Lake Piva, a flooded canyon among the mountains

Lake Piva is man-made, and that takes nothing away from it. It’s the reservoir of the Piva hydroelectric scheme, filled in the 1970s when the Mratinje dam closed, and it flooded what had been one of the finest canyons in the region. The result is a long tongue of turquoise water wedged between rock walls and forest that reminds me more of a fjord than a reservoir. MONSTAT gives it 112.5 km², at 675 metres above sea level, and a maximum depth of 187.5 metres.

A canyon under the water

Piva Nature Park explains what was here before. The Piva rises at the Sinjac spring and runs north for about 33 km to Šćepan Polje, where it joins the Tara. Along the way it had carved a canyon 33 km long and up to 1,200 metres deep between Volujak, Maglić, Bioč and Pivska planina. The 220-metre Mratinje dam, which the park counts among the tallest in Europe, drowned most of it.

Other things went under too. The old town of Plužine, then the municipal seat, was submerged and a new one built on the shore. Piva Monastery was taken apart stone by stone and rebuilt higher up. And Odmut cave, with remains from the early Neolithic, was lost for good, according to the park.

Things to do on the lake

What I’d recommend most is a boat. Piva Nature Park describes the lake as especially rewarding to explore by water and see the remaining features of the drowned canyon, and the national tourist board adds swimming, fishing, kayaking and a zip line over the lake. The park also highlights it for flat-water sports and angling.

From the shore, the road from Plužine to the Bosnian border runs beside the reservoir, and the Mratinje dam is about 10 km from Šćepan Polje. If you’re entering or leaving Montenegro that way, the drive is a sight in itself, though remember it’s a narrow mountain road and you’re on the right-hand side.

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

Piva Nature Park

The lake lies within Piva Nature Park, which covers much of the municipality between the Bosnian border and Durmitor National Park. The park says its rivers hold brown trout, grayling and Danube salmon, and its forests bears, wild boar and roe deer. For fishing, as in any protected area, check the permit situation at the Plužine information centre.

Getting there and where to stay

The lake is beside Plužine, 109 km from Podgorica and 58 from Nikšić according to the park, on the Podgorica to Sarajevo road. Plužine is the most practical place to stay. Coming from Durmitor, the Trsa road drops down to the lake, and if white water is your thing, the Tara Canyon ends at Šćepan Polje, close by.

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

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