An unusual adventure: Tour on skis to the lake of happiness

Monday, 20 March 2023

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God created Lake Hrid high in the forests so that the mountain fairies could bathe in it, and he could enjoy their beauty. The fairies made the lake healing, and when people discovered that bathing in it brought good luck, they wanted it for themselves. They chased away the fairies, which caused the wrath of the god who cursed these mountains. He sent lightning and thunder, so over time only bare rocks remained around the lake.

That's how, according to legend, Prokletije was created.
This story also reveals the hidden beauty of Hridsko Lake. It is still believed that bathing in it brings good luck. Only, it is not very easy to find.
But when was happiness easy to find? ?

In winter, the lake is frozen and covered with snow, so few have seen its beauty live. That's why we were especially delighted by the photos of an unusual adventure that we wanted to share with you.

Our interlocutor Bojan Miladinović and his friend Dejan Drakul went there on a cold January day. They went to the lake of happiness on ski touring. Their host was Emir Ćirković, a good Prokletija expert who leads hiking tours as part of Peaks of the Balkans.

"We visited one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful lake in Montenegro before. During the winter months Hridsko lake looks unreal - surrounded by a dense fir forest, covered with snow, dotted with mountain paths, illuminated by the sun... It was not difficult to choose this destination again" - says Bojan at the beginning of the interview for the #ShareMontenegro portal.

He recently discovered the possibilities of ski touring himself.

"Touring skiing requires a lot of practice and effort, but it offers unlimited freedom of movement on the snow. This lightness makes it possible to go around and experience all the beauty and magic of the winter idyll, which would otherwise remain hidden and invisible, in the deep snow. I discovered it recently, thanks to my friends from Kolašin, and in the coming period, Dejan and I are planning to devote ourselves more seriously to this type of recreation" - he reveals, stressing that the Montenegrin mountains are "God's day" for touring skiing.

Hridsko Lake is about 20 km from the town of Plav. The road to it starts from Plav towards Bogićevica and Babina polje. You can get to that place with a small car, but you have to go further, to Katun Bajrovića, by SUV or on foot. From Katun, you have two options - to continue on the macadam road, which is part of an interesting circular tour around Bogićevica, or to follow the forest path that takes you to the lake in an hour and a half. It took us longer, because of the winter conditions, but also because of the frequent stopping, taking pictures and enjoying the snow-covered coniferous forest" - Bojan is honest.

The hidden pearl of the Prokletije Mountains exudes a wondrous peace. There is something really special and different in those places that are harder to reach.

Maybe that's why it's not hard to believe that swimming in Hridsko lake brings happiness. In winter, of course, it is impossible to cause luck in this way. Or maybe it is still possible? In some other way?
"The highlight of the experience was crossing the frozen lake on skis" - this adventurer, a dentist by profession, told us (in confidence ? ).

The lake, in every sense, justified its name.

Source: Share Montenegro

Cover Photo: Dejan Drakul