Bijelo Polje, the Lim valley town between Bjelasica and the border

Bijelo Polje is the big town of the north-east, the one you pass through on the train to Serbia and where hardly anyone stops. I think it deserves more. It lies in the Lim valley, with Bjelasica to the south and Mount Lisa, 1,509 metres, to the north, and the municipality describes it as the transport, trading and cultural hub of northern Montenegro. It has a long, well-documented history, a cultural life I didn’t expect to find and, within its boundaries, the longest cave in Montenegro.

A town that began in 1252

The municipality dates the start of the town to the 13th century. In 1252 the seat of the bishopric of Hum moved from Ston, on the Dalmatian coast, to St Peter’s Church, and a settlement began to grow around this new religious centre where two routes crossed, one along the valley and one east to west. After the Ottomans arrived, St Nicholas’ Church at Nikoljac took over St Peter’s role, and in the notes of a Dubrovnik merchant from 1456-1458 the place appears as Nikolj-Pazar.

The present name means «white field». According to the municipality, the usual explanation is the white daisies that cover the meadows, and the national tourist board tells it the same way. The first written mention dates from 28 June 1589, in a document from the Kotor notarial registers, and in the 17th century the Turkish name, Akovo, with the same meaning, appears.

Old Bijelo Polje

The town you see today began to take shape in the early 19th century. In 1806, fearing the insurgents who had reached Sjenica, the Ottomans rebuilt a stone wall with loopholes around the core, with several gates and the main one by the old bridge over the Lim. The municipality describes quarters of narrow cobbled lanes, houses with a stone ground floor and a timber-framed upper storey, three-storey stone towers belonging to wealthy families and an old Ottoman-built bridge linking the town with Nikoljac.

By the late 19th century it was the trading and craft centre of the Bihor region, home to dyers, silversmiths, furriers, potters and blacksmiths, and its rakija sold in Berane, Sjenica and Pljevlja. Farm produce went on sale on Saturdays in the main square, and livestock at Nikoljac.

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The churches and Miroslav’s Gospel

The most visited church, according to the national tourist board, is that of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, where Miroslav’s Gospel was written, which the board presents as the oldest Cyrillic manuscript. St Nicholas’ Church, the one in this page’s photo, is the one that took over in Ottoman times. I’d see both without rushing, since their value lies in what they tell you about the town’s past.

Festivals all year round

What surprised me most when reading up on Bijelo Polje was its cultural calendar. The Montenegro Amateur Drama Festival has run since 1970 and lasts seven days; the Ratković Poetry Evenings, also going since 1970, award the Risto Ratković prize to poets from Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. Art Spring is held every 21 March since 1994, the jazz festival every July since 2006, and the International Tamburica Orchestra Festival, founded in 2003, brings together more than 200 musicians from eight to ten countries. In July, the «Stari most» art meeting draws painters from across Europe to the Old Bridge at Lozna Luka. The national tourist board adds the Days of Fish Soup, with accordion and clarinet.

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Nature, caves and skiing

The municipality covers 923 km², its countryside cut by the valleys of the Ljuboviđa, Lješnica and Bistrica, all tributaries of the Lim. The national tourist board recommends fishing and kayaking on the Lim and mentions the small Majstorovina ski area, at 930 metres on the north side of Bjelasica. The state ski operator is planning a bigger one at Cmiljača.

The board calls Bijelo Polje «the town of caves». The best known is Đalovića Cave, the country’s longest, which for now can only be entered with a permit on organised expeditions; Novakovića and Osoja caves are nearby.

Getting there and where to stay

The train is the best way in. ZPCG’s timetable for 11 October 2026 shows four trains a day from Podgorica, taking 2 hr to 2 hr 24, for €5.20 in second class and €7.80 in first, calling at Kolašin and Mojkovac. Bijelo Polje is also the rail border crossing into Serbia, and the night train continues to Belgrade.

Accommodation is limited. The national tourist board lists the Hotel Dvor in the centre, and in 2024 the municipality logged 5,775 arrivals and 19,794 overnight stays according to MONSTAT, a fraction of Kolašin’s. The wider region is covered in northern Montenegro.

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