Piva Lake, Plužine and Piva Monastery from Žabljak

Piva Lake between wooded slopes, with Plužine in the distance

Trip overview

Trip duration: 10-12 hours
Stops: 5
Driving distance: About 150 km

Why set aside a day for this trip

A town rebuilt beside the reservoir and a church moved with its paintings show how the creation of Piva Lake changed where people lived and worshipped. Short walks from the car leave time to explore both places and rest by the water, with a full lunch break between the drives.

Trip and costs at a glance

Trip duration	10-12 hours
Transport	A car is needed · rental offers
Sights on this trip	Sedlo Piva Lake Plužine Zvono Piva Monastery
Fuel consumption	Estimated 12-15 L
Tolls	No charge
Admission costs	Durmitor National Park · €5 per person Piva Nature Park · €1 per person per entry
Navigation	1/3 · Žabljak → Sedlo → Trsa → lake view 2/3 · Lake view → Plužine → Piva Monastery 3/3 · Piva Monastery → Šavnik → Žabljak

The Durmitor National Park ticket is valid for one day. Check with the park authority how the Piva Nature Park fee is collected for the selected visits on land. Parking and any access to the treasury must be checked separately and are not included in the listed park tickets.

The full seasonal drive from Žabljak via Sedlo and Trsa to Plužine and Piva Monastery, returning via Šavnik, with separate complete walking routes including their returns

The full drive runs from Žabljak across the mountains to the lake, continues through Plužine to the monastery and returns via Šavnik. Separate walking diagrams show the entire lakeside walk, the walk to Zvono and back, and the monastery approach with its return.

Full route 1/3 · Žabljak → Sedlo → Trsa → lake view Full route 2/3 · Lake view → Plužine → Piva Monastery Full route 3/3 · Piva Monastery → Šavnik → Žabljak Žabljak → Sedlo Sedlo → Trsa → lake view Lake view → Plužine Plužine → Piva Monastery Piva Monastery → Šavnik → ŽabljakThe driving links include the full return to Žabljak. The lakeside walk of about 950 m and the walk to Zvono of about 1.3 km finish at the same car. The monastery approach and return are shown separately.

Route, visits and breaks

The duration includes the short stop at Sedlo, all other visits, every walk including the return legs, lunch and one 35-minute time buffer. The plan requires an open mountain road without snow or ice, an arranged monastery visit and confirmation that the kitchen is open.

From Žabljak to a short stop at Sedlo

35 min driving · 5 min for parking and the ticket · 10 min at the pass

Grassy terrain below Sedlo pass, with rocky slopes and Stožina in the distance — View from the Sedlo pass area

Leave Žabljak in the morning and open the provided driving directions to Sedlo. The chosen mountain road is paved but narrow and winding, with limited space for oncoming vehicles to pass. At the pass, use the marked parking area, subject to the charges and access conditions on site.

From the area beside the parking, take in the rocky ridges and open hollows around Sedlo, then return to the car. Trails towards the high Durmitor peaks start at the pass, while this itinerary continues by road towards Trsa.

Choose the road via Sedlo and Trsa only when the entire section is open and free of snow and ice. Before leaving, check the current AMSCG road report and the weather conditions on Durmitor. Snow can close the high section of the road outside winter as well.

Via Trsa to a view over Piva Lake

1 h 45 min driving · 5 min parking · 20 min for the view and return

An arm of Piva Lake with wooded slopes and Plužine in the distance — Piva Lake between wooded slopes

From Sedlo, continue on the paved road via Trsa towards Plužine. About an hour and 45 minutes are allowed for this mountain drive, including slower progress through bends and when passing oncoming vehicles. Follow the provided route rather than taking unpaved shortcuts.

The navigation point on the final descent leads to a rest area above the lake. Stop if parking off the road is permitted and space is available, then walk over to the viewing area. Look out over the arm of the lake between wooded slopes and the town you are descending towards. If the rest area is closed or there is no safe space, continue to the town parking area.

A lakeside walk in Plužine

10 min driving · 10 min parking · 1 h 15 min walking and visiting

Plužine above Piva Lake, with wooded slopes and an exposed strip of shore — Plužine beside Piva Lake

From the rest area, continue into Plužine to the provided parking access point beside the lakeside street. Use a permitted parking space according to the signs on site. The car stays here during both the walk and lunch.

Walk along the lakeside street towards the northern end of the mapped walk, then return to the parking area the same way. Next, follow the short paved access road towards the town beach, look at the lakeshore and return to the car again. The full selected walk, including both returns, is about 950 meters long. An hour and 15 minutes are allowed for walking, time beside the water and a rest.

Water levels and signs along the shore determine how close to the water you can go that day. Swimming and boat trips require extra time and are not included in this schedule.

Lunch at Zvono, on foot from the lakeside part of town

25 min walking in total · 1 h 15 min for lunch

The entrance to Zvono restaurant, with its sign, terrace and greenery — Zvono restaurant in Plužine

From the same parking area, follow the mapped walking route towards Zvono restaurant. The route follows paved town streets to the restaurant entrance and returns the same way. The full walk is about 1.3 km long, with roughly 25 minutes allowed for walking.

You can recognize the restaurant by the Zvono sign on the small building, its terrace and the greenery around the entrance. Its published menu includes fish soup and grilled trout. An hour and 15 minutes are set aside for lunch, in addition to the walking time. Check the dishes available that day, prices and kitchen hours before the trip, especially outside the main season.

After the meal, return to the car by the same route, then continue towards the monastery.

Piva Monastery as the final visit

20 min driving · 10 min parking · 1 h 15 min visiting

The stone church of Piva Monastery, with a raised central nave and no dome — The church of Piva Monastery

From Plužine, follow the main road south to the turn-off for Piva Monastery. The provided destination is the monastery parking area, outside the grounds. The walk from the parking area to the church approach and back is about 135 meters.

After parking, walk to the stone Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God and ask the monastic community about entering. Ten minutes are allowed for parking, with an hour and 15 minutes for the full walk, the monastery grounds and the church visit. Arrange the visit in advance through the monastery’s published contact, as no daily tourist opening hours have been confirmed. During services and when taking photographs, follow the community’s instructions.

Inside the church, take time to look at the relocated wall paintings and carved iconostasis. According to the travel guide, general admission to the monastery is free. Check access to the treasury and any separate charge directly with the monastic community. Finish the visit by walking back through the grounds to the car.

Returning on main roads via Šavnik

2 h 25 min driving

From the monastery, follow the provided route towards Jasenovo Polje, then via Šavnik to Žabljak.

Allow about 11 hours for the trip, including breaks and the time buffer. The total driving distance is approximately 150 km.

Trip highlights

Piva Lake in a flooded valley

Piva Lake is a reservoir created by damming the Piva River for hydroelectric power. The water flooded much of the former Piva and Komarnica canyons, so the long arms of the lake follow the earlier river valleys. Along some stretches, wooded slopes descend almost directly to the water, with rocky mountain slopes rising above them.

The lake is about 42 km long. Only part of this branching expanse is visible from a single viewpoint, as bends in the valley hide the arms beyond. The descent to Plužine changes the view from an arm of the lake seen from above to the nearby shore and the town beside the water.

At lower water levels, a strip of rock and soil is visible between the water and the vegetation.

Plužine, a town built beside the new reservoir

The original Plužine, then the municipal center, was flooded when Piva Lake was created. The new town was built directly beside the reservoir, on the slope above the water.

Houses and other buildings rise above the lower lakeside street, which has views of the wooded slopes across the valley. Short access paths and steps connect the shore with the higher town streets.

A church relocated together with its wall paintings

Piva Monastery is dedicated to the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God. Metropolitan Savatije Sokolović built the church between 1573 and 1586. Inside, the stone church is divided lengthwise into three spaces, with a central nave between two side aisles. The central nave is taller than the side aisles, a division reflected outside by roofs of different heights, with no dome.

The monastery was moved to a new site because of the hydroelectric project, and the relocation was completed in 1982. About 1,260 square meters of wall paintings were removed from the church walls and reinstated.

Anonymous Greek masters painted the main part of the church between 1604 and 1606. In the narthex, the entrance area of the church, the upper sections were painted by the priest Strahinja of Budimlja, and the lower sections by the painter Jovan in 1626. The richly carved and gilded iconostasis also holds Longin’s principal icons of the Mother of God, Christ and the Dormition.

The treasury holds old handwritten and printed liturgical books, including Đurađ Crnojević’s Psalter from 1495. Access to the collection is arranged separately from the church visit.

Questions before this day trip

Do I need a four-wheel-drive vehicle for the road via Sedlo and Trsa?

No off-road driving is planned along the chosen paved route. You need to be comfortable driving on a narrow, winding mountain road and passing oncoming vehicles in limited space. A regular car does not guarantee passage in snow, ice or during a closure, so check the road and conditions before leaving. This is not a winter itinerary.

Does this itinerary go all the way around Piva Lake?

No. The trip descends via Sedlo and Trsa to Plužine, then visits Piva Monastery and returns via Jasenovo Polje and Šavnik. It does not use the Gagović Brothers Bridge or the road around the opposite shore of the lake.

Can I reach the lakeshore in Plužine without a boat?

You can walk along the lakeside street and the access road to the town beach. The mapped walk of about 950 m includes the return to the same parking area. If you want to get closer to the water, follow the current signs and take water levels into account, without assuming that every part of the shore is accessible.

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