Placid turquoise water surrounded by dense forest, the Black Lake close to Žabljak is a stunning place to visit.
Nestled in Durmitor National Park, the lake is the ideal taste of the park if you don’t have time to explore it more thoroughly.
Black Lake (Crno Jezero) is the largest of Durmitor National Park’s glacial lakes known as ‘mountain eyes’.
It sits at the bottom of Međed Peak, the impressive chunk of rock seen below.
The Black Lake is actually made up of two smaller lakes, Big Lake (Veliko Jezero) and Small Lake (Malo Jezero), but when the lake level rises in autumn, it becomes one lake. In summer the level drops and you can walk the path between the two lakes.
The lake is fed by springs, rain and surface flow. Most of the lake’s water comes from Mill Creek (Mlinski Potok) and the Čeline Well.
The Čeline Well is a reservoir at the base of Međed Peak. In spring the snow melt fills up the reservoir and increases the water pressure.
The lake temperature is around 4°C (39°F) lower than air temperature in summer. With a summer high of around 19°C (66°F), that makes the water a very ‘refreshing’ 15°C (59°F)
Even I get the ole carcass into the water – it’s a bit chilly but not too bad!
A rare phenomena happens at the Black Lake. Water from the Small Lake drains into the Piva River via a sinkhole and water from the Big Lake drains into the Tara River via the Otoka River.
When the two lakes are joined water flows in two different directions and this is called bifurcation.
Durmitor is home to a wide range of wildlife including bears, wolves and eagles.
Luckily the nearest we get are some vey cute ducklings and a close encounter of the horned kind!
Then it’s back to town for a well earned glass or two of local wine and some pizza!
