Local guide
Hrid Lake
The lake the park calls its most beautiful, reached from the Plav side — not from a trailhead at Vusanje.
Hridsko jezero lies in the Plav municipality, inside Prokletije National Park, and the park lists it as one of its two strict nature reserves. It is also the lake the park's own material calls the Lake of Happiness, with the old belief that bathing in it brings luck, health and peace.
We had this wrong before, and this is the correction: the lake is not a three-hour walk from a trailhead near Vusanje. The route comes in from the Plav direction, and the walking itself is a short, marked descent to the water. The figures you see above come from the national tourism organisation's route description and the park's own pages, read on the date shown beside them.
Starting from
Travel times depend on which house you stay in.
- Driving from the house to the trailhead
- Not confirmed yet
- Walking from the trailhead
- 3.7 km · 1 h 20 min · one way
- Total suggested time for the outing
- Not confirmed yet
From the Plav side, through Gusinje and on towards Plav — not from a trailhead at Vusanje.
We have not measured the drive from either house, so no distance or driving time is shown.
The walking figures are quoted one way.
Ask us and we will send the route we use ourselves.
What to expect
- A marked walk in one direction, mostly downhill — arrange a pick-up, or walk back the way you came.
- Conifer forest, a spring partway down, and the lake in a hollow below the ridge.
- Cool air even in August. This is high ground and it behaves like it.
Getting there
By road from the Plav side to the trailhead above the lake. From either house that means driving through Gusinje and on towards Plav, so do not set out expecting a trailhead at Vusanje.
The walking distance and time, the direction of the route and the marked trail are in the panel above; we have not measured the drive from either house and will not invent one.
Practical details
- Facilities
- Drinking water at the trailhead · Shelter at the trailhead · Spring on the route
- Season
- June to October. Snow can close the high routes outside these months.
Anything not listed here is unconfirmed, so ask us rather than assume it.
Nearby, and worth the same trip
- Grebaje Valley
The valley most guests come for: a green floor, limestone walls on both sides, and a road that ends where the walking starts.
Services you can arrange
These are arranged rather than simply visited. Nothing is booked online: ask us and we will confirm what is possible on your dates.
- Bicycle hireArranged by the houses
- Bike toursArranged by the houses
- Guided walksArranged by the houses
- Hiking activitiesArranged by the houses
- Horse ridingArranged with a local provider
- FishingArranged with a local provider
- TransfersArranged by the houses
Where to stay
Both houses are ours, and either one works as a base for this outing.
- Mountain View ResortPrivate bungalows in Vusanje.
- Hotel Mountain ViewHotel rooms in Gusinje.
Sources
- National Parks of Montenegro — Prokletije ↗
- Gusinje Tourist Organisation — Prokletije National Park ↗
- National Tourism Organisation of Montenegro — Hridsko Lake trail ↗
- National Parks of Montenegro — tickets ↗
Facts checked: 28 October 2026