Hiking to the Summit of Planinica in Durmitor

Yesterday we set out for Planinica (“Small Mountain”) in Durmitor National Park, Montenegro. The internet promised that this would be a full-day hike with lots of variety. Accurate on both accounts!

The hike begins near the park entrance at Black Lake, following the 102 route.

Right away, we encountered a particularly adorable stray dog. After all our dog encounters in Albania, James had thought ahead and brought some canned dog food. In return, we had a new companion for the next several kilometers of the hike.

The trail takes you through forest for the first hour or so before the treeline starts to fall away.

It’s early October now, and the fall colors are starting to look so gorgeous here!

At this point in the hike, it feels like you might be close to the peak. But, you definitely are not, as you still have a couple hours of alpine meadows to hike through.

1.4km to the summit, 9km back to the car. Choices, choices…

Nah, but it was worth the final push. Look at these views!!

The peak you can see on the left is Bobotov Kuk, which is the highest mountain in Montenegro. And the peak on the right is Prutas, which we hope to summit tomorrow.

As is often the case with mountain hikes, the views were more stunning on the way back down.

And, we didn’t see a single other person on this hike. Montenegro: another seriously underrated country!

Thankful to have made it back before sunset.