Ostroš

Ostros is on the southern shore of Skadar lake, in the Krajina district of Bar municipality, close to the Albanian border. It is about 40 minutes from Bar over the hills and roughly the same from Virpazar along the lake.

The strip of hill country between Rumija and the lake, and one of the most distinctive corners of Montenegro: predominantly Albanian and Muslim, planted with chestnut, olive and fruit, and largely out of sight from the main roads.

Chestnuts above all. The groves on the slopes above the lake supply the country and support an autumn harvest that still shapes the local year, alongside olives, figs and the lake fishery.

Yes. Boats go out from the shore below the village into the southern arm of the lake, which is quieter and less visited than the Virpazar side, with reed channels and good birdwatching.

The island monasteries of Beska and Starceva Gorica, both medieval and both reached only by boat, lie in this part of the lake. The lakeside road towards Virpazar is one of the best drives in southern Montenegro.

Barely, which is the appeal and the caveat. There are a few rooms and konobas, and little else; come with a car, arrange a boat locally, and treat it as a day out rather than a resort.