Black lake in Montenegro on the map. Black Lake, Montenegro: description, recreation, photos

Geographical location of the lake

Black Lake is located in the Durmitor National Park, at an altitude of 1442 meters. The black glacial lake has become the most famous in all of Montenegro. It allows you to understand how beautiful the nature of Zabljak can be. This place is rich in natural potential. It is not surprising that this natural attraction of Montenegro has been described by many writers, famous travelers, and researchers. In order to see it, you need to come to Montenegro and visit a distance of 2.5 kilometers southwest of the central part of Zabljak, near the foot of the majestic Bear Mountain.

Features of Black Lake

From the highest point you can see how two lakes flow into the Black Lake - Maloe and Bolshoye. At the same time, only a narrow 60-meter isthmus connects the Small and Large lakes. It is interesting to note that the length of the Big Lake is 855 meters and the maximum depth is 26 meters, although the Small Lake is 600 meters long and 50 meters deep.

This is one of the most interesting features of the local nature. The fact is that in terms of the volume of stored water, it turns out that the Small Lake is larger, not the Big Lake. The origin of the Black Lake near Zabljak is glacial, it was formed during the Pleistocene.
The lake is surrounded by a dense forest, which consists of spruce and pine trees. The whole of Zabljak is proud of this dense forest, because it is beautiful and a good place for hiking. The base of spruces and pines is covered with forest berries and moss.

Black Lake is surrounded by an unusual park, which is intersected by numerous routes. The total length of paths intended for walking is 3.5 kilometers. Every tourist who decides to go on this exciting walk will be able to appreciate the beauty of Zabljak’s nature, see numerous streams that originate from the majestic mountains and flow into the lake. The largest is Mlinsky stream. Many local streams form small waterfalls that are particularly beautiful. A walk can be especially pleasant when the snow melts in spring, because the waterfalls become even more beautiful and the nature of Zabljak reveals itself at its best. If tourists want to take a walk not only near the Black Lake near Zabljak, they can diversify their trip. You can go on a walk through the national park and see other lakes, but smaller ones. Without a doubt, they will be pleasantly surprised by the beauty of the local nature.

Legends of the Black Lake

There is a legend of a religious nature associated with the lake. According to legend, Saint Sava traveled to these places and was unjustly convicted of theft. After an unjust condemnation, all the village residents chased after Saint Sava. The righteous man decided to punish his pursuers, after which he sent water to the small village. The Small Lake was able to flood the village, and the Big Lake - the meadows. This legend makes it clear that these places are famous not only for their picturesque nature, but also for their amazing atmosphere and unusual phenomena.

The lake can freeze in winter, although even at this time a tourist trip to Zabljak can be exciting. In summer, the lake can warm up to twenty degrees, so it is pleasant to swim, fish, and boat here. If you wish, you can just sit on the shore, because the Black Lake near Zabljak is an amazingly beautiful place with clean air. Part of the coastline has been improved. There are cozy gazebos, benches and even a small restaurant where you can try national dishes.

Among the natural attractions in Zabljak, we should mention the Black Lake, which deserves your attention!

If you have time to enjoy Durmitor, don’t be lazy and walk around the Black Lake. Or rather, in two circles, because... it is double, with a thin isthmus. The route is short - 4 km, but due to the rocky embankment we walked slowly, spending 1 hour 40 minutes. I still had to enjoy the beauty, pick mint, take photos, eat wild currants :)

In the Durmitor National Park there is a whole system of marked routes, their total length is 100 km. You can conquer Mount Bobotov Kuk (in short, go from the Sedlo mountain pass), you can climb Bear Mountain, walk to the Ice Cave, to Snake Lake, etc. In the end, you can just walk through the forest, pick blueberries and mushrooms; ticks and mosquitoes don’t bother you here, as in the central zone of Russia.

I advise you to buy an excursion to the River Canyons and Durmitor National Park on the website Olimpus.me, these are Russian guys, they have excellent guides and buses. But don’t take it from the embankment of Budva and other cities, the quality will be much lower. You can also order individual tour from me or recommend my fellow driver.

I will show most of the photos in cloudy weather, even the mountain above the lake was not visible...

I came across two active tourists who had been here before and seen the canyons, but we decided not to go there again. I showed them the canyon of Lake Piva, the Mratinje dam, the Sedlo mountain pass from Pluzine to Zabljak, and spent the evening walking around the Montenegrin “Mountain Eyes”

In August, the water did not dry up in the middle of the lakes; we even asked the foreigners to be transported on a boat so as not to go around the Small Lake, but they refused to take three of us in the flimsy boat.

A couple of times we strayed from the path on purpose, ending up in a dense forest

I haven’t climbed to the top of the mountain yet, so I’m stealing a photo from the Internet with a panoramic view of the Black Lake. It is of glacial origin, located at an altitude of 1442 m, and also 3 km from the city of Zabljak. In summer it dries out quite a bit, and in winter it freezes for a period of 70 days.

The large lake has a smaller volume of water, its max. depth - 24.5 m, and at Maly - 49 m. Visual illusion!

The Durmitor mountain range is rich in legends and the Black Lake is also credited with one... Although it’s funny for me to tell it, because... looks like complete nonsense. Legend says that in the distant 13th century, Saint Sava (founder of the Serbian Orthodox Church) visited this place. Allegedly, the villagers and monks did not believe that such an important person had come to them, and decided to put a dead rooster in his bag, accusing him of theft in the morning. Then Saint Sava cursed this place, the monastery and the village went underground, and in their place the Black Lake formed.

As for me, this legend does not fit with Orthodoxy... And Lake Cherny is rather named because of the reflection of a dense coniferous forest, and then in bad weather :)) And so it has gradients - from light green to dark green

Lately my hiking clothes have blended harmoniously into this landscape.

I honestly don’t dress like that on purpose for the north :)))

The height of the lake varies up to 5 meters depending on the season. In summer, the temperature in Black Lake is 4°C lower than the air! In sunny weather, people swim and sunbathe, paint pictures, read books and ride bicycles along the same path.

And here is the path itself. Near the Small Lake it is more difficult, disabled people will not pass... Small children can whine, although I have walked around the Bolshoi Lake with them too.

In Montenegro, either the Ministry of Tourism or the workers of the national parks have long thought for us where to enjoy the scenery, think about the meaning of life and relax. I have a tag on Instagram

For example, here is an old photo from Instagram. I even jokingly call excursions in the north of Montenegro “on the benches”, there are so many beautiful panoramas here!

The Cheline waterfall “pleased” us with its absence in August... And look for it in the spring by the sound of falling water near the Small Lake, height - 25 m

But I found red currants!

View from Small Lake to the isthmus; only a small percentage of Russian tourists come here. Since the Canyons bus tour allows them to enjoy the beauty for about 20 minutes, taking into account that they still need to walk 700 m one way to the lake. If you have the opportunity to take a taxi, drive yourself, or have a private excursion to Durmitor - choose these options, you will see more.

You've probably noticed that almost every time I try to call this country beautiful. This is true, Montenegro is one of the most beautiful countries in the Balkans. Even if the people here are not very sincere, like for example, it is worth going here for the sake of nature.

At the end of our journey through the “black” mountains, I want to tell (and show) about another stunning place - Zabljak , where is the most beautiful Black Lake in the Durmitor National Park and the Tara River Canyon. You know that I have already visited a lot of places, in Tibet, in the mountains of India, and in Altai, it would seem that I should have cooled off a little from the beauty of the mountains, but the nature of Zabljak is amazing, you can’t get used to it.

How to get to Zabljak.

Car rental. One of the most popular ways is to rent a car. This is very convenient if, in addition to Zabljak, you are going to travel a lot to other equally beautiful places in Montenegro. The cost of renting a car starts from about 20 euros. Naturally, the price depends on the time for which you are going to take the transport, on the vehicle itself and the city where exactly you are taking it. You can look at all these questions and prices at, and even book the one you need right from home.

Bus. Budget travelers will of course be interested in public transport, namely buses. To Zabljak most of the buses go through (from) Podgorica(s) or Budva. Therefore, no matter how you look at it, you will have to travel with a transfer if you are not in the above-mentioned settlements. To make life easier for tourists, there is a very convenient website for purchasing bus tickets online. You will find all the prices and directions you need there.

The cold city of Zabljak.

We got to Zabljak in several cars. Since the city is located in the mountains, despite the sun, it was cool here, so we immediately pulled on our sweaters.

The first step was to get rid of the heavy backpacks. On the way, I came across an “office” that organizes rafting along the Tara Canyon. This is already interesting, we immediately turned there.

After talking with the guy sitting at the table (in English, of course), we learned that river rafting for one person would cost $46 per person. An interesting number, not 45, not 50, but 46 :). If the price were a little lower, at least 10-15 bucks, we would definitely raft down the canyon, whose height is 1300 m, but such a figure is too brutal. So we just asked to leave our backpacks here so we could walk around Durmitor National Park .

Mila and I set off lightly to explore the city. The first thing that immediately caught my eye was the architecture of the buildings, very unusual, I have never seen anything like it anywhere else.

Somewhere in the city center, I found free Wi-Fi from a cafe, and took the opportunity to notify my relatives of my location.

To “Durmitor” from the city it was about 1-1.5 km on foot along a neat sidewalk. Occasionally we even came across tourists and this walking map (I don’t know how readable it will be for you).

And while we walked along the sidewalk, simply unimaginable landscapes of rivers, streams, lawns, forests opened up before us, and the most beautiful thing in the distance - Mount Bobotov Kuk with a height of 2525 m.

How to get free access to Durmitor National Park.

I was also somewhat surprised that there was an entrance fee to the park. We had almost passed the inconspicuous wooden house of the cashier when we heard a knock on the glass behind us and loud exclamations that entrance to the park costs 3 euros. Wonderful! And here they are trying to rip off money, although, I understand, we need to maintain and protect nature, and this means that we need to pay people salaries.

An elderly Russian couple walked past us from the park, I caught up with them and asked if the ticket was checked further in the park. And having received a satisfying answer “no,” Mila and I took a roundabout route through the forest.

The big advantage of Durmitor is that there are a lot of signs, and almost every 100 meters a circle is drawn on a tree or stone, notifying the traveler of the right direction. So after 5 minutes we came out onto one of the walking paths with signs where, except Black Ezer(that’s how it sounds in Serbian), I saw a lot of other interesting places.

One of them puzzled Mila and me and we decided to personally check what was hidden under the name “barefoot”.

Forest paths or Snake Lake.

The forest was very clean, quiet and generally beautiful. The path was well-trodden, as they say, so we weren’t too worried about getting lost. About 15 minutes later we came to the same Bosaca. It turned out that this was just a local village, but what a village! Along the way we went a little deeper.

I won't describe it, just see for yourself.

For the sake of such beauty, we stayed here a little, sitting on a bench by the side of the road, until we were swayed by the flies, delighted at the new guests.

On the next sign we again saw the interesting name “GOLUBINJE”. And again, instead of Black Lake, we turned towards an ambiguous forest “attraction”. And again it turned out to be not at all what we expected to see, just a stone monument to the revolutionaries.

And here it was just a stone's throw to Snake Lake, it would be a shame to miss this opportunity to admire the lake snakes;). The path to the lake was as winding and “slippery” as the snake itself, so we almost got lost among the fir trees. Luckily for us, two people were walking in the same direction - a man and a woman. Judging by the confidence of their step, they were not here for the first time, so we boldly followed them until we reached the green waters Snake Lake.

In fact, Mila and I didn’t see any snakes here. Perhaps the lake was named so precisely because of its greenish tint, or maybe for other reasons, who knows.

There were several benches on the shore, where we also spent an extra 20 minutes admiring the sparkling lake and its coastal inhabitants.

Black Lake.

After long wanderings along forest paths, it was time to move in the direction of the main attraction of the national park - Black Lake. It was very interesting what was so special about it.

We came across another map of the area, where I found (for some reason) the path to the lake with dotted lines. The checkpoint of this trail was an interesting-looking mill, where Mila and I had a “snack” stop and tasted the water from the spring, which was delicious.

A little later, making our way through fallen tree trunks along a barely noticeable path, we realized that this path is no longer used so often due to the fact that it requires labor-intensive work in terms of clearing the area.

However, the life-saving circles did their job and after about 40 minutes we got out of the thicket to the lake, albeit not from the main entrance :).

The lake is truly amazing! There were almost no people on the side where we came out, so we calmly took pictures on the small bridge and without any problems we reached the main route of all tourists.

To be honest, I feel sorry for those travelers who are brought here by bus. They can’t even really wander through the forest, like Mila and I, but they don’t even have enough time to get to the waterfall.

I don’t know how the guide “motivates” them, but after a short connection between the large and small lakes, there are practically no people.

To get to the waterfall you will also have to work a little harder, since there are places, for example, where the ascent is lined with crooked (or washed away by water) stones.

And it’s dangerous to go through the waterfall itself. Mila remained at the very edge, and I took off my slippers so as not to slip, and headed to the other side of the noisy stream, because my curiosity always haunts me :).

The water here is simply icy. There was nothing special on the other side, just another small waterfall and that was it, so my legs barely survived the second trek through the cold water.

In any case, I didn't regret it one bit. I think if you saw all this with your own eyes, you would understand me :).

On the way back we met a group of tourists, again Russians. I stopped to wonder how they managed to climb so far without the supervision of a guide, and learned that the family was traveling independently by car. We warned them to be careful at the waterfall and stomped to the exit from the park.

I think it’s clear that we returned the way that all “decent” tourists and vacationers take. The cashier didn't even look in our direction.

Having picked up our backpacks from the rafting office, the owner of which was already thinking of calling the Ministry of Emergency Situations, since he had lost us, we headed out of the city to get to. It’s not surprising, because there are so many beautiful places in Durmitor Park, it’s impossible not to spend at least a day on them.

To be continued…

Black Lake is a unique body of water in the Durmitor National Park, located near Zabljak, part of an ecosystem of 18 unique glacial lakes. It is located 1416 meters above sea level on the mountain slopes of Meded. The area of ​​the reservoir is 516 thousand square meters, and its maximum length is 1555 meters.

In fact, Black Lake is two isolated lakes, Big and Small, which are connected by a narrow channel. In the spring, tourists manage to catch the moment when water from one lake flows into another, creating a picturesque waterfall. In summer the channel dries up and both lakes exist separately from each other.

The shores of the Black Lake are thickets of dense coniferous forest, which, reflected in the water, gives it that very characteristic “black” color, for which the lake was named Black. However, the water is so clear that the depth of the lake can be seen up to 9 meters in calm weather. Local residents nicknamed this lake “Eyes of the Mountains” or “Mountain Eyes”.

The spring flood also marks changes in several other bodies of water in Montenegro. The large lake, having traveled an impressive path in the bowels of the earth, turns into the right tributary of the Tara River. The waters of the Small Lake flow first into Komarnitsa, then into the Piva River, and then into the Drina. It is noteworthy that it was the Drina River that was previously the natural border between the Eastern Roman and Western Roman empires.

Even in summer, the water in Black Lake is cool enough for swimming, but in winter the lake is covered with a dense crust of ice. However, towards the end of summer the water warms up to a quite tolerable temperature of about 20 degrees above zero and there are quite a lot of people who want to swim in the cleanest lake.

Many walks start from the lake shore, and there are comfortable benches along the walking path surrounding the lake. In addition, fishing is allowed near Black Lake.

Also near the Black Lake there is a restaurant of the same name with national Montenegrin cuisine, where you can taste skillfully prepared fresh fish dishes.

For tourists, entrance to the territory of the Black Lake is paid; you can get here from Kotor, Petrovac, Budva or Tivat.

Montenegro has a fairly large number of lakes, but the second most popular after the amazing Skadar Lake is undoubtedly the Black Lake. It is a popular tourist site and truly deserves your attention due to its beauty and scenic beauty.

In addition, there is a walking path around the lake, although in some places it is quite narrow and with a strong slope. That is why, when planning a trip here, it is better to stock up on comfortable shoes rather than flip-flops.

By the way, about clothes. Please, when going to Black Lake or any other lake in the north of the country, remember the temperature difference! The average summer temperature there is about +20, and under the shade of trees even less.

The entire Black Lake can be walked around the perimeter along the already mentioned path in just 2-3 hours, it all depends on your physical fitness.

There are many comfortable benches on the banks where you can sit and just enjoy the extraordinary view. But the entrance to the protected area around the lake is paid - it costs 3 euros, you do not need to pay separately for the car.

The Black Lake in Montenegro does not warm up well, so even in July the water for swimming is perhaps only suitable for seasoned people, although, of course, you can try. The water temperature in the lake is always 4 degrees lower than the air temperature, so when looking at the surface of the water with the desire to cool down, first clearly and honestly assess the capabilities of your body.

Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to rent a boat here and ride around the lakes, but you can entertain yourself with fishing (for an additional fee). Speaking of fishing, ask the keepers what size fish you can catch, how and how much you will be allowed to take with you.

It may be easier for you to go to the nearest restaurant and order both fish and fish soup there. Another regret is the lack of a restaurant on the shores of the Black Lake. No! Of course there was one, but almost three years ago it burned down.

Now both the region and the national park are waiting for an investor to build a new restaurant, because this is quite an expensive pleasure, since, among other things, it is necessary to comply with many environmental requirements.

Several marked tourist routes begin directly from Black Lake; on the approach to the lake, near the road you can see a detailed map of the area. But going to Bobotov Kuk - the highest point of Durmitor, to the Ice Cave or just for a walk in the National Park is definitely not worth it without a guide and without the necessary equipment.