Pavlova strana, the river bend everyone photographs

Some photographs end up defining a country, and the view from Pavlova strana is one of Montenegro’s. A green river curling almost all the way round a rounded hill, with Lake Skadar behind and mountains on either side. If you’ve looked at pictures of the lake, you’ve seen it, even if you didn’t know the name. British visitors tend to search for it as Montenegro’s horseshoe bend. And the good news is that it takes no hiking at all, because the viewpoint is right by the road.

What you see from the top

The view is of the great meander of the Crnojević river, flowing down from Rijeka Crnojevića towards the lake. The National Tourism Organisation presents it as the most picturesque spot on Lake Skadar, a river that wraps around the hills and drifts quietly towards the water, and the Cetinje tourist board lists it among the sights of its municipality.

Nothing beats it for reading the landscape of Lake Skadar before you get onto the water. From up here you can see how the lake blurs into the plain, the reed beds and the rivers coming down from the mountains.

When to go and how to get there

OpenStreetMap places the viewpoint in Cetinje municipality, on the edge of the road high above Rijeka Crnojevića. No bus with an official timetable stops there, so you’ll want a car, on the way between Cetinje and Podgorica or as you head down to Rijeka Crnojevića.

My time is the end of the day, with the sun low and to one side and the meander picked out in shadow. At midday in summer the light is flat and the valley heat is fierce. Official sources don’t publish a fee for the viewpoint, and I haven’t read that you need to pay to stop and look.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Cetinje for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.

See it from the water as well

If the view leaves you wanting more, you can see the same river from below. National Parks of Montenegro lists Rijeka Crnojevića among the piers for lake cruises, and the National Tourism Organisation suggests a boat ride through the water lilies, with birds everywhere and fishing boats heading out. Entry to the national park costs €5 per person per day.

The lake in the background

The lake you see behind the meander changes size with the seasons, and the official figures differ. MONSTAT gives Lake Skadar 369.7 km², the National Tourism Organisation gives roughly 370 km² at low water and 540 km² in the winter floods, and the Cetinje tourist board puts it between 354 and 505.8 km² depending on the water level, with two thirds in Montenegro and one third in Albania. Whichever figure you take, it’s the largest lake in the Balkans.

Afterwards, the obvious move is to drop down to the village, cross the 1853 stone bridge and eat fish from the lake, the local speciality according to the Cetinje tourist board. To carry on round the lake, the next big harbour is Virpazar, on the far side.

So you do not lose the morning at the ticket office, browse tickets and tours in Pavlova strana on GetYourGuide.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Cetinje for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.