Active travel in Biogradska Gora National Park

What there is to see

The centrepiece is Biogradsko Lake at 1,094 m: a glacial lake 870 m long, 261 m wide and 12.1 m at its deepest, with a shoreline of about 3.5 km, fed by the cold Biogradska river and Lavel spring so the water rarely tops 20°C in summer. Five more glacial lakes lie higher on the massif, among them Šiško at 1,680 m (about 12 km from Biogradsko), Pešića at 1,820 m covering over 37,000 m², and Ursulovačko at roughly 2,138 m directly below Crna Glava. The 1,600-hectare virgin forest in the Biogradska and Jezerštica basins holds beech, fir, spruce, maple, ash, rowan and Scots elm; the famous "Doria" fir reached 59.7 m before falling around 2019. Ten Bjelasica peaks exceed 2,000 m, led by Crna Glava (2,139 m), Strmenica (2,122 m) and Zekova Glava (2,117 m).

Walking and riding here

Almost 80 km of trails are marked, mostly medium-difficulty routes averaging 12 km, each leading to a lake or summit. The 3.5 km educational path circles Biogradsko Lake with interactive stations at six points covering flora and fauna. Longer climbs run to Crna Glava: the Berane–Ursulovačko–Crna Glava route is 16.5 km and 4–5 hours, moderate; the Mojkovac line via Šiško and Ursulovačko is 18 km. A section of the 120 km CT-1 mountain transversal, set in 1987, crosses the park, and the Via Dinarica White Trail links Mojkovac with the Vranjak hut. The longest single walk in the park reaches 35 km, and a viewpoint path climbs Bendovac (1,768 m). For the forest interior, read Biogradska Gora: Hiking Through Europe's Last Primeval Rainforest. Bicycle rental is €3.00/hour or €8.00/day; guide services cost €40.00 for four hours or €80.00 for eight.

Getting there and moving around

The straightforward approach is by car on the E65 along the Tara valley, turning off at the blue bridge signed for Biogradska Gora National Park. Podgorica Airport (TGD) lies about 55 miles away, roughly 1h 29m by road; the airport to Kolašin is 43 miles or about 1h 2m, and Kolašin to the park entrance is 12 miles, some 27 minutes. Without a car, take a local bus from Kolašin or Mojkovac and ask to be dropped at the turn-off, then walk the remaining stretch to the lake, around an hour. Parking at the entrance is charged: €0.50/hour for motorcycles, €1.00/hour for a passenger car and €2.00/hour for an off-road vehicle. On the lake, boat hire is €10.00/hour, single kayaks €3.00/hour and two-seaters €5.00/hour.

Fees, seasons and when to come

The official park pricelist (nparkovi.me) sets the entry ticket at €4.00 per person per day, which includes the Visitor Centre and educational trails; children under 7 enter free. Some travel sites quote €5.00 and opening hours of 8:00–18:00 in summer, so check at the gate. The practical season runs May to October: the lake freezes in winter and the lake area closes to visitors. Camping is available at €3.00/day for a tent pitch, or €20.00/day for the kept camping ground at Kraljevo Kolo; tent rental is €8.00/day. Useful hire includes walking poles at €3.00/day, snowshoes at €4.00/day in the colder months. Higher lakes such as Ursulovačko near 2,138 m hold snow late, so summit routes suit late June onward.

Milica Buha · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Wildlife and forest

Counts vary between sources but the range is consistent. The park holds roughly 2,000 plant species, of which about 20% are endemic to the Balkan Peninsula, and around 86–90 tree species. One survey records 26 plant habitats, 220 plants, 150 bird species, 10 mammal species and three trout species in the waters. Other tallies cite 200 bird species, 80 butterfly species and 350 insect species. Larger mammals include wolf, bear, fox and deer, so keep noise moderate and food packed on the higher trails. The old-growth reserve in the Biogradska and Jezerštica basins covers 1,600 ha within the wider park, its beech, fir and spruce left unlogged for centuries; this continuity is why parts were folded into the UNESCO Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests site in 2021, on a nomination from Mojkovac and Kolašin municipalities.