Montenegro day 4: The Three Lakes

Wednesday, 5th October 2022

Distance: 16.5km

Time: 6h17min (4h30min walking time)

Average moving speed: 4km/h

Elevation gain: 457m

Breakfast with a view.

Sunny and cold (2⁰C) it was when we left our chalet at 9am. Today we are doing a modified version  of the Three Lakes hiking trail. It's a loop-trail that starts and ends at our accommodation in Razvršje instead of Žabljak and we walk a bit more around the lakes.

The forest canopy is thick and little sun goes through. It is cold and the humidity can be felt on the bones. The forest ground is soft, covered in dried pine needles and spruce/fir leaves. The trail is full of tree roots and rocks. 

Off trail you'll struggle not to squash mushrooms. They are so prolific and in such variety that this is without a doubt a paradise for mushroom picking.

This mushroom's cap is bigger than my hand!

Moss is plentiful, covering ground and rocks.

We arrive at Crno Jezero (Black Lake) first.

Crno Jezero (Black Lake) is the largest of Durmitor NP's glacial lakes at 1416m high and consists of two smaller lakes: Veliko Jezero (Big Lake) and Malo Jezero (Small Lake). Both are connected by a narrow strait, called Struga, that dries in Summer creating two completely different lakes. 

The lake's maximum depth is 25m but can reach 40m in a particularly rainy Winter. It is located at 1416m altitude and at the foot of the Medjed peak (The Bear).

Technically we arrived via the Big Lake, which is quite impressive and photogenic even if a little empty. The water is a turquoise colour and very clear.

We walked around it on the south shore to reach the Struga and the Small Lake. It looks deeper than the Big Lake.

Small Lake

Struga leading to the Small Lake

By Manuel's request we circled the Small Lake and I'm glad we did because it was worth it.

Returning to Struga, we walk the western side of the Big Lake and then turn westbound following Mlinski Potok (Mill Creek) towards Zminje Jezero (Snake Lake). 

Mill Creek's source is at Snake Lake and the water flows downwards via de creek and feeds the Small Lake which in turn feeds the Big Lake.

The Black Lake is fed by rain, surface flows and underground sources of water. The biggest amount of water comes from Mill Brook but significant amounts come from Celine, a "reservoir" of water under Medjed peak, fed by the melted ice and snow.  During the year, when the water influx on Celina is bigger, water from the Small Lake flows onto the Big Lake. During the rest of the year, as we saw today, water from the Big Lake flows into the Small Lake.

The creek is 2.3km long and got its name because at one time there used to be 14 mills and 20 waterwheels along its length. People from the area built and shared the use of the mills to mill flour in Spring and Summer, when the water flow was at its strongest.

Zminje Jezero (Snake Lake) is smaller, more enclosed with dense spruce forest and walking is only possible on the north shore of the lake. It's at 1520m high, the maximum depth is 7.7m and stands at the foot of Crvena Greda peak. The water is green, more muddy and covered with a cloud of mosquitoes and plenty of dragonflies sporting bright green strips. The Black Lake's water was tempting and if it was hot I would have dipped my feet, the Snake Lake's water was not.

It was lunchtime and we found a bench on the sun. We sat for food and the boys were able to stretch their feet on the trunk in front of the bench (not me and my short legs!). We didn't stay long. Although air temperature had increased to 9⁰C, it was still cold.

Now moving eastbound we were heading to our third and last lake: Barno Jezero (Swampy Lake).

Barno Jezero (Swampy Lake) is even more empty than the other two. It is found at 1489m high, it's shallow (maximum depth is 1m) and the majority of it is peatland. The peatland was covered with overgrown dried grasses giving it a very yellow look in stark contrast with the other lakes.

I walked up to the center of the lake where the water was and I had to be careful not to sink. I am lighter than the boys and they decided against following me.

From Swampy Lake we descended to Ivan Do finding some paw prints on the ground. 

Brown bears, grey wolves and European wildcats roam the park. We wonder if the prints belong to any of these. We found more paw prints around Swampy Lake than around the others, which would make sense as there is less people coming this way.

At Ivan Do we wanted to go back to the Black Lake so we could return to our accommodation but we came across a ranger by the car parking who collects a daily fee to enter the Durmitor NP. The fee is €3/person/day and we were lucky not to find anyone so far as we had been going through forest trails and did not cross any road.

It felt like a waste of money paying for the fee at the end of the day when we only had about 1km left so we decided to go around via Žabljak instead. However, Jorge found a more direct route through the forest, or so he thought. It ended up being a hit and miss through the trees with a massive ascent at the end. It did save us €3 each but it was harder than any other stretch of the day!

I was desperate to stretch my legs, a hot drink and biscuits.

The trek allowed us to see how similar and different mountain lakes can be. The three lakes are similar as in they are all a body of water surrounded by conifer forest and at the base of peaks. However, there is no doubt that the Black Lake is the most beautiful and magnificent of the three. 

Dinner was at TripAdvisor's best rated Žabljak restaurant: Soa Hotel. It was posh, the service was great, the food was good but the desserts were disappointing. The tiramisu had too much cream and not enough biscuits and coffee. Although the apple strudel had custard, it also had frozen fruit & ice-cream making for a very cold dessert and no pastry at all.

For 2 starters + 3 mains + 2 desserts + 2 cocktails + 1 beer + water we paid €81. The most expensive meal so far.

Chicken crepes

Veal "Gala"

Chicken in courgette

Three mushrooms risotto

Apple strudel

Tiramisu