The wide pans
Shallow water and mountains beyond.
Alexkom000 — CC BY 4.0 · Alexkom000 — CC BY 4.0 · Miomir Magdevski — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Miomir Magdevski — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Miomir Magdevski — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Miomir Magdevski — CC BY-SA 4.0
Ulcinj Salina is a wide wetland of old salt pans near the Albanian border on the Adriatic coast. It became a nature park in June 2019 and joined the Ramsar list that September. It has recorded 252 bird species, 20 of them globally threatened, and flamingos are the best known. The area was a large salt works, and because the birds depend on seawater pumped into the pans, the site has suffered since the company closed about 13 years ago. Specialists quoted in the press in 2026 warn the landscape could vanish within years unless pumping returns. The government and municipality have announced a €4 million joint venture to run it and restart production. You walk or cycle a straight road between channels and wide pans, with mountains on the horizon. Remains of the plant appear along the way: rusty cranes, small rails, heaps of salt under iron roofs and an old pink building, strangely beautiful. Sheep sometimes graze the grass. In season flocks may stand in the shallows, though sightings are not guaranteed. The park is 5.1 km in a straight line east of Ulcinj. We found no recent information on how visits are organised, so ask in town before going. Bird migration in spring and autumn is the best time. Bring binoculars, water and a hat, as the site is exposed. Keep to the roads, stay away from nests, and do not enter the old buildings, which are falling apart.
Shallow water and mountains beyond.
Rusty cranes and heaps of salt.
Flamingos in season.
East of Ulcinj, southern Montenegro
Usually during spring and autumn migration, and sightings are not guaranteed.
Production stopped about 13 years ago, and a plan to restart it has been announced.