Žabljak

Žabljak is a small town in northern Montenegro — the highest-altitude municipality in the Balkans — and the main starting point for visiting Durmitor National Park. It’s about 125 km from Podgorica (roughly a 2-hour-15-minute drive, or about a 2.5-hour bus ride).

Žabljak’s main value to visitors is practical rather than historical: it’s the closest base for lodging and supplies before heading into Durmitor, with the park entrance less than a 10-minute drive from the town center. Black Lake (Crno Jezero), Durmitor’s largest and most-visited glacial lake, is a pleasant roughly 3 km walk from town, circled by an easy 3.6 km loop trail.

Thanks to its location, Žabljak is the ideal base for hiking, mountaineering, and winter skiing in the Durmitor area — while the details of the national park itself (trails, natural landmarks, entry information) are covered on this site’s dedicated Durmitor National Park page.

This information was verified on August 7, 2026.