Introduction
Plužine is the north-western corner of Montenegro and one of the least visited municipalities in the country. Its centre is a long turquoise lake held in a limestone gorge — a reservoir rather than a natural lake — and the road that runs beside it was cut into the cliff in a sequence of tunnels because there was nowhere else to put it.
Overview
This is scenery rather than sightseeing, and it suits people who would rather drive somewhere extraordinary than arrive somewhere busy. The lake fills a canyon that was already dramatic before it was dammed, the water is an intense mineral turquoise against grey rock, and the settlements are few and small. There is rafting on the river below, walking in the mountains on either side, and a monastery that was moved stone by stone to higher ground when the valley flooded. What there is not is infrastructure, which is the whole character of the place.
Discover Plužine
The Piva is a reservoir, created when the river was dammed and the valley behind it filled, and knowing that explains everything you see. The water sits unnaturally high against the rock walls, side valleys end abruptly in it, and the level moves through the year with season and generation, exposing or drowning a band of pale shoreline. The colour is the striking part — a hard turquoise that comes from mineral content and depth, and that changes with the light through the day. It is around forty kilometres long and rarely more than a few hundred metres wide.
Ways to Experience This Destination
A cliff road of unlit single-lane tunnels running the length of a turquoise reservoir — slow, spectacular and unlike any other drive in the country.
A gorge over a kilometre deep in places, second in Europe only to the Tara, and with a fraction of the visitors.
Runs on the river below the dam, quieter and less commercial than the Tara trips that draw most of the region's rafting traffic.
A sixteenth-century monastery dismantled and rebuilt above the waterline when the valley was flooded, frescoes included.
Important Plužine Travel Notes
- The lakeside road runs through many short unlit tunnels, most of them single-lane and open on the lake side. Drive slowly, use the horn on blind bends and expect to reverse occasionally for oncoming traffic.
- This is a reservoir, and its level moves substantially through the year. The band of pale rock above the waterline is normal rather than a sign of drought.
- Services are very limited across the municipality. Fuel, food and accommodation should be planned rather than assumed, and the nearest reliable choice is often an hour away.
- There is no viewing bridge over the Piva canyon as there is over the Tara. It is seen from the road, from the rim or from the water below the dam.
- Rafting here is quieter and less commercially developed than on the Tara, which is the appeal and also means fewer operators and less frequent departures.
- The monastery above the lake is a working religious house. Cover shoulders and knees and keep quiet inside.
- Mobile coverage is patchy in the gorge and absent in the tunnels. Do not rely on live navigation along the lakeside road.
Frequently asked questions
Treat this Visaja page as your starting point: verify the current rules directly with the official source before you submit an application.