Biogradska Gora and Kolašin: lake, forest, skiing, prices

Entry to Biogradska Gora National Park costs €4, a boat on Lake Biograd is €10 an hour, and the lake is about 30 minutes’ drive from Kolašin. The park lies on the road from Kolašin to Mojkovac, with its entrance 17 km from Kolašin and 5 km from Mojkovac. Kolašin itself is a small town at 954 m: a base for the forest and the Bjelasica mountains in summer, a ski resort in winter.

Both are in the mountainous north of Montenegro, well away from the sea. Kolašin is 58 km north of the capital, Podgorica, and 80–85 km from Podgorica airport. From Budva the lake is about three hours’ drive — possible as a day trip, but a much better fit for a night or two in the north.

In short

• The park: €4 entry, under-15s free; boats €10 an hour, kayaks €3–5 an hour; the trail round the lake is about 3.5 km.
• The lake: glacial, at 1,094 m, set in primeval forest with trees more than 500 years old.
• Driving: Podgorica to Kolašin is 58 km, about an hour on the toll motorway (€3.50); Kolašin to the lake about 30 minutes; Budva to the lake about three hours.
• By train: Podgorica to Kolašin takes 1 h 16 min to 1 h 27 min, at €3.40 in second class.
• Skiing: two centres joined by a chairlift, about 45 km of pistes; in 2025/26 a day pass was €15 at Kolašin 1450 and €25 at Kolašin 1600, and 2026/27 prices are not out yet.

What is Biogradska Gora?

A national park of about 55 km² in the Bjelasica mountains, spanning altitudes from 832 to 2,139 metres; the highest point is the peak of Crna Glava. It holds six glacial lakes, of which Lake Biograd (Biogradsko jezero) is the best known.

Its real treasure is 1,600 hectares of primeval forest, one of the few left in Europe. The forest has been protected since 1878, when it was presented to Prince Nikola, and it became a national park in 1952. The trees here are more than 500 years old and over 40 metres tall, some reaching 50. The park counts 86 species of trees and shrubs, more than 220 other plant species and about 150 species of birds.

What is there to do at Lake Biograd?

The lake lies at 1,094 metres, right inside the forest. An educational trail circles it — about 3.5 km with six information points, a walk of an hour or a little more.

On the water there are boats and kayaks for hire. Prices from the park’s official list:

What	Price
Park entry	€4 a day, children under 15 free
Boat on the lake	€10 an hour
Kayak	€3–5 an hour, depending on the number of seats
Bicycle	€3 an hour, €8 a day
Park guide	€40 for 4 hours, €80 for 8 hours
Tent pitch	€3 a night; tent hire €8
Kraljevo Kolo campsite	€20 a night
Fishing permit	€20 a day
Annual pass to all the national parks	€13.50

The entry ticket covers the visitor centre and the educational trails. Some guidebooks still quote €5 for entry; that figure is out of date — the park’s own price list says €4.

Swimming. We found no official rules on it. The park hires out boats and kayaks; whether you may swim is a question for the visitor centre.

Food. There is a restaurant by the lake and nowhere else in the park to buy food. Bring water and something to eat on the trail.

Opening hours and season. According to guidebooks, the park is open from 8:00 to 18:00 in summer. The best time to go is from late May to early October; in winter, snow limits access to the lake.

How do you get to Lake Biograd?

From	Distance	Time without traffic
Kolašin	about 20 km	about 30 minutes
Podgorica	about 77 km	about 1½ hours
Budva	about 137 km	about 3 hours

The park entrance is on the main road from the coast to the north and on into Serbia, so the lake combines easily with the Tara canyon and Žabljak.

Without a car. The train goes as far as Mojkovac: 17–19 minutes from Kolašin, €1.20 in second class. From Mojkovac it is about 5 km to the park entrance, on foot or by taxi.

On a tour. Lake Biograd is one of the stops on the coach excursion Tara and Morača canyons: from €58 per person from Budva and Podgorica, from €68 from Kotor, Tivat and Bar. Depending on the roads, the organiser may swap the lake for another stop. The tour runs only with a Russian-speaking guide; if that rules it out, a hire car gets you from Kolašin to the lake in half an hour. In autumn 2026 the Đurđevića bridge over the Tara, also on that route, is closed for reconstruction until 26 October, with reopening promised sooner — check before you go.

What is Kolašin like?

A town of 2,418 people (2023 census) at 954 metres, on the main E65/E80 road that runs from the coast and Podgorica north into Serbia. In summer people walk from here into the Biogradska forest and up onto the Bjelasica ridge; in winter they head for the slopes. The food is mountain cooking: kačamak and cicvara, the cornmeal dishes rich with cheese, and lamb baked under a sač, an iron dome buried in embers. Lunch in a konoba, a local tavern, costs €15–25 a head, as it does across the country.

How do you get to Kolašin?

From	Distance	Time without traffic
Podgorica	58 km	about an hour on the motorway
Bar	110 km	about 2 hours
Budva	117 km	about 2 h 15 min
Kotor	129 km	about 2½ hours

From Podgorica airport it is 80–85 km. The Smokovac–Mateševo motorway is a toll road: €3.50 for the full length.

The train is the cheapest way up. The Bar–Podgorica–Kolašin line climbs through the mountains, and the journey is worth taking for its own sake.

Route	Journey time	2nd class	1st class
Podgorica–Kolašin	1 h 16 min – 1 h 27 min	€3.40	€4.80
Bar–Kolašin	2 h 16 min – 2 h 42 min	€5.60	€8.20
Kolašin–Mojkovac	17–19 minutes	€1.20	€2.00

At the end of September 2026 five trains a day run from Podgorica to Kolašin, the first at 6:21 and the last at 21:20. One of them is seasonal and stops in October, so check the timetable on the Montenegro Railways website before you travel. How else to get around the country without a car: Montenegro without a car.

Skiing in Kolašin: pistes, passes and the season

Kolašin has two ski centres, Kolašin 1450 and Kolašin 1600. Since February 2022 they have been linked by the K7, a six-seater chairlift running from 1,450 to 1,770 metres, and between them they have about 45 km of pistes. You will also see a figure of 50 km; that is one resort’s marketing estimate.

• Kolašin 1600 is 12 km from town. The K8, another six-seater chairlift, climbs to the summit of Troglava at 2,035 metres; the centre has about 21 km of its own pistes.
• Kolašin 1450 is 9–10 km from town. The ski centre itself has been running for years; in January 2024 a new resort complex opened beside it.

Ski passes are sold by each centre separately. Neither says officially whether a pass from one works on the other’s lifts, so ask at the ticket office.

Ticket, 2025/26 season	Kolašin 1450	Kolašin 1600
Adult, one day	€15	€25
Child, one day	€12	—
7 days	—	€105
Season pass	—	€400

Kolašin 1600 gives skiers aged 65 and over 50% off. Prices for the 2026/27 season had not been announced by the end of September 2026. Hiring skis or a snowboard costs around €15 a day, according to guidebooks.

The season runs from December to March, into mid-April in snowy years. The start depends on the snow; January and February are the most reliable months.

Kolašin or Žabljak? Kolašin is the easier of the two to reach: an hour from Podgorica on the motorway, and a train to the town itself. Žabljak sits higher, at 1,456 metres, and further from the coast; see Žabljak.

Coming from the UK? No visa is needed for a ski week: on a British passport you can stay up to 90 days in any 180, with a passport issued less than 10 years ago and valid for three months after you leave. The details are in entry requirements for Montenegro.

Kolašin in summer

In summer the K8 chairlift carries walkers: €8 for adults and €5 for children, and the 2026 summer season opened on 7 June. From the top station, trails head out across Bjelasica, including to the Pešić lakes (Pešićka jezera).

What to bring

• For the lake: water and a snack, since the lakeside restaurant is the only place to buy food in the park; comfortable shoes for the 3.5 km trail; and a warm layer, because at 1,094 metres you are a long way above the coast.
• For a day on Bjelasica: the same, plus a plan for the way down — check when the K8 makes its last run before you set off on a trail from the top.
• In winter: ask the rental company whether the car is equipped for snow before you head north, and allow extra time on the mountain roads.

How to fit it together

Kolašin works well as an overnight stop on the way north: Lake Biograd is half an hour away, and the road carries on to the Tara canyon and Žabljak. A route with a night in the mountains is set out in northern Montenegro in two days. For the mountains it is easiest to pick up a car in Podgorica: car hire in Podgorica; for the city itself, see Podgorica. Services are provided by independent companies; booking and payment happen directly with them.

Prices and timetables checked in September 2026. Sources: National Parks of Montenegro, Montenegro Railways, National Tourism Organisation of Montenegro, the 2025/26 price lists of Kolašin 1450 and Kolašin 1600.