The Best Hike in Durmitor National Park: Ice Caves
Durmitor National Park is part of the Dinaric Alps and is home to some of the most spectacular scenery in the country. No wonder it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Durmitor massif (a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits) contains 18 peaks over 2,000 meters in elevation, including the highest peak in Montenegro, Bobotov Kuk, which is the namesake of the park. It’s a hikers paradise.
Hiking to the ice cave was probably my highlight of the entire Montenegro trip. Durmitor National Park is incredible. I just love mountains that look straight out of Lord of the Rings. I always encourage myself by saying if Frodo went to Mount Doom, I can get through this trail… And I did!
Across from the Voli grocery store in Zabklak, there is the tourist information center where you can get information on all the hikes available. in the park.
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The Basics
- Entrance fee to Durmitor NP, 5 euros pp
- At least 14km hike
- 8 hours with breaks
- Out-and-back or loop options
- TOTALLY worth it!
How long is the hike?
We hiked a total of 26km over the course of the day (though this included walking to/from our accommodation and stopping for lunch in town). Technically, the hike is just under 14km if you start from the national park, though you’re likely going to walk into the park and back out to your accommodation as we did, so keep that in mind too when calculating distance.
You can visit the caves as an out-and-back hike or as a loop. We opted for the loop and most people do too! You can go in either direction.
Although the hike is long, the entire route is beautiful.
We entered the national park at 8am and exited at 4pm (including all breaks), making it an 8-hour hike. The park only opens at 8am so I suggest you start then. It will take about 20 minutes to get to the start of the trailhead from the entrance.
What is the Ice Cave/ Ledena Pecina?
The Ice Cave, locally known as Ledena Pecina, in Durmitor National Park, is located at an altitude of 2,164 meters on the slopes of Mount Obla Glava. It’s a serious and scenic climb to the top. Over the centuries, water seeped through the limestone bedrock and froze, forming a network of ice tunnels and chambers.
The cave is about 40 meters long and 20 meters wide, and it contains a variety of ice formations, including stalactites, stalagmites, and columns.
Ledena Pecina literally means ice cave in Serbian, the national language of Montenegro. This is the name you’ll look for on the trail signs.
The hike starts from within Durmitor National Park. The national park has an entrance fee of 5 euros per person. It’s an additional 2 euros to park. Use this entrance to best access the trail. Although Google Maps says it’s a parking lot (which it is, too), this is where the entrance booth is located.
Can I go into the ice cave?
Yes and no.
First, yes, it’s possible to go into the ice caves in the summer months. There is a guide rope (that’s very slippery) that goes down into the cave. The temperature drops like crazy as you start to descend.
I suggest informing some other hikers that you plan to descend into the cave because the snow and rocks are very slippery, and it seems possible to get stuck down there. Personally, I was too scared to go all the way down because I’m not coordinated, and if anyone would get stuck down there, it would definitely be me.
Second, no, you can’t go all the way into the ice cave when the entrance is blocked by snow!
Trail Map
Although there are signs of Ledena Pecina, sometimes the arrows on the rocks guiding the trailway are overlooked by hikers. (It’s us, we are hikers. We took some wrong turns that looked right…) Download the app Mapy.cz and download the Montenegro section. The app is amazing and works without a Wi-Fi connection to help you stay on the trail. Use it whenever you feel slightly off course.
I think that the most dramatic mountain views are as you descend on the other side of the ice caves as you hike from point 2 to 3, so I suggest you do the trail as a loop.
Note that the distance is from the Black Lake and that you’ll still need to walk from your lodge and on the path from the entrance of the park to the Black Lake. I mention this again and again because you must judge the full distance of your excursion, not just the trail hike.
If you want to hike around Durmitor National Park with a guide, check out this service. However, trails are well marked and it’s easy to go around by yourself.
Hiking to the Ice Caves
Although this Durmitor National Park hike is strenuous in parts, as long as you take some breaks and have enough water, you can do it! I’ve literally never seen anything like this on a hike before. The journey is rewarding and you won’t regret how long it takes in the end.
The Beginning
As I’ve mentioned, although the hike is about 14km, you have to add on the distance from the entrance of the park and the distance from your accommodation to this. As such, for us the hike was 26km from the minute we stepped out of our cute A-frame house and back into it.
You can drive and park at the entrance of the national park if you have a car. Parking is 2 euros and you can park and pay your entrance fee (5 euros per person) here.
Walk along the pathway toward the Black Lake. The lake is empty and still early in the morning.
Then, walk along the lake to the right until you find the hiking trail (see the pic below), and then start the climb up the mountain.
You’ll cross a little stream. Look out for fish! And then the climb continues up and up. Eventually, the path splits and you have the option to go right or left. I suggest you go right, as indicated on the trail map above.
I had to stop to take a break mid-way up the climb.
The Middle
Eventually, the path becomes a mixture of level ground and a light climb through evergreens. It’s just beautiful.
You’ll see Zabljak in the distance as you hike.
I’ve never encountered so many bees on a trail as I have here. I, for some reason, usually get stung by bees. If you’re allergic, be sure you’ve got an epi-pen.
The trail then starts to become a climb/scramble up the mountain. Be sure to look out for the trail markers on the rocks. It’s very easy to get lost here so check Mapy.cz.
The most common place people seem to get lost is by the first little cave you’ll encounter on your right-hand side as you hike…
There is actually a rock where several people have scratched in xs and arrows to help indicate the route… It seems natural to continue straight but, be sure to take a RIGHT. Do not continue straight into the rock pile. If you see the cave, stop and check Mapy.cz.
Here Wilhelm is coming back from the wrong way. You can kinda see an arrow scratched into the rock to help hikers. There is a trail marker but its hidden on the ground by the vegetation.
We also saw some snow patches as we hiked!
We saw two different snow patches when we hiked.
The Ice Caves
The ice caves are located near the base of this mountain peak. Until you’re at this mound, you still have a ways to go!
Keep the Mount Obla Glava peak in your sights as you hike as it’s basically your destination. Here it is when we are 1.5 hours away vs 20 minutes away from the ice caves.
The ice caves are truly a unique sight, especially in the heat of summer. As I mentioned, we didn’t manage to get all the way in because I was scared of getting stuck. Alert someone else you’re planning to go all the way down, just in case.
We spent about 15 minutes admiring the caves and making an attempt before continuing our hike.
The End
We stopped shortly after the ice caves to have lunch with this incredible view.
If you look out into the distance on your right, you’ll see the highest point in the park, Bobotov Kuk. You may even see some miniature people start the climb to the tippy top and see them there!
You can kinda see a person at the bottom of the U-shaped curve of the mountain. There are also people at the top right.
From here, the path is a steady descent.
The one tricky part (besides the fact that we ran out of water around this time), was the rocky climb down the mountainside, just to hike back up to the barn/cafe.
Unfortunately, the cafe was closed when we hiked by. Wilhelm did an extra descent and climbed to a freshwater stream indicated on the trail app but the water was still. Eek. You may run into the horses at the stable.
Very sad for us. No beer and no water.
After we passed the stable, I lost my will to continue hiking in Durmitor National Park. We still had 4km to go until we reached the end of the trail (not including hiking back to the entrance of the national park and onward to lunch!). At this point, I gave up and started walking so slowly. I was mostly sick of the rocks rather than tired of the hike…
The last pictures of the hike… Thought I looked cute in the pic, turned out I looked exhausted but yolo.
Finallyyyy, we reached Black Lake. I wish we brought our swimming suits so we could take a well-deserved dip. Be sure to bring yours if you want to get immediately refreshed.
We had lunch outside the national park at Kaćun Caffe, but you can also check out the restaurant on-site.
The pizza at Kaćun Caffe was great and energized us for the 1.5km back to our accommodation. Other restaurants that were popular as we walked by were Hotel SOA, Restaurant Or’O, and Zlatni Papagaj.
What to pack to hike in Durmitor National Park
Water! We ended up needing a lot more water than we had. We carried around 0.75 liters each, but we needed more like 1.5 liters each at least.
After we finally reached water at the end of the trail.
Near the end of the trail, there is supposed to be a little cafe and a stream to refill water from (as indicated on Mapy.cz). However, when we hiked, the stream was still (and therefore unsafe), and the cafe was closed! Just a warning to bring more water with you if it’s a sunny day.
When I checked on All Trails to write this post, all of the most recent comments included that they needed more water. Some people said they needed more than 2.5 and up to 4 liters.
We carried 3 sandwiches (1.5 each) and some chips as our snack for a perfect lunch after we reached the caves.
Most hikers were not using hiking poles on this trail. There is a good portion of scrambling/climbing up rocks. We have never climbed with poles but if you’re used to it, bring those.
Happy hiking!