Large lake with lily pads
Bird place of the month,  Birds,  Landscape,  Montenegro

A boat ride on Lake Skadar

August 10, 2024 / 36 Comments

Like so many geological formations around the world, Montenegro’s Lake Skadar is the subject of a legend. And as so often, it is a tale of unrequited love.

It goes as follows:

Once upon a time, where today there is a lake, there were only grasslands surrounded by mountains. The area was under the rule of a beautiful fairy. She had the most unique black eyes, echoing the colour of these mountains. This fairy fell in love with a sailor with blonde hair and deep-blue eyes. But love between fairies and humans was forbidden. She knew she could never be with him, so she wished instead for her black eyes to become deep blue, to leave her with something from her loved one that she could keep forever. She became so obsessed with this wish that she neglected her grasslands, and they became dry and brown. To punish her for this obsession and consequent neglect, God took away her sight.

The fairy cried for days, months and years. Her tears turned her grassland into marshes, and, little by little, the lake was formed. Fishes appeared, beautiful birds and water lilies, even tiny insects; all formed through the power of her imagination. When God saw all of this, he decided to restore her sight so she could enjoy her creation. And when the fairy first looked at her reflection in the lake she saw her own beautiful eyes, now deep blue like its waters.

Misty blue view of a lake with a bird swimming
Lake view with crested grebe

And if you don’t believe in fairies, you might prefer another legend which has it that the lake was created by a young woman who forgot to turn off a tap while waiting for her husband to return from war.

Lake with a small island
Skadar Lake

Or you could settle for the prosaic scientific explanation. Until 1858 this was a relatively small body of water, but in that year the mouth of the Bojana River was blocked by sediment carried down from the mountains of Albania. This led to a shift in the riverbed and the creation of Lake Skadar, now the largest lake in the Balkan Peninsula. It straddles Montenegro and Albania and has a connection to the Adriatic Sea; it is therefore a mix of fresh and salt water. The Montenegrin part is a national park (in Albania it is a nature reserve).

Boat ride on the lake

On our last full day in Kotor our Virtual Tourist group enjoyed an afternoon outing to, and on, the lake. I mentioned at the end of my post about our walks in the old town that we’d been advised not to eat too much beforehand. In this post you will see that the advice was merited!

We travelled by coach to the village of Virpazar. During World War Two the town was the scene of the first Partisan uprising in Montenegro. A monument pays tribute to their bravery.

Dramatic sculpture of men with rifles
The WWII memorial in Virpazar

Virpazar is the main jumping-off point for boat rides on the lake. The boat we took was large and comfortable, with plenty of room both under the shade and on two open areas.

River lined with small boats
Boats on the river near Virpazar
Group of people on a boat on a lake
People on a boat on a lake

We had a very tranquil ride along a short stretch of river and out into the lake. This was beautiful, dotted with lily pads and surrounded by mountains.

Tree-lined river with small boats on the bank
River near Virpazar
Bank lined with small trees and water lilies
Emerging from the river on to Skadar Lake

The karst landscape means there are several rocky islands, one of which, we were told, was once home to a prison – Montenegro’s own Alcatraz!

Island in a lake with ruined stone buildings
Former prison island

The lake is home to 281 species of birds, including the iconic Dalmatian pelican, seen as a symbol of the national park. We saw plenty of this bird life from the boat, which I’m sharing for this month’s ‘bird places’ challenge. They included cormorants, grebes, coots, a tern, various other ducks and, we were pleased to see, the pelicans for which the lake is famous.

Two big-billed birds swimming on a lake
Bird flying above a lake with water lilies
Bird swimming on a lake
Bird swimming on a lake

Dalmatian Pelicans, White-winged Tern and Great Crested Grebes

And of course we had lots of fun chatting, as well as enjoying the shot of local raki (firewater) that was served to any of us that wanted it (I did!)

On the far side we disembarked for a late lunch and wine at a rustic family run restaurant. It was a huge spread, hence the need to come hungry!

Table with platters of salad items
Stone terrace with wooden tables and people sitting

Afterwards some swam, others chatted; I took photos!

Wooded mountains and water reflecting the sun
Wooded mountains and lake with water lilies, small boat and reflections
Views from our lunch spot

We left at about 5.30, taking the boat back across the lake followed by a rather slow drive back to Kotor. This peaceful ride had been the perfect final activity for our meeting!

Man fishing with a net from a small boat
Local fisherman
Lake reflecting the sun, surrounded by mountains
Heading back to Virpazar

I visited Montenegro in June 2024

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