Plav lies in the far east of Montenegro, in a high green basin beside a glacial lake, with the jagged limestone peaks of the Prokletije, the Accursed Mountains, rising to the south and west. The lake is calm and cold, edged with willows and reed, and the mountains behind seem to hang above it, their summits often streaked with snow until early summer. Zla Kolata, near the Albanian border, is the highest peak in Montenegro, at over twenty-five hundred metres, and the whole range is a wilderness of cirques, screes and deep valleys.
The town is small, only a few thousand people, and the culture is a blend of Bosniak, Albanian and Montenegrin traditions. Old Ottoman stone towers stand beside mosques with slim minarets, and in neighbouring Gusinje the springs of Ali Pasha, which pour out of the rock in a cold clear stream, make a favourite place to cool down. A visit to the Grebaje valley, with its pastures and shepherds' huts, shows how mountain life continues here at an old pace.
Riders come for the roads and the remoteness. From Berane, the road winds up toward Plav through a gorge and forest, then continues to the border crossing with Albania at Vermosh, from where the highway drops to Shkodër through the Kelmend region. Surfaces vary: parts are freshly laid, others are broken, and landslides and rockfall can happen after storms. Traffic is thin, but you may meet sheep, cows and horses on the road, so keep your speed down on blind corners.
Fuel is the main question. Plav is small, and while there is usually a pump in town, Berane, about twenty-eight kilometres away, is the larger place to rely on. Cash is useful in the mountain villages. Weather swings quickly, with cold nights even in July and thunderstorms in the afternoon. The best months are June to September, and snow can close the high roads from late autumn.
The food is excellent and simple: grilled trout from the lake, fresh cheese, and fruit from local orchards.