Žabljak claims to be the highest town in the Balkans, at about 1,450 metres, and it sits on a plateau among the peaks of Durmitor, a national park and UNESCO World Heritage site in northern Montenegro. The town is small, a place of low houses and mountain lodges, and it exists mostly for hikers, skiers and the occasional motorcyclist who has made the effort to come this far. Pines and spruce close in around it, the nights are cool even in summer, and the snow comes early.
The riding here is the reason to come. The roads around Durmitor are some of the best in the country, twisting through canyons, over passes and past glacial lakes. The Black Lake, Crno Jezero, lies a short walk from the centre of town, reflecting the peaks in calm weather. The Tara River canyon, nearby, is one of the deepest in Europe, and the bridge over it at Đurđevića Tara, finished just before the Second World War, is a well-known sight. The Sedlo pass road, which climbs to the east of Durmitor, is rough in places but gives vast views over the park. The surface of some mountain roads is patchy and broken by frost, and rockfalls are possible, so keep your speed under control.
Culture here is mountain and pastoral. Shepherds still graze flocks on the high pastures in summer, and the food reflects it, with cheese, smoked ham, kajmak, a rich clotted cream, and lamb cooked slowly under a metal lid, the peka. Local brandy, rakija, is offered generously. In winter the town turns into a modest ski resort, and the roads can be closed or icy from November to April.
Fuel is an important detail. Žabljak is a small town with a petrol station, but the villages nearby are tiny and stations are scarce on the mountain roads, so fill up whenever you pass one. The nearest larger town is Pljevlja, about thirty kilometres to the north, and Plužine and Šavnik, to the south and southwest, are small places with limited services. Mobile signal fades in the canyons.
Weather changes quickly at this height, and an afternoon storm can arrive from a blue sky, so carry waterproofs even in summer. The reward is a landscape that feels truly wild, and an evening on a pine-scented terrace when the air turns crisp.