Hidden Fortresses of Lake Skadar

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The 60-minute tours follow two routes, both starting from the town of Virpazar, located at the confluence of the Crmnica and Orahovštica rivers, which together form the Vrištica River that flows into Lake Skadar. The area is rich in cultural and historical monuments, such as the Besac Fortress – a remnant of the Ottoman presence in the Balkans. Although the exact year of construction is uncertain, some historians suggest 1478 as the year the fortress was built.

Continuing in the same direction, you will reach the village of Mijele, where a prehistoric necropolis was discovered, with tombs covered by large stone slabs. The first option of this tour is a route to Lesendro – an island and an 18th-century fortress, considered a painful wound by the Montenegrin prince-bishop Petar II Petrović Njegoš. The second option leads to Grmožur, an island and fortress near the village of Godinje, built in 1843. Three years later, Grmožur was liberated and became known as the “Montenegrin Alcatraz.”