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ContactGusinje sits in a wide green basin in the far east of Montenegro, with the Prokletije — the Accursed Mountains — rising on three sides and Albania just over the ridge. It is the quietest and most alpine corner of the country, and almost nobody goes there. That is the whole argument for going.
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Gusinje is a small town in Montenegro's far east, at the edge of Prokletije National Park, with alpine valleys, spring-fed rivers and villages that still work the mountain pastures.
Prokletije — the Accursed Mountains — is the southernmost and least developed of the Dinaric ranges, and the Montenegrin side of it forms a national park with peaks well over 2,000 metres, glacial lakes, and valleys that only recently got proper trails. The Grebaje valley, a short drive from Gusinje toward Vusanje, is the usual access point: a long green trough with limestone walls on both sides, sheep and cattle grazing in the middle of it, and a rough track that runs up toward the Albanian border. Walking an hour up it is enough to understand why people come, and continuing further gets you to lakes and passes that need a proper map and an early start.
Limestone peaks of the Prokletije above a green valley floor
Closer to town, the Ali Pasha springs — Alipašini izvori — are a set of unusually large karst springs where a river emerges from the base of a cliff, cold and very clear, with a small restaurant beside them. The Lim river runs through the basin and the town itself is a low cluster of houses and a couple of mosques, with a mixed Albanian and Bosniak population and a market on the main road. We stayed three nights in late August after coming down from Durmitor, and it was the contrast that stayed with us: Durmitor is spectacular and busy, Gusinje is spectacular and empty. The road in from Plav is twenty minutes along the lake, and Plav is where the shops and the doctors are.
July to September, once the high passes have cleared of snow; late August is warm and the valley is still green.
In Gusinje town, or in one of the guesthouses toward Vusanje if you want to walk into the Grebaje valley without driving first.
Look for lamb or veal cooked slowly under a sač — a metal dome buried in embers — which is the standard mountain method here, served with kajmak, bread and a tomato salad.
Take cash. There is one ATM in town at best, and the guesthouses, the springs restaurant and the mountain huts all run on euros in notes.
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