Photo: Julian Nyča · CC BY-SA 4.0
Lake Piva is a long, winding reservoir in the canyon of the Piva in north-western Montenegro, in Plužine municipality, and the largest lake lying entirely within the country. Its water, held back by the high Mratinje arch dam, fills the canyon between the Pivska planina and Durmitor, at the heart of Piva Nature Park.
When the dam was finished in 1975, the water drowned the old town of Plužine and the old confluence of the Komarnica with the Piva; a new Plužine was built on the shore above. The 16th-century Piva Monastery was taken apart stone by stone and rebuilt on higher ground at Goransko, a move that began in 1969 and was finished in 1982.
The lake lies in Piva Nature Park, declared in 2015, where more than 1,500 plant species grow in forests of white and black pine, beech, fir and maple. Wild boar, chamois, deer, bears and birds of prey live in the park, which is also cut by the canyons of the Tara, the Piva and the Sušica.
Photo: Julian Nyča · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Martin Brož · CC BY 3.0
Nearest settlement: Plužine
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A car is by far the easiest way to see Piva, and May to October is the usual window, when the roads are fully open. The lake is a short drive from Durmitor National Park, on the Durmitor ring road, and easily combined with Piva Monastery. Boat trips may stop at small beaches, secluded bays, Oteša Cave or the Mratinje Dam, and kayaks and paddleboards can be rented at the main marina. The canyon is especially striking in spring and autumn, and there is a via ferrata route.
From Plužine the narrow, winding road follows the lake for about 26 km to Šćepan Polje, where the border crossing into Bosnia and Herzegovina needs an ID or passport; drive with care. Above the lake, a narrow road climbs towards Trsa with views over the water, and the Kneževići viewpoint looks over the karst of Vojvodića rupe. Plužine is about 110 km from Podgorica via Nikšić.
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Monastery
A Serbian Orthodox monastery near the source of the Piva, noted for its frescoes and treasury. Its church was moved to a new site when the old valley was flooded by the Piva reservoir. Visiting Piva Monastery The monastery was…
Dam
A concrete arch dam in the Piva canyon, one of the highest in Europe. Its completion flooded the canyon and created Lake Piva. Visiting Mratinje The dam is about 220 m high, and it gives views of the lake on…
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Photo: veselin koprivica · CC BY 3.0
Photo: Draganandj · CC BY-SA 4.0Montenegro · Durmitor · Northern Montenegro
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