Gusinje, gateway to the Grbaja and Ropojana valleys

Gusinje is the last town before the big mountains. Its tourist board describes it as an ancient crossroads, a Balkan trading hub and the main gateway to the Prokletije, and the national tourist board as a town of around 2,000 people at the foot of the range, on the Albanian border, that was once an important market. For me it’s the most direct starting point for the Grbaja and Ropojana valleys, the finest part of the national park.

A trading town where faiths share a street

The municipality had 3,933 people in the 2023 census, down from 4,027 in 2011, and Gusinje town 2,225. The tourist board explains that the municipality was abolished in 1953 and re-created in February 2014, after a consultative referendum and a change to the law on territorial organisation. Its land registry divides 157 km² into ten cadastral districts with 42 settlements, among them Vusanje, which alone covers almost 50 km².

The national tourist board picks out what struck me most, that the Vizier’s Mosque, the Orthodox church of St George and the Catholic church of St Anthony all stand on the same street. National Parks lists the Vizier’s Mosque, which it dates to the 18th century, the Balić Tower and St George’s church as cultural monuments, while the national board dates the mosque to the 17th. On market day, says the board, you can buy dairy produce, sheep’s cheese and skorup, a rich clotted cream, and in town there’s burek, baklava and boza to try.

Ali Pasha’s springs and the waterfalls

One kilometre from town, Gusinje Tourist Board places Ali Pasha’s springs, at 925 metres, which it calls Montenegro’s largest permanent karst spring. The water wells up along a front about a hundred metres wide at the foot of Vezirova brada, only a few degrees above freezing, and in spring it spills out towards the Vruja river. The national board says thousands gather here at the end of August, and repeats the local tale that 30 weddings were once held by the springs in a single day.

Two kilometres away are the Kusije waterfalls, on a circular walk that also takes in the Grlja waterfall, a 15 metre plume at the edge of the canyon, according to the tourist board. The national board adds the springs of Savino oko, Bajrovića vrelo and Dragija.

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Grbaja and Ropojana, the two valleys

The Grbaja valley, at 1,100 metres, is in Gusinje Tourist Board’s words the main starting point for mountaineering and climbing expeditions, with the Karanfili peaks above. That’s where the Volušnica and Popadija circuit I describe in the guide to the Prokletije begins. Lake Ropojana is 12 km from town, in the valley of the same name, beside Vusanje and Oko Skakavice. National Parks suggests getting there by bike, about 23 km there and back with 290 metres of climbing.

The national tourist board lists Grbaja among the area’s easy walking spots, with walking possible from June into late October. The tourist board runs guided hikes, such as the Vezirova brada walk on 27 September 2026, and hosts Prokletije Skyrunning, which it bills as the toughest mountain race in the former Yugoslavia.

Fitting Gusinje into your trip

Gusinje is a short drive from Plav, at the end of the Lim valley and past Lake Plav. In 2024 the municipality logged 4,636 arrivals and 12,511 overnight stays according to MONSTAT, more arrivals than Plav, a sign that plenty of people enter the Prokletije this way. There are small guesthouses, but for more choice I’d stay in Plav and drive down each morning. The Grnčar border crossing, which the national board lists as one of the crossings into Albania, takes its name from two villages in Gusinje municipality, according to OpenStreetMap.

Without a car you come by coach. On busticket4.me, the ticket site the Kotor bus station and the capital’s airport use as their timetable, 21 October 2026 showed four direct departures from Podgorica to Gusinje, at 08:25, 10:25, 13:28 and 17:14, taking about four hours for €15 and calling at Plav, 12 to 20 minutes and €2 away. Back to the capital they left at 05:46, 12:21, 15:45 and 16:45. For the Grbaja or Ropojana trails you’ll then need a taxi or an organised trip, because the coaches stop in town.

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

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Gusinje on Booking.com and filter by area before price.