Discover Montenegro " Hidden Gem of the Mediterranean" Biogradska Gora National Park

Biogradska Gora Pictures of Montenegro

The 5,400 ha Biogradska Gora is an isolated area. Eighty percent of the park is primeaval forest, having been legally protected since 1878 (six years after Yellowstone, the world's first national park) as Montenegro's oldest national park. It covers the northwestern part of Bjelasica Mountain from the River Tara to the mountain peak. Botanists have recorded 25 families of plants and 64 pieces of trees in the park. Some trees reach a height of 60 m and are 500 years old. At the heart of the park lies the glacial Biogradska Lake (Biogradska Jezero), in the foothills of Jarceve Stijene. The park's five glittering glacial lakes are known as "mountain eyes" and are revealed one by one as you pass through a 50 metres tall fir forest. The huge trees seem even much taller when reflected in the waters. The itensity and depth of colour of the eponymous Biogradska Lake is in part due to these reflections. It is impossible not to be impressed by how neatly nature arranges the vase without human intervention.

The lake is located at the foot of the Bjelasica turrest, with the highest tree, Crna Glava (2,139m), Zekova Glava (2,117m) and Troglava (2,072m), together forming a protective shield with the great forest and the minor of Biogradska Lake at its centre. The entrance to the national park is a bridge over the Tara River, east from the main Mojkovac-Kolasin road, at Kraljeva Kola, 5 km from Mojkovac or 15 km from Kolasin. In 1878, when the Turks had finally been evicted, this tract of land became known as Prince Nikola Petrovic's preserve. The park includes five glacial lakes; the largest and most enchanting, accessible by an asphalt road, is Biogradska Lake itself (altitude 1,094 m, length 1,100 m, average depth 4,5 m). A pedestrian path between virgin forest encircles it, with thoughtfully positioned rest benches and a long wooden bridge spanning the swamp at the north of the Biogradska River. In summer this is lost in luxuriant greenery. The 4 km access road is supplement by 40 km of earth roads allowing heavy-duty tourist vehicles to cross Mountain Bjelasica and some other parts of the park. These roads are intersected by pathways. Over 2,000 plants species are said to be represented, 86 tree types, numerous fungi, dozens of butterflies and birds including the majestic crusader eagle. Since 1952, when it became a national park, it has been placed under strict preservation control; in short no artifical intervention is permitted, allowing a natural evolution in every respect. No pruning, no planting, no removal of dead wood unless hazardous and no introduction of new species of flora and fauna.

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