Andrijevica, the Lim valley town below the Komovi

Andrijevica is a small town on a terrace above the Lim in the north-east, and its appeal is what surrounds it. The municipality describes it as ringed by three massifs, the Komovi, Bjelasica and the Prokletije, with Albania on the doorstep. For me it’s the best way into the Komovi, the most rewarding massif in the north for a big summit day that doesn’t need Prokletije-style planning.

A young town in an old valley

The municipality is keen to stress that Andrijevica is young, since the present town only took shape in the mid-19th century. Its name comes from the “Andrijevna” church, built in the 13th century by Andrija, prince of Hum, at Međurečje, old Andrijevica. It was burnt and rebuilt several times until its final destruction in 1765, and from 1853 a settlement grew up around it. By 1882 it had 20 houses.

The valley is far older than the town. The municipality mentions Neolithic traces, a Roman cemetery with a well-preserved gravestone at Zabrđe below Mount Žoljevica, and the hill of Grace, 1 km away, where a medieval fort guarded the meeting of the Lim and the Zlorečica. The Polimlje Museum excavated Namastir, at Košutići, in 2005 and 2008, uncovering a church of 9.20 by 5.40 metres from the 10th or 11th century.

Andrijevica lost its municipal status on 15 April 1960, when its land went to Berane and other neighbours, and got it back in 1991. Municipality Day is 17 July. Today it has 3,910 people, down from 5,071 in 2011, and at the 2026 Municipality Day the council president named young people leaving as its biggest problem.

The Komovi and the church at Carine

The national tourist board treats the town as base camp for the Komovi, whose three tops all clear 2,400 metres. Routes start on the Štavna plateau, where the board places the ethno village of the same name, and OpenStreetMap’s boundaries put 2,460 metre Kom Vasojevićki within Andrijevica.

The oddity here is St Elijah’s church at Carine, at 1,800 metres, which the board bills as the highest place of worship in Europe. None of the other official sources I read compares it with other mountain churches, so I’ll leave the claim with the board. It recommends arriving just before dawn, and I’d take that advice, as dawn is when you’ll get the church and the massif in low light with nobody else around.

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What to eat and when to come

The board mentions fresh trout with lemon, kačamak, a thick porridge of potato or maize cooked with cheese, and homemade yoghurt with blueberries and wild strawberries up at the katuns, plus village football tournaments and dances in summer. With 1,964 arrivals and 5,826 overnight stays in 2024, according to MONSTAT, crowds aren’t a risk.

I’d come between June and the end of October, the walking season the board gives for the Komovi and the other northern massifs. Andrijevica lies on the Lim valley road between Berane and Plav, and in late May it watches the Lim Regatta float down from Lake Plav. For the rest of the valley, from Petnjica to the Prokletije, each town has its own page.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Andrijevica and pick one that fits your day.

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