Six years ago we visited our friends in Krnja Jela, at the edge of the Sinjajevina plateau, and we were absolutely flabbergasted by the rough and amazing beauty of this ‘Land of Katuns’. But until now we didn’t have the opportunity to crisscross the biggest pasture of the Balkans with an off-road vehicle. Until last week, when our longstanding wish was fulfilled.
Brief description
The vast mountain plateau of Sinjajevina (45 km long and 15 km wide) stretches between Kolašin and the village of Njegovudja near Žabljak. Many ‘Katuns’ (summer mountain settlements) can be found in this area, which has a pasture surface of 120,000 ha. Each year in spring the cattle comes from south and central Montenegro to Sinjajevina. And there is enough space for 200,000 sheep!
Sinjajevina has an average altitude of 1600m above sea level, but the highest peak (Torna) is 2,277m. The relief – mainly arid karst fields and grassy slopes – is rolling due to glacial activity. This rough area with its rather monotonous landscapes has remained a secret for most tourists, not only due to the lack of infrastructure, but also because it is so close to the more popular Durmitor mountains.
However, Sinjajevina is an unforgettable and magic place for true nature lovers. In spring, there are many mountain flowers and medicinal herbs. In winter, the slopes are covered with a thick layer of snow and ice. Hiking, mountain biking, Nordic skiing, jeep safaris and many other activities offer an excellent potential for the development of tourism. And let us not forget rural tourism: a farm stay in a real Katun with home-made food might be a fantastic experience for many adventurous tourists!
The Off-road Tour
We hired a 4×4 m and set off to Kolašin, where our planned tour would start. We did not have a good map (using the app maps.me on our iphones turned out to be a good solution), but we expected to find good trails that would show us around the magic world of Sinjajevina.
The road through Donje Lipovo and Gornje Lipovo (15 km from Kolašin) was narrow, but paved and the natural beauty of the Plasnica valley, surrounded by high mountain peaks, was striking. Many years ago, we had visited the authentic Dulovic Farm at the end of the village – at that time, we could not continue our trip: the road was too bad for our camper van. By the way, in the meantime, the farm has opened its doors for tourists. It is a perfect starting point for hiking and mountain biking tours (booking is possible at: www.meanderbug.com).
Above Gornje Lipovo, the asphalt road turned into gravel. Slowly, we found our way to the Vratlo pass (1,737m). The road was steep and narrow, and several times we had to pass small trucks transporting cattle back to the valley. Obviously, the summer season was coming to an end! The view from above on the green valley surrounded by dense pine forests was breathtaking.
We were astonished when we saw the endless plateau on the other side of the mountain. No peaks, just rolling fields. Just a trail through rocks and grass. We had the feeling that we were the first persons to visit this area. How can I describe the feeling of being on the top of the world?
Can you imagine a sea of immense waves turned into stone and grass, with – here and there – lonely hamlets consisting of low huts, often without electricity and water?
We followed the trail along the foothills of Jablanov Vrh (2203m) and made our first stop in Ječmen Do, a Katun where people were still active working around their huts and tending their cattle. Life seemed to be the same as centuries ago…. Flocks of sheep in the meadows. Horses were grazing around freely. But when we left the car for a walk, we saw that something had changed to the better: one household offered accommodation for tourists, some huts were equipped with solar cells, and we also saw a water pond.
It was not easy to find the right trail. There were no signposts and some trails were no more than grassy tracks, but we succeeded in finding the Ružica Church and Okrugljak, one of the biggest Katuns of Sinjajevina. Many huts were already abandoned – the summer seemed to be almost over.
In the meantime, thick clouds were gathering above our heads. We could hardly see the Ružica church on the top of a hill. It became misty, the plateau looked spooky and we decided to take the road back to Kolašin along the eastern side.
What is a Katun?
Katuns are temporary mountain settlements, at high altitudes, where shepherds and their families spend the summer with their livestock.
Nowadays, more than 2000 households in Montenegro are still using the mountain pastures, bringing their livestock (cattle, sheep, goats and horses) to the Katuns in May/June and taking them back late October.
This nomadic way of life has developed, through the centuries, into a special and unique culture and tradition, which still exists in the more remote parts of the Montenegrin mountains. Living conditions in Katuns are completely different if compared to rural areas: there is no running water in the huts, no electricity, no infrastructure. Until recently, some remote Katuns without water ponds used snow remains covered with leaves to get water.
For more information about life in the Katuns, see http://www.katun.me/.
Sinjajevina – a military training polygon?
There have been many discussions in the last few months about the plans of the Montenegrin Government to construct a military training polygon on the eastern side of the Sinjajevina plateau. Many protests have been organized, petitions signed (‘Save Sinjajevina’) – without any result.
The Government has unanimously decided that the polygon has to be constructed, but the Minister of Defense has promised that the location will be used just a few days in spring and autumn, when the local population does not reside in the nearby Katuns. Moreover, the Prime Minister has confirmed that the Armed Forces will help the local population in building the necessary roads and water supply systems, and that this will all contribute to further tourism development.
There have been rumors that NATO is going to construct bases here, that out-of-date weapons will be stored and that the eco-system will be ruined. Let’s hope that these rumors are not true!
Because there is no doubt: this mountain plateau is a unique natural environment that should be protected. And the Katuns are an immaterial asset that should be maintained as a very important factor for tourism development in the mountains of Montenegro!
Conclusion
I know, we have only seen a small part of this magnificent region, but we will certainly be back next year. And I hope with all my heart that Sinjajevina will remain as it is now: pure, wild, unique, amazing… and reminding us, once more, that we are just a tiny part of nature and nothing else.
Possibly my favorite of all your posts to date. Thank you! We’ll certainly be checking this area out when we next get back to Montenegro.
That was absolutely wonderful, I just stumbled upon this while idling through people who I may know, well, I would be very happy to have you as a friend.
You have a rare appreciation of natural beauty, an obvious desire to maintain and support the way of life that these local individuals, and rightly so.
It is unthinkable that it is even being considered that such a beautiful and rare landscape such as this should even be considered as a training ground for the military. Such a stark contrast, simple people who have lived a remote unspoiled way of life for centuries, are now likely to come face to face with the ugly and evil reality of of what has become the way of life for central governments. What a state the world has descended into, were the fear of nations against nations has made it necessary to constantly expand their resources for the purposes of defending themselves at best, or preparing to attack at worst.
I do pray and hope that sanity will prevail, and these people will be allowed to live their lives as they have always lived it.
Thank you for sharing your experiences, it was wonderful to be able to share your experiences and to learn what is going on in this remote and beautiful part of our world.
Thank you.