Emerald water
Sheer canyon walls drop straight into it.
Julian Nyča — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dragan Jankovic Faza… — CC BY-SA 3.0 · SarahTz from Richmond, United Kingdom — CC BY 2.0 · CC BY-SA 2.5 pl · Julian Nyča — CC BY-SA 4.0
Lake Piva is a reservoir filling the Piva canyon in north-western Montenegro, beside the town of Plužine. Held back by the Mratinje Dam, it winds for about 45 km over 12.5 km², lying at 675 m, with depths usually given as up to 188 m. It is the largest lake wholly inside Montenegro, since Lake Skadar is shared with Albania. The Piva carved its canyon, up to 1,200 m deep, beneath the Bioč, Maglić and Volujak mountains. The 220 m concrete arch dam, one of Europe's highest, was completed in 1975, and the water drowned old Plužine, which was rebuilt on the new shore. Piva Monastery, whose old site also lay in the flood zone, was taken down and rebuilt on higher ground. Emerald water fills the gorge between sheer rock walls. Boat trips leave from Plužine, where kayaks can also be hired, and a zipline about 1.4 km long, billed as Montenegro's longest, crosses the lake. North of town, the main road to the Bosnian border at Šćepan Polje is cut into the cliffs above the water through dozens of small, unlit tunnels, passing the dam. Plužine is about 50 km by road from Žabljak, over the Sedlo pass at some 1,900 m and the village of Trsa; snow closes this mountain road in winter, at times until April. Allow an hour for viewpoints, or half a day on the water. Piva Monastery lies about 8 km south of Plužine by road, and Black Lake on Durmitor about 19 km east as the crow flies.
Sheer canyon walls drop straight into it.
A 220 m concrete arch across the gorge.
Dozens of rock tunnels above the water.
Lakeshore at Plužine, Piva canyon, Plužine municipality
Yes, in summer, from small pebbly spots near Plužine; in 2020 a floating pontoon was installed on the town beach for easier, safer entry when the water is low. The water is warmest from July to early September, and the lake is deep, so weaker swimmers should stay near the shore.
From the gravel laybys on the road down from Trsa to Plužine, and from the fence of the Mratinje Dam, about 15 km north of Plužine by road, where you look down into a chasm some 220 m deep.