Lake Piva, Montenegro: description and location of the natural site. The beer river and the picturesque town of Pluzine Lake Piva on the map of Montenegro

Lake Piva in Montenegro is one of the main attractions of the region and the most beautiful place in the country. It can be compared to a body of water and its surroundings are incredibly beautiful. The Piva region is ideal for a relaxing holiday and will be appreciated by lovers of unique natural beauty.

Description of natural attraction

In the northern part of Montenegro, on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina and near the town of Pluzine, there is one of the most beautiful attractions - Lake Piva. The region itself has picturesque villages and is rich in vegetation. The area is great for fishing, hunting, hiking, cycling, swimming and mountaineering. Grows here a large number of medicinal herbs and teas. The region is environmentally friendly and is still little known among tourists, so you can have a good rest here, left alone with nature.

Lake Piva in Montenegro was formed artificially as a result of the construction of the dam of the same name on the high mountain river Komarnica. Although in fact it seems that it is a creation of nature. The surrounding meadows, hills, trees and shrubs form an incredibly beautiful landscape that inspires and encourages mental relaxation.

Lake and canyons

Previously, in the place of Piva, a mountain river rushed with a violent current. In 1975, a decision was made to build a dam in this area. This structure was erected according to a large-scale project - the thickness is about 30 m; hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of concrete were used during the construction process. Today the Mratine dam is the largest in Europe and one of the largest in the world.

Lake Piva in Montenegro has a length of 46 km, its depth is approximately 200 m. In the hot season, the water temperature warms up only to +22 °C. The lake ranks second in size in the country and has enough fresh water for the whole of Montenegro.

It was the construction of the dam that became the factor that greatly influenced the overall landscape of the area. The lake formed in the canyon has blue, in some places even emerald water of crystal purity; picturesque shores, in turn surrounded by lush vegetation, lead to it.

To fully enjoy the incredible beauty of the canyons in Montenegro, tourists are encouraged to rent a boat or buy a ticket for a pleasure boat. Kayaking is organized - river rafting. The place is best suited for peaceful walks, during which you can escape from the bustle of the city and everyday affairs, gain strength and recharge your batteries.

Among tourists, the Piva Monastery is well known - a historical landmark of Montenegro. This is an architectural monument of the 16th century, located about two kilometers from the lake. Initially, it was located on the very bank of the river, but after the flooding, in order to preserve the cultural site, it was decided to move the temple a couple of kilometers up from the canyon of the Piva River. In that place only a cemetery, a hospitable house and a monastery bakery remained - the rest of the buildings were flooded.

The temple is very modest on the outside, but rich on the inside. The amazing wall fresco is impressive. Its elements occupy 1000 m2. When moving, the fresco was carefully removed and then restored. The monastery has a large collection of murals and icons and is one of the main attractions of the country.

GPS coordinates of Lake Piva in Montenegro

The reservoir is located relatively far from the coastal resort towns of the country, so it is not particularly popular either with independent tourists or with excursion bureaus. The lake is located in the north of Montenegro and belongs to the municipality of the nearby city of Pluzine. To make it easier to get to it in case independent travel, it is recommended to use GPS coordinates that will lead exactly to the target: 43°10ʹ12ʺN 18°50ʹ15ʺE.

Although the area is not very popular, tour desks in Budva organize trips to various attractions in the country, including Lake Piva. As a rule, during such a tour it is proposed to visit another monastery, see the Mratine dam and national park Durmitor. It appeared in 1952, and since 1980 it has been a UNESCO site. The area of ​​the park is 39,000 hectares, on the territory of which there are 48 mountain peaks, 18 lakes, 748 springs, ski resort, caves, canyons of Montenegro and much more.

You can get to Lake Piva by public transport: first get to the large transport center Niksic, and then transfer to a bus that will take you directly to Pluzine. But experienced tourists write that the easiest way is to rent a car and go to the natural attraction on your own. The distance from Budva to Pluzine is about 170 km; road signs will indicate the correct route. Driving is a pleasure: smooth roads, beautiful views There are also safe serpentines along the way.

Lake Piva is located in the north of Montenegro. This is a man-made lake, i.e. appeared due to human intervention, when they decided to build a dam on the Piva River. The lake is located near the town of Pluzine. When you see it for the first time, you might think that it is all a river, it is long and narrow. In fact, this is the case, the length is 45 km, and you can see the width of the lake in my photographs. I was there in July, rode on this motor boat. The feeling is indescribable: from the beauty around, from the canyon, turquoise water, ducks, bridges, and in the end I swam in fresh water, something I haven’t done for two years.

The maximum depth of Lake Piva is 188 m. The height above sea level is 675 m. 3 kilometers from the lake there is another must-see place - the Piva Monastery of the 16th century. Once upon a time it stood on the very bank of the river, and the people who built it did not even suspect what an amazing fate awaited it. When constructing a dam main church the monastery, which fell into the flood zone, was moved to a new location and reconstructed. It was a unique event in which the world's best restorers took part. The ancient masonry of stone walls still preserves the memory of those distant events. During the relocation, more than 1000 sq.m. were removed and reinstalled. frescoes

In the meantime, I’ll show you the beautiful road to the lake, we were driving from the village. Scepan Field to Pluzine. Mother Nature did her best!

Look how they carve the road opposite into the mountain. I’m already silent about the tunnels, of which there are many in the north, about 60.

It seems to me that James Cameron could easily film Avatar in Montenegro! Sometimes the landscapes are unreal.

When my younger cousin asked me, “Why didn’t you wake me up on the bus to see this beauty? It’s such a shame!” I told her that at night you can see absolutely nothing - there is not a single lantern here, and only cliffs and mountain tunnels are visible. And in her 18 years, she has visited many dozens of countries around the world, but after a walk along Lake Piva she truly understood how beautiful Montenegro is, how unique landscapes are hidden around every turn.

And here is the 220-meter Mratine dam, which blocked the canyon of the once turbulent Piva River. It was built in the period 1967-1975, and is the largest in Europe. At the base, its wall reaches a thickness of more than 30 m, and at the top 4.5 m. 820 thousand cubic meters of concrete and 5 million kg of steel are built into the dam. It is visually impressive when you stand on it and look on both sides. But I heard that 28 people died during construction (I may be wrong in the number). It seems that prisoners were brought here to do menial work.

To service the dam, a town for Montenegrin power engineers, Pluzine, was built on one of the shores of Lake Piva. Although new town is quite modern; the first settlement of the same name appeared in these parts back in the 15th century. Plužine is especially beautiful at night with its bright lights when you look at it from above.

Lake Piva has a greenish-blue color and is one of the most beautiful places in the region. You can swim on it throughout the year, the bathing temperature in summer reaches 22 degrees, I saw locals sunbathing en masse on the shore in Pluzhin.

This was all a story about the places we passed while driving to Pluzhina. But we got on the boat and sailed with the breeze!

After all, Montenegro is a country of mountains, although not the highest in the world, but incredibly beautiful and diverse.

Here in the left photo you can see the gorge, it seems shallow, but look below what a miracle boat-raft sailed there. It turned out that the people from my boat knew them, we landed with them, and some of them with us, so that the ponies could ride our motorboat with the breeze through the canyons. Plus there was a birthday boy there. In general, a good place for a celebration))

Almost everything they have drunk, almost everything they have eaten. Maybe that's why they fish?))

Then my sister and I moved to the stern and began to look into the water, looking for ducks with our eyes.

The canyon is truly amazing; sometimes you can’t even believe that a boat will pass through this gorge between the mountains. And then, just around the bend, you see the normal width of the lake and relax))

And here comes civilization - a suspension bridge!

It’s unclear where you can get from and where you can get here.

On the other side is the bridge.

What clarity of water! At least drink from your palms!

Take a closer look - 3 ducks got scared of us and are running away as fast as they can.

Here they are again

Upon our return, the two of us dived into the water, and all the Montenegrins chickened out - for them, at 19-00, without the sun’s rays, it was already too cold to swim. Weaklings! In general, I advise everyone to rent a boat with a boatman, and maybe + a picnic on the shore and have a lot of fun, like I did. This is where I’ll finish my beautiful photo report, I’ll only show where Lake Piva is located on the map of the country - a long blue spot at the top left.

As you know, Montenegro is one of the most beautiful countries in Europe. There really is a lot here scenic spots, which are etched in memory. One of these places is Lake Piva (or Lake Piva).
The Piva River partially forms the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. It is located in the northwestern part of the country in the Durmitor mountain range, which contains the highest Mountain peaks countries exceeding an altitude of 2500 meters. The Piva River creates one of the many beautiful canyons surrounding this mountain range.

Lake Piva on the map of Montenegro

A hydroelectric power station and dam called Martini was built in the upper part of the Piva River. Thus, the artificial Piva Lake was created. The dam is 220 meters high and is considered one of the tallest dams in Europe. The view from the bridge on the Piva River is literally breathtaking. It would take a very long time to describe Lake Piva in Montenegro, but it’s better to look at its photos.
Please note that a visit to this lake is sometimes included in the excursion program to Durmitor National Park, but in any case, check before purchasing an excursion whether a visit to Piva Lake is included if you want to see it.

This is not a joke, there really is such a river in Montenegro)

An amazingly beautiful place. Therefore, today’s post will be about the journey from Bar to the Piva River))

It's interesting that these two places are on opposite ends of the country.

A few words about the trip.

Continuing the year of hospitality according to the president’s behest, this time we hosted my dad.

We rented it for two days and drove it to distant lands for new experiences. The faithful dog also traveled with us.

The route of the first day was as follows: Bar - Zabljak Crnoevich (on Lake Skadar) - Pluzine - Durmitor - Black Lake - Djurdjevic Bridge - Kolasin - Bar.

And on the second day we took a ride along the Boka Kotorska, all the way to Herceg Novi. Here you can conveniently see on the map what is where.

To be at least a little consistent, today I will show and tell you about the first part of the route.

The main goal was to go north and see Durmitor National Park. But it turned out that the path itself was just as interesting and beautiful.

The very first stop was Zabljak Crnojevica - an ancient fortress on Lake Skadar.

If you look closely, you can see a monastery on the mountain (above, to the right of the cloud).

I really liked the surroundings of Niksic, so now I want to go there and look at everything in detail.

And lambs!

Around every turn a new landscape opens up. And after the next one such beauty awaited us!

This is the Piva River) In the middle of a high canyon, with rich turquoise water.

I learned about the city of Pluzine quite by accident. More precisely, not even about him, but about the fact that the most beautiful road to Durmitor.

As it turned out, the city is completely new, built in the 80s, when a hydroelectric power station was created in these parts, and with it the Piva Lake.

It is located almost on the border with Bosnia. A soulful little town in the middle of a canyon. There are modern high-rise buildings (most of them)

and cute rural houses with pigs)

Piva Lake is beautiful from any angle.

And especially from above)

It’s hard to believe from the photo that this is a mountain landscape. But in fact, Basya and I were running at an altitude of about 2000 meters.

And they ran)

So through mountains, tunnels and serpentines we got to Durmitor. But that's a completely different story)

Good day everyone!

I have already written a lot of beautiful reviews about Montenegro, a country that captivated me with its beauty and untouched nature. Today I want to introduce you to another excursion, which will take your breath away just from the photos alone, and what you feel when you see this beauty simply cannot be expressed in words.

My review today will be dedicated to our independent excursion around the Pivo Gorge and Piva Lake.

Let me make a reservation right away: this is not a popular excursion and almost no local tour operator makes special trips here. Therefore, you can only get there by rental car, as we did. This area is good because not many tourists get here.

Which means this beauty is untouched. But I highly recommend going here, especially if you are a photographer or are interested in photography. Because the views here are just crazy. Actually, it matches the roads here. Which is very narrow, winding and complex. Real Montenegrin extreme.

But all this is forgotten when you see the beauty of our planet. How lucky we are to have such a nature.

Agree with me that it’s simple indescribable beauty. Of course, the yellow colors of autumn add their own flavor. Just a little and it will be absolutely beautiful.

And this is another observation platform (not equipped) the bridge is getting closer and closer.

Over the abyss. As you can see, there are no fences here, and why bother, people are not fools, they probably won’t approach the cliff themselves.

Piva Lake itself is an artificial lake, it was formed due to the fact that a huge hydroelectric power station was built on the river. And they flooded this area, including Old city Pluzhine. Now we can contemplate this beauty.

A tunnel with a fork inside. The main part of the road goes further along the tunnel. I've never seen anything like this before.

Of course, such excursions are not forgotten; they remain in the memory for a long time. After our independent travel, I can say with certainty that Montenegro is not beach holiday this is very beautiful country with untouched nature and gorgeous natural parks.