Exploring Durmitor National Park and Bobotov Kuk summit

All I have to say is wow! This is definitely one of my favorite national parks in the Balkans. Especially on this trail that I recorded, you never cease to be amazed at the gorgeous peaks, rock formations, caves, lakes, and epic panoramic views. It's crazy to me. It's a small park and there is so much beauty condensed in such a small area (in my opinion). I truly, truly loved it.

I won't talk about the trail too much (except for a couple of instances) as they are all mostly well marked with proper markings. I used a map app as a guide for the trails I needed to follow. They truly give these trails a nice upkeep. So, as long as you have a planned route, you'll most likely have the luxury of hiking on really good trails.

My start was a bit away from the town as that's where my accommodation was. But this can easily be modified if you're staying in town or elsewhere (there are trails everywhere!). Trails were quite good with a few exceptions: on the way down from my first peak (Terzin Bogaz), there was no trail to get down to the pass. I basically followed the ridge (sometimes you find traces of a trail) all the way down. If you follow the recording, you should be fine.

Then, right after that same pass, I saw that I had to go down to the valley floor which I did not want to (to save my knees). So I came up with a plan to stay in the slopes of the massive limestone towers to the south. I started going down south on a barely visible goat trail but then disappeared so I kept to the rocks and crossed a bit of icy snow (here, I also met some local wildlife). I essentially met the trail just before the pass to the south. There was some climbing and rock scrambling but nothing dangerous (although it can get slippery with loose rocks). Once at the pass, trail is visible again and you can follow it west towards Bobotov Kuk. After reaching the last pass before summiting Bobotov Kuk ("summit base" if you will), the trail becomes steep and have to go up rocky paths that include cables for safety. With a crowd, it can get a bit tricky so take care going up or coming down.

The other instance was at around km 20.5. I wanted to avoid going down to a small lake as I knew I'd have to climb back up again so I followed a goat trail that eventually disappeared so I had to make all efforts to meet the main trail. I did some climbing down a couple of times. In this instance, it's probably safer to stay on the trail even though I found a separate trail that met the main one towards the end. Then just followed it down.

After the lake, I had to find a way to get back to where I was staying and was trying to follow a trail per my maps app but it was non-existent. Most likely you won't have to deal with this if you're staying in Žabljak but I eventually found a couple of trails that took me where I needed to go.

All in all, a difficult trail that, as gorgeous as it is and even though the distance wasn't much, the elevation gain was excruciating. I was truly being tested going up to the summit of Planinica after the big lake. But at the same time, it gives you a very detailed tour of the high peaks within the park. Not for everyone and perhaps it may be worth just spending some days around camping. I also think it could've been done in less time were it not for having to stop so many times to take pictures!

PS: GPS was going crazy at the beginning of the hike so there's an odd altitude dip which is wrong. I'll have support fix the numbers.