Words, photos, and video by Joshua Kian and Sarah Morgan

That sweet moment when you first feel spring coming through. The longer days, the green hue returning to the land, the sounds of birds and bees—every one of your senses being reminded of that oscillating vitality that comes and goes with each revolution of the sun. And for my partner Sarah and me, that moment was amplified tenfold, having just cycled through our first winter.

There was a special kind of beauty to the colder months: the unrivalled solitude of empty landscapes, crisp, silent mornings, and being the first to crunch through snow-draped mountains. But for two winter newbies, there were also deep, dark struggles that made us question the November departure date. Seeing those first buds on trees months later was a powerful moment!

Our journey east had taken us from Bosnia to Montenegro. And in truth, it was a country we knew little of. We didn’t know it was unapologetically mountainous—something that probably should have been assumed with a country named the Black Mountain—and we also had no idea of the beauty it would hold. Now I can tell you that Montenegro averages a height of over 1,000 metres above sea level, with constantly undulating topography. Tightly packed mountain ranges crammed with soaring, immaculate peaks, cascading into deep, dense valleys. There was such a vivacity to the nature, it’s something we have very rarely witnessed.

I had read about Durmitor National Park before. Created in 1952, it’s the largest protected area in Montenegro, home to brown bears, wolves, and wild cats. A landscape carved by ancient blocks of ice, with waters flowing from glacial lakes beneath sleeping giants and into the deepest gorge on the continent. A land where you feel completely dwarfed by nature. And so, despite crossing into Montenegro on the coastline, we’d taken a big detour to Žabljak, right in the heart of the park and the highest town in the Balkans, at 1,456 metres (4,777 feet). And we intended to do things differently. Instead of just passing through the region, we’d find some cheap accommodation and delve into the world around, riding off to remote corners of a mountainous land and filling in the gaps on foot.

The maps would come out each morning over coffee, and we’d find a new place of interest. Then, we’d set off. Spring brought temperamental weather, but that just added to the sensory experience; tyres squelched through the hot, loamy earth, awakening pine forest smells as you carved away on forest singletrack. Durmitor was filled with these awe-inspiring, epic landscapes, like the emerald-coloured Black Lake, surrounded by dense woodland and a wall of imposing, snow-capped peaks. A picture-perfect computer wallpaper for sure. But the trail would also take you far from the madding crowd and into local communities on the park’s periphery. These small settlements, tucked in amongst Yellowstone-like landscapes, stayed true to their agricultural roots, producing medical teas and herding roaming livestock with pony-sized dogs. The interactions with curious locals who worked the land gave us a deep connection to the country and culture.

On our last day, we bumped into some wonderfully inspiring women on the Komoot Women’s Rally. They told us their route had been fantastic and would be heading to the coastline before meandering towards Albania. The GPX was online, ready to be enjoyed… why not follow it, too?

Juncev Do to Risan

I guess everything is about balance and variety. Our experience in the northwest corner of Montenegro was so rich because it broke the norm: we didn’t just ride through; we had the time to wander and roam and learn. And this slower, more mindful period reignited that appetite to pursue the unknown without forward thought or a plan.

Racks were tightened, bags were packed, and the pedals began turning. Having now cycled many different routes in Montenegro, I can say the following section perfectly exemplified the country in a nutshell: outrageously picturesque landscapes that stopped us in our tracks, surrounded by complex and warm communities.

We’ve just shared our latest instalment from our Riding East film series, which covers our time in Montenegro, in the national park, on the Durmitor Ring, and some of the wildly memorable human encounters that left us truly speechless. Watch it below.

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