Durmitor Ring Road: 85 km Žabljak Loop, Montenegro⛰ 4×4 · SUV

Durmitor Ring Road: 85 km Žabljak Loop, Montenegro

The 85 km Durmitor ring road from Žabljak over the Sedlo pass, past Black Lake and the Tara Canyon: a 2-day plan, where to sleep and real costs.

Rough estimate — fuel + nights at typical rates. Get an exact figure in the calculator.

Map of the Žabljak to Žabljak driving route
Route map: Žabljak – Žabljak · 85 km · 2 days
🗺️ Plan this trip — stops, live weather, navigation & costs

The Durmitor Ring (Durmitorski prsten) loops about 80 km around Montenegro’s dramatic Durmitor massif from the mountain town of Žabljak. Much of it is narrow and part-gravel, climbing over high passes with sheer drops — a higher-clearance car or SUV makes it far more comfortable, and it’s a proper mountain-driving adventure. You drive on the right. It’s a summer route: snow closes the high passes in winter, so go roughly May to October.

Day 1 — Žabljak, Black Lake and the ring’s west (45 km)

Start at the glacial Black Lake (Crno jezero) just outside Žabljak for an easy lakeside walk under the peaks. Then drive the western arc of the ring toward the Sedlo pass, one of the most spectacular stretches, with switchbacks and huge mountain views. Sleep back in Žabljak or at a mountain guesthouse.

Day 2 — Tara Canyon and the Đurđevića bridge (40 km)

Head to the Tara Canyon, the deepest river gorge in Europe, and the graceful Đurđevića Tara Bridge — a spot for photos, zip-lining or rafting. Close the loop back to Žabljak and return the car, or carry on toward the coast.

Costs

Use the cost calculator to price fuel and nights for your exact dates. Budget fuel, a Durmitor National Park entry fee, and mountain-guesthouse nights (good value in Montenegro). Some ring sections are unpaved and single-lane, so take it slowly and check that passes are open — snow can linger into early summer.

This trip is also in the free Roadcut trip planner: change the number of days and where you sleep each night, pick your vehicle to see the fuel cost, check the weather on the road, and open each day in Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze.

Where to stay on this route

Night by night, in the towns this itinerary sleeps in.

  1. Night 1Hotels in Žabljak →

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The route on video

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⚡ By electric car on this route

1 charging stations within 1.5 km of the road.

For most of them OpenStreetMap does not record the power, so we cannot say where the fast chargers are — check your charging app before you set off.

According to OpenStreetMap and operators’ websites. Fast = a DC plug or 50 kW and more; not every station has its power filled in, so there may be more. See them on the planner map →

🚦 Know before you go

Tolls · Good to know
  • Tolls. Montenegro has no vignette and the Durmitor ring roads are free mountain roads; the country's only notable toll, the Sozina tunnel (approx. €2.50 for a car, cash or card), is on the Podgorica–Bar road and NOT on this loop.

  • Good to know. Budget for fuel and time rather than tolls — the Durmitor loop and the scenic Đurđevića Tara Bridge are free, and no vignette is needed anywhere in Montenegro.

🏷️ Buy the vignette or toll pass →

Estimate your exact costs in the cost calculator. Prices are approximate — check official sites before you travel. Some links are affiliate links.

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