Kolašin

Kolasin is Montenegro's mountain resort town, at about 950 m in the Moraca valley. It is the base for skiing at Kolasin 1450 and 1600, for the primeval forest of Biogradska Gora national park, and for the Moraca canyon and its 13th-century monastery.

Yes. Kolasin 1600 (Jezerine) and the newer Kolasin 1450 make up the country's most developed ski area, linked by gondola to the town side. The season typically runs December to March, with day passes and rentals far cheaper than Alpine resorts.

Biogradska Gora is one of Europe's last remaining primeval forests, protected as a national park about 12 km from Kolasin. Biogradsko Lake sits at its heart with a level lakeside trail, rowing boats in summer and marked walks into the old-growth beech and fir.

About 70 km, roughly an hour and a half by car through the Moraca canyon, one of the most dramatic drives in the country. The Belgrade-Bar railway also stops at Kolasin, and the train from Podgorica takes around an hour.

Yes. Summer is mild at altitude when the coast is baking, and the town is a base for hiking in the Bjelasica range, walking in Biogradska Gora, rafting the Tara, and visiting the frescoed Moraca monastery on the way up from Podgorica.

Mountain food: kacamak and cicvara made with cornmeal, potato and cheese, lamb or veal cooked under the sac bell, local cheeses and kajmak, and forest honey and blueberry rakija. Portions are generous and prices are lower than on the coast.