon , Sedlo Pass ,Durdevica Bridge. Not with Full heartedly i skip all this places because of tight schedule. So if you are traveling to Zabljak leave some time in your itinerary to visit all these place. For me zabljak was much more than we expected. We had a good night sleep in our guest house. Next morning we had breakfast from the same restaurant and checked out the stay and head to Durmitor National park .This is one of the reason why we choose to travel to north of Montenegro. You can see the color change from rugged brown terrain to turquoise blue water.

One of Europe's most beautiful natural areas is Durmitor National Park, which was created by glaciers and is located near the sea but high in the mountains. The turquoise glacial lakes can be seen from above thanks to the towering peaks, and the forests and valleys appear to go on forever. There are a ton of things to do in Durmitor National Park, making it a paradise for wildlife lovers. The greatest area of Montenegro for hiking is definitely Durmitor, even if the majority of visitors to this region of the Balkans may be drawn to the region's beaches and coastline. Durmitor National Park is primarily composed of three geographical features: plateaux, mountains, and canyons. Due to the combination of alpine and Mediterranean microclimates found within these formations, it boasts a unique variety of flora and fauna for this region of the world.It is recommended that you base yourself in the town of Zabljak, as here is the place where most visitors to Durmitor National Park reside. Zabljak, the center of Durmitor's tourism operations, is laid-back and rambling. It's an alpine center mostly intended for skiing in the winter, but you might be surprised by how much Durmitor has to offer in the summer. This is a popular time of year for rafting, hiking, climbing, and bird watching.

Situated in the center of Durmitor National Park in Montenegro, the Black Lake, also known as Crno Jezero in Montenegrin, is a breathtaking glacial lake. During the last Ice Age, around 10,000 years ago, glaciers retreated, leaving behind a depression that eventually filled with water, creating the lake. About 3 kilometers distant lies the local town of Zabljak, from where the lake is easily accessible by vehicle or bus. 

When you get there, the breathtaking surrounding mountains are reflected in the glistening clear water, immersing you in an environment of pure beauty. The lake is a well-liked location for trekking and nature hikes because of the surrounding thick trees. The well-maintained trail encircling Black Lake invites visitors to take leisurely strolls or, for a more strenuous climb, to the neighboring Bobotov Kuk summit, which gives stunning panoramic views of the entire park. The lake is a well-liked spot for kayaking, fishing, and swimming. During the summer, guests can rent kayaks or boats to explore the lake at their leisure, and the water is warm enough for swimming. We spent time sitting near the lake admiring the beauty of the Black Lake and hit the road to reach coastal line before sunset.

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