Photo: Petkovic Boris · CC BY-SA 4.0
Orlovačko Lake is a natural lake on Zelengora, at 1,438 m above sea level, inside Sutjeska National Park, about a kilometre from Jugovo Lake. It is a small lake, about 0.02 km² and up to roughly 5.5 m deep, and it holds brown trout and lake charr (zlatovčica), together with introduced Californian trout. The area around the lake is the centre of Zelengora: the peaks Orlovac and Orlovača rise to the east, Bregoč to the south-east, Stog to the south and Ljeljen to the north, and a good part of the mountain can be covered in day trips from here. A path leads west to two exceptional lakes in the western part of the mountain, Štirinsko and Kotlaničko. Near the lake stand a new hunting lodge and the huts (katuni) of shepherds with sheep, cows and horses.
How it formed
Orlovačko is a cirque lake in a grassy valley at the north-western tip of Orlovac, with a spring feeding it and meadows and hills around it.
Nature
Wild ducks, frogs and snakes live around the water, and wild boar and deer come down to drink. Blueberries are abundant by the lake, mushrooms grow in the woods around it, and sheep graze the summer pastures until mid-September.
Gallery
Visit
Swimming
No reliable information
Tips
From the Foča–Gacko road, turn off at the Čemerno pass; asphalt gives way to gravel, and about 20 km of bumpy road through forests and pastures lead to a pass, from where the worst stretch of dirt road drops to the lake. From Kalinovik, about 25 km of rougher timber road is usually passable only by off-road vehicles. A national park hunting lodge stands a few hundred metres before the lake.
The park rents out a small hut with two bedrooms, a living room with a fireplace, a kitchen and a bathroom. Campers often stay by the lake, but camping is allowed only in places approved by the park, and Tjentište has a campsite. The lake is pleasant for a summer swim.
A herders’ track climbs south to the ridge and on to Bregoč, the highest peak of Zelengora, about two hours away; other trails start at the pass for Kotlaničko and Štirinsko. The weather turns quickly here, so leave the open mountain when you hear thunder.
Nearby lakes
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Sources & data
- Statistički godišnjak Republike Srpske 2024, table 2.3 "Jezera i ribnjaci", Republički zavod za statistiku Republike Srpske, 2024
- English Wikipedia: Orlovačko Lake, Wikimedia Foundation
- OpenStreetMap: Orlovačko Jezero (way 167336218), OpenStreetMap contributors
- Wikidata: Orlovačko Lake (Q3443249), Wikimedia Foundation
- Bosnian Wikipedia: Orlovačko jezero, Wikimedia Foundation
- Lakes of Zelengora, Sutjeska National Park
- Lakes of Zelengora, Zelengora.net
- Orlovačko jezero, Planinarenje.ba
- Orlovačko is the prettiest gem of a beautiful mountain (2016), BH Putovanja
- Eight glacial beauties: Zelengora Lakes, Livetheworld