Piva Region

Piva Region

Piva is situated in the north-western part of Montenegro and its territory is divided by European route E 762. Its administrative centre Plužine, a small town with a population of 1500 inhabitants, is located on the 110th kilometre north of Podgorica and 130 kilometres south of Sarajevo.

This is a mountain region intersected with the canyons of Piva, Tara and Komarnica. For a long time now, Piva has attracted nature lovers from all over the world. Prutaš, Sedlo and Bobotov kuk (the peaks of Durmitor), Škrčko, Trnovačko and Stabanjska lakes have become "holy" places for ex-Yugoslavia mountaineers and hikers. The Tara canyon is well-known for its beauty and depth. Wild, clean water of the river has been giving an unforgettable experience of rafting for decades. The most beautiful part of the canyon of the river Komarnica called Nevidio ("never seen") offers canyoning adventure for the most courageous.

Car or motorbike rides through the Piva canyon - through almost 50 tunnels, over one of the highest concrete dams in the world or across Durmitor - are experiences captured on hundreds of Youtube videos taken by tourists who have visited Montenegro. A famous BBC TV show about cars, TOP GEAR, made a story about these roads as a special treat for really adventurous drivers. For years the road from Trsa to Žabljak has been one of the most attractive ones in European magazines for bikers. Besides people who enjoy extreme and adrenalin sports and adventure, Piva has been visited by those who want to feel the peaceful life far from the city noise and crowd. Nice and simple life with the taste of home-made food and drinks, the smell of mountains and clear waters is an excellent way to "recharge your batteries" and then go back to the real world.

The position and climate of this part of Montenegro have caused the particular characteristics of plant and animal species here. The products taken directly from the nature or grown on small farms have been appreciated by true gourmets for a long time. Piva’s skorup (unique dairy product), trout, lamb, honey, potatoes... are just some of the products which are the synonym of highest quality. Made in healthy environment and prepared in a traditional way, these products represent joy for all senses. Piva’s skorup is made of milk of Piva’s sheep species called pramenka. The specific taste of the skorup is due to rich pastures of the Piva mountain and the specific way of preserving it. Delicious and rich in calories, skorup is a treat just with home-made bread, let alone with old dishes such as kačamak, cicvara or roast trout.

It is said that in the past Piva was famous for milk and honey. Milk was delivered from the mountain pastures to the town at the foot of the mountain by special tubes. The milk which was literally flowing from the mountains was used in construction for connecting stone blocks. Honey has been collected from meadows of Piva’s mountain for ages. Medovina (honey wine) will take you back to the past with its seductive and refreshing taste and while you are sitting together with the guests from all over Europe, it will remind you of the ancient times when the Celts and Slavs met in this part of the world.

Piva’s rooster Fisher with its particular colour and feather shine has attracted fishermen who go fishing on wild waters. These feathers make an excellent fish bait for river fishing, called fly fishing, which is becoming more and more popular nowdays. The feathers are "picked" in the early January because this is when they have the optimal shine. This rooster is an exceptional example of mimicry as it was noticed that if the rooster changes the environment, its feathers lose its quality. The legend says that the rooster even becomes mute, as if its beauty was strongly connected to its native land.

The remains of fortresses, churches and monasteries, a few necropolis with stone tombs are the testaments of the history of a new era. There are nearly 700 stone tombs from the 14th and 15th century preserved in the region of Piva. The necropolis on Soko Grad, not far away from Šćepan Polje and near the re-built monastery Zagrađe, is suggested for UNESCO list of world heritage sites of this part of ex-Yugoslavia territory. Piva is the place that offers traces and evidence of existence and development of human communities for almost ten thousand years of pre-history. One of the central parts of these ancient communities was the cave Odmut which was near the spot where the river Vrbnica flowed into the river Piva. Today the cave is buried deeply under the surface of Piva lake but there are numerous historical objects kept in National Museum in Cetinje. Some of them, like fishing gear, are very rare for this period and can give us the idea of how "pre-Piva" people lived.

Originally sourced from zvono.me.