Šavnik

Savnik is in north-central Montenegro at about 880 m, where the Bijela, Bukovica and Komarnica rivers meet on the southern side of Durmitor. It is roughly two hours from Podgorica and an hour from Zabljak.

It is the smallest municipality in Montenegro by population, with under 2,000 people in the whole territory and only a few hundred in the town. There is a school, a shop or two and a hotel, and that is close to all of it.

A gorge on the Komarnica, so narrow that it was not traversed until 1965 — the last canyon in Europe to be explored. It is passable only as a guided canyoning trip, and it is what most visitors to Savnik come for.

Roughly July to September, once the river drops enough to be safe. Trips run with licensed guides only, take four to five hours, and involve swimming, jumps and abseils in cold water — a wetsuit is provided and needed.

The southern approaches to Durmitor start here and are far quieter than those from Zabljak. There is trout fishing on the three rivers, and the road north through the Komarnica valley is one of the emptiest good drives in the country.

Only if you are doing Nevidio or walking the southern Durmitor. Beds are few and simple; most canyoning visitors come up from Zabljak or Niksic for the day and go back the same evening.