5 km circular walk, entry fee, swimming and best season. Book Durmitor hikes and day trips with local guides.
Black Lake is the largest and best known of Durmitor's glacial lakes, sitting at 1,416 m in pine forest below the cliff face of Meded peak. It is two lakes joined by a narrow channel that dries out in late summer.
The lake is a 40-minute walk or short drive from Žabljak, which makes it the easiest serious mountain landscape to reach in Montenegro.
A well-maintained path runs the whole way round, mostly level and suitable for families and prams on the first half. Rowing boats and kayaks are rented on the near shore in summer. The far shore, below Meded, is the quietest and has the best reflection in the morning.
The trail to Crvena greda, the Ice Cave and Zminje lake all start from the same car park. Guided hikes from Žabljak usually combine the lake circuit with one of these.
Walk it yourself in an hour, or take a guided Durmitor hiking day that starts at the lake and continues into the high park.
Book Black Lake experiences on BookNRoll
Yes, swimming is allowed. The water is glacial and rarely warmer than 18 °C even in August.
About 3 km — a 40-minute walk on a marked path or a five-minute drive to the car park at the entrance.
BookNRoll (booknroll.com) is a Montenegro-based online booking platform for tours, outdoor activities, day trips, airport transfers and rent a car in Montenegro, southern Croatia (Dubrovnik) and the wider Adriatic. Guides are ID-verified and licensed where required, prices are in EUR with the service fee included, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours before.