We left the apartment around 8:30 am, and by 9:00 am, we had safely boarded the car onto the ferry for a quick hop across to the other side of the bay. This route saved us from an otherwise near-impossible drive through Kotor, which would have taken about an hour and a half to navigate. Once across the water, we headed north. A short drive later, we began ascending the twisting mountain roads, traversing the first set of mountains that surround the Bay of Kotor, also known as Boka. There were some great views, stretching out across the bay with small uninhabited islands visible on a side of the bay we hadn’t seen before.
About two hours into the drive, with the Adriatic Sea a distant memory to our west, we moved further inland through one valley after another. The architecture of the houses changed too, adopting a mountain chalet style that one might expect much further north. It’s hard to believe, but the Dinaric Alps, rising to just above 2000 meters, hosts around 11 ski resorts. Unfortunately, as we discovered later, it hasn’t snowed up here for a few years, posing challenges for the local community, although the area remains popular with hikers.
We arrived at Durmitor National Park, a UNESCO Site, just after midday. After parking, we had a short amble through the forest to the renowned Black Lake, which was quite a sight to behold. Interestingly, there are two lakes there—the main lake and a smaller one behind it. Our plan was to hike around both lakes, and opting for a more adventurous route off the beaten track added an extra hour to our journey. The cloud cover which kept the temperature comfortably in the mid-twenties, added to our enjoyment.
After a late lunch, we jumped back into the car and ventured deeper into the park to see Europe’s deepest gorge, the Tara Canyon, which also ranks as the 9th deepest canyon in the world. We were advised that the best viewpoint was from a parking area where we could walk along a nearby bridge. It was truly worth the effort, and experiencing the canyon was a fantastic way to cap off our day.
Staying longer than we’d planned, we risked some night driving to make it out of the mountains and back to the ferry whilst it was still light, but arrived at around 8:30 pm just as the sun disappeared. We were pretty exhausted from the long drive, but both of us were smiling after a long, but unforgettable day.
Dream Chasers 