If you can rent a car, a trip to the national park on Skadar Lake is the easiest way to get there, although traffic on Montenegrin roads can turn into an entertaining adventure. Here are the approximate distances and driving time from the most popular holiday destination to the entrance to the Virpazar National Park:
Virpazary – Podgorica – 29 km – 30-35 minutes
Virpazary – Budva – 42 km – 50-60 minutes
Virpazary – Kotor – 65 km – 1 hour and 15 minutes
Virpazari – Bar – 24 km – 30 minutes
Virpazary – Ulcinj – 50 km – 1 hour
You can park in a few minutes walk from the entrance.
Do you have a craving for adventure? Are you sure that you will cope with narrow, winding and steep roads without protective barriers? Are not you afraid of heights? If you answered “yes” to all three questions, you will like the trip around Lake Skadar. Starting from Podgorica, this tour has a length of 157 km, but you will need at least four hours to overcome the whole distance.
Across the border
From Virpazara, the road goes along the western coast of Lake Skadar to Murici, and then descends to Sukobin / Murikan, where you cross the Montenegrin-Alban border and head to Skadar. Public transportation is not available here, so you will need to rent a car. It’s worth it: on the way there is an incredible variety of landscapes, a breathtaking view of the lake against the snowy Alban Alps, solitary islands, picturesque churches, monasteries and mosques, small villages and, finally, Skadar itself with its colorful sights.
Climbing along the shore, a tiny island of Gremozura, which was once used as a prison, is now visible on the lake from a distance, and now it is inhabited only by cormorants and gulls.
Then you will pass the historical settlement of Godinje, a cluster of ancient stone houses with thick walls and arched entrances. The road narrows and becomes steeper, with magnificent views of the lake, small islets and the Albanian Alps on the opposite side.
The road along Lake Skadar
Continuing the trip, you will find several villages on the shore, populated by Albanians – Muslims and Catholics. In the village of Sestan there is a very beautiful old bell tower and a Catholic church, built in place of the destroyed. Follow the sign to Karanikichi, going down the left side of the road: this is a wonderful place!
The monastery Starchevo, founded in 1377, is located on the island Starcheva Gorica, near the banks of the Guravchi river. From the road there is a beautiful view of a small church in the shadow of tall cypress trees, surrounded by an old stone wall.
The farther to the south, the more wild and desolate images. Around some stones and bushes, sometimes there will be a lonely tree near the road. Donji Murici is among the huge olive groves. In this village there is a pebble beach with a tourist settlement and hotel, which is open only in the season – from May to September. Here you can hire a boat and see the island of Beska with its beautiful 14th-century monastery.
Into the country the landscape is changing again, more lands are cultivated. Chestnut forests, oaks and old cemeteries are a characteristic image of this area, where people still cultivate the land in a traditional way. The local climate is suitable for growing tobacco.
On the way to Skadar
The village of Kostanjica got its name due to two-level chestnut (“kesten”) forests. You will be amazed by the mystical atmosphere of this area, with centuries-old trees hanging over the road. Huge trees completely cover the sunlight.
Continuing the trip through the village of Ostros, you reach the Stegvos Pass, and then descend to Vladimir, where you leave on the main road leading to the border. Through the carefully cultivated fields of the territory, jump out to Skadar, passing a new bridge through Bunu or Boyana.
Skadar is really worth a visit, at least its historical center. The pedestrian street “Sheshi” or “Piaka” has been preserved in the traditional style: there are a lot of pubs, shops and street terraces. In a pizzeria with a shady garden, you can buy pizza for less than 5 euros, but the prices in the popular restaurant of Vila Bekteshi are not higher.
There is something to see in Skodar: the big mosque, the Catholic cathedral, the Mother Teresa monument, the Marubi museum and the Enver Hoxha museum, which recalls the times when the Communists ruled here. From Skoder it is easy to return through the Koplik valley, cross the border and return to Podgorica after a wonderful day.
