Montenegro is home to some of the most mountainous areas in Europe, and the Bjelasica Mountains are a great example of stunning scenery that very few hikers visit. They’re easily accessible, only a couple of hours north of the capital Podgorica, via the spectacular Moraca Canyon. Travelling through this on the bus was an unexpected bonus, though trying to take photos from a moving vehicle in heavy rain was a little tricky. Enough came out thankfully to give an idea…

Kolašin is the hub for exploring the area, a classic alpine village, feeling much like ones I’ve visited elsewhere in Europe and South America. Thankfully the rain from the journey eased off, leaving atmospheric mist around, but no sun to bring the place to life. The village centre was pleasant enough to explore though.

At one end was the huge Bianca Resort & Spa, about ten times the size of anything else in Kolašin.

There were a couple of abandoned buildings, the inside of one brought back memories of visiting Chernobyl, with the first floor collapsed, very apocalyptic.

The most interesting building though was the incredible (and seemingly also abandoned) Kolašin Cultural Centre, all glass and concrete, and unusual angles.

St Demetrius Church was closed, but worth a short walk to visit.

I had dinner at Konoba Nišavić, an atmospheric 120 year old restaurant strong on classic Montenegrin dishes, most of which are heavy on the meat and potatoes.

The next day I walked 17km from Kolašin to Katun Vranjak, climbing nearly a thousand metres, an decent first Montenegrin hike. From town the path crossed a small river before winding up the hillside along a mixture of rough dirt roads and across fields filled with wild flowers.

The way was marked with white and red markers, though you would struggle to rely on them solely for navigation. This was my first organised self guided hike, using The Natural Adventure, who booked the accommodation and transfers, and provided trip notes and GPS files. These were essential for navigation given the number of trails and roads along the way.

After a couple of hours I reached a good lunch spot, with views of the lush green landscape.

The track continued to climb with more easy road walking, and more enjoyable meadow exploring.

It had been raining for several days before which seemed to bring out many giant snails.

The trees changed, quite atmospheric.

The views opened up of the landscape, which was a warm up for better to come.

There was then a long stretch along a 4WD track, easy if dull walking. The only excitement / fear was at the first sight of a house on the road a chorus of aggressive barking erupted. It came from from three huge dogs who thankfully were on chains, and their owner was sitting outside. I don’t like dogs at the best of times, and a constant fear while hiking was coming across these shepherd dogs off lead, which thankfully never happened.

There were a few cows and horses around but otherwise the landscape was empty of domesticated animals.

The track got more interesting through the woods, particularly when the sun shone.

The highlight was heading out into the open, with expansive views, though the predominantly cloud didn’t help the photos.

In the distance were some pretty decent sized mountains judging by the amount of snow cover.

The sun broke through the cloud in places, lighting up the landscape.

I headed up to the ridge line, which offered great views but the sun had disappeared. I enjoyed the solitude though, the only people I saw all day were a couple of local farmers.

There were a few patches of snow surviving at about 1,200m above sea level.

In the distance was the Kolasin Ski Centre. I suspect that this place is more popular in winter for skiing than for hiking in summer.

Finally Vranjak came into view, a small collection of buildings, the most obvious being the Katun Vranjak where I was to spend the next couple of nights. These are traditional shepherds huts, though I suspect the originals aren’t as nice as the tourist version, and wouldn’t have a toilet and shower block.