Mountain & Lakes
Zelengora & Mountain Lakes
Sutjeska National Park · Eastern Bosnia
QUICK INFORMATION
- CATEGORY
- Mountain & Lakes
- COUNTRY
- Bosnia & Herzegovina
- REGION
- Sutjeska National Park · Eastern Bosnia
- DURATION
- 2–4 days
ABOUT THIS ATTRACTION
Zelengora is the broad mountain plateau that rises west of the Sutjeska canyon, and within the national park it is the gentler counterpart to the steep summit of Maglić. Where Maglić is a single sharp peak, Zelengora is an open expanse of rolling ridges, pastures and forest, broken by a series of glacial lakes set in hollows across the plateau — the “mountain eyes” for which the range is known. The lakes, including Orlovačko, Donje Bare and others, are the characteristic feature of Zelengora: small, clear bodies of water ringed by meadow and pine, each in its own basin. For a visitor, Zelengora is the part of Sutjeska that invites longer, quieter walking over open high ground, with the lakes as natural destinations and rest points. It is the landscape that balances the park’s wilder corners — less exposed than the Maglić ridge, less restricted than the Perućica reserve — and the place where the mountain scenery of Sutjeska is seen at its most spacious.
HISTORY & BACKGROUND
The story behind it
Zelengora was included within Sutjeska National Park at its establishment in 1962 and protected as part of the park’s mountain zone. The range’s glacial lakes were formed in the basins left by the ice that carved the high plateau, and they have been a recognised feature of the Dinaric landscape for as long as the mountains have been travelled. The plateau also carries a historical layer: parts of the 1943 Battle of the Sutjeska were fought across these slopes, and the landscape is tied to the same wartime memory commemorated at Tjentište below. In the modern period the lakes have become the most visited feature of Zelengora, reached on foot across the plateau, and the range is valued for its open character and its wildlife.
WHAT TO SEE
What to see here
The glacial lakes — the “mountain eyes” of Zelengora, small clear lakes set in hollows across the plateau, including Orlovačko and Donje Bare, the characteristic feature of the range.
The open plateau — the rolling ridges, pastures and forest of Zelengora, the gentler high country of the park and the place for longer, quieter walking.
The views from the heights — from the plateau the rest of Sutjeska reads at a distance: the Sutjeska canyon, the Maglić massif and the forested slopes of the park.
The wartime landscape — the slopes of Zelengora were part of the 1943 Battle of the Sutjeska, tying the plateau to the memory commemorated at Tjentište.
WHY IT MATTERS
Why it matters
Zelengora is the part of Sutjeska that gives the park its breadth. Where Perućica is a closed reserve and Maglić a single summit, Zelengora is an open mountain landscape of ridges and lakes — the place where the park’s high scenery is seen at its most spacious and its most approachable. For a visitor it is the natural setting for a quieter day in the mountains, with the lakes as the destinations that anchor a walk across the plateau.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before you go
MAP & LOCATION
Zelengora & Mountain Lakes
Zelengora & Mountain Lakes, Sutjeska National Park, Eastern Bosnia, Bosnia & Herzegovina
43.3100, 18.6800
MORE ATTRACTIONS
More to see in Sutjeska National Park
THINGS TO DO
Things to do nearby
FOOD & DRINK
Where to eat nearby
Tjentište — the park’s hub, with the main visitor facilities and food options near the memorial
Mountain lodges and small providers within the park — hearty, simple fare for hikers
HOTELS & STAYS
Where to stay nearby
Tjentište — the classic park base, with accommodation and visitor facilities concentrated here
Mountain huts and camps for hikers on the longer routes across the park
ITINERARIES
Day-by-day routes
TRAVEL GUIDES
Practical guides
NEARBY DESTINATIONS
Continue the journey
INTERESTS
Explore by what you love
ROUTES
Routes through here
Donje Bare and Maglić View Loop
A challenging highland loop in Sutjeska National Park from the Donje Bare area on Zelengora toward a viewpoint over Maglić, the highest peak in Bosnia & Herzegovina, and back.
12.5 km · 5.6 h · challenging
VIEW ROUTETjentište–Donje Bare MTB Out-and-Back
A challenging mountain-bike out-and-back in Sutjeska National Park from the Tjentište valley up onto the Zelengora highland to the Donje Bare lake area and back.
46.8 km · challenging
VIEW ROUTEPART OF
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