In the natural paradise
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
- Three Continents
Montenegro is not flat. I had to realize that right from the beginning. 70% of the country is covered with mountains. Only since 2006 is Montenegro an independent state. Purely by topography, it is an ideal playground for nature lovers.
Immediately after the border, it was downhill in several kilometers down to Pljevlja. In this area is still relatively much agriculture operated. While on the Bosnian side many tracks were forested, you suddenly had a great view of the area.
Even at night, the temperatures remained wonderfully pleasantly fresh. Almost always I found a place to sleep on one of the numerous pass crossings. From the Rudina Pass (1,205 m above sea level) I drove to a place known to me. 10 years ago I sailed the Tara Gorge by canoe. The Tara is the longest river in Montenegro. In its lower reaches, it has formed a spectacular gorge, which is the longest and deepest in Europe.
The larger towns are usually far from each other. This meant that for the first time I had to plan my stages as precisely as possible. Luckily, this is not a big problem with the water, it flows down the mountain on all sides. Much more the food was important. In Mojkovac I did another big shopping and then drove to Biogradska Gora National Park 10 kilometers away. Although it is the smallest national park in Montenegro, the Biogradska Gora National Park offers a wide variety of flora and fauna. There are 26 habitats of plants with 2000 different species and subspecies. Many of them are endemic.
Above all, the park is known for its 16 km ² of primeval forest with over five hundred years old trees, which extends around the Biogradsko Jezero (lake). He is considered one of the few primeval forests in Europe. At the lake there is a small campsite. I liked the place so much that I stayed there for 3 days.
On my map an adventurous route was drawn. I was a little hesitant whether this is to cope with my tractor. On the second day at the campsite, my uncertainty was banned immediately. Suddenly two cyclists appeared on this road. Barbara and Sebastian cycled from Turkey to Singapore, from there by plane back to Turkey and now slowly cycle home in Germany.
That was the case for me. On the fourth day I said goodbye to the lake and the many mosquitoes. At first the road was relatively easy to drive. But after a while it was said to dismount and poke. The whole drive through the park was extremely hard, but the view and the landscape were without any effort.
As in Bosnia, the roads in Montenegro are extremely narrow and there is a lot of traffic. Therefore, I tried as possible to avoid here on small side roads.
In Rožaje, the last city before the Kosovo border, a man invited me to a Turkish coffee. Skenderi spent many years in Germany. His 4 children all work and study in Germany. He told me that since the beginning of 2015, more than 6,000 people have moved to Rožaje in the direction of North Europe, because people simply have nothing to eat. Most people who still live here can only make ends meet thanks to the support of their relatives abroad.
For the trip to the border to Kosovo I needed two days. Montenegro is a beautiful country. Politically, it is still in its infancy. I am curious to see where Montenegro will develop in the future. Hopefully it can preserve its natural treasures.