Adventures in the Tara River Canyon of Montenegro (Part Two)

Three hours away from the Adriatic coastline where the Bay of Kotor is located in, you will find Montenegro’s fun-filled adventure attraction, Tara River Canyon, in the mountains of the Durmitor National Park. The Durmitor National Park is listed as one of UNESCO World Heritage sites and is mainly renowned for white water rafting. Jeep safaris, zip-lining and canyoning can be done here. Literally, it’s like a paradise for adventure seekers.

Yeah, I know… “Part one” gave it away! There was no way I wasn’t going to post this part two. Not only that, I saved the best part of the whole adventure in the Tara River Canyon! The white water rafting! As mentioned in the first post, the Tara River Canyon is renowned for white water rafting. Therefore, rafting wasn’t something I could miss out.

Canyoning on the next day was also fun and a great wrap-up to my entire escapade in the Tara River Canyon!

After a whole day of Jeep Safari and zip-lining with Rafting Club TARASPORT, they treated me to a great night sleep in their hostel.

Tara Rafting

Okay, I’ll admit one thing. Coming here in early September was kind of a mistake because their water level becomes low making it a level 1-3. That’s a pretty small water level and it’d be somewhat easy and light. Family variant, I say. Physical fitness and prior knowledge are not required as well.

Water Level:

• March, April, May (4+ to 5)
  • Extremely high water level. Prior physical fitness is required.
  • Water temperature: 5.3 to 7C (41.5 to 44.6F)
• Jun, Jul (3+ to 4)
  • Medium water level
  • Physical fitness and prior knowledge are not required.
  • Water temperature: 10 to 12C (50 to 53.6F)
• August, September, October (2+ to 3+)
  • Small water level
  • Physical fitness and prior knowledge are not required.
  • Water Temperature: 9 to 12C (48.2 to 53.6F)

Water’s also much colder. You will be provided with a wetsuit to keep warmth in your body while rafting in this cold water.

Anyways, I started off my morning by asking them to give me half of what they gave me on the previous  day for breakfast. I didn’t want to waste any more food since they surely gave me an extra-large breakfast that I couldn’t finish.

I hopped into their all-terrain vehicle with a group of 5 other passengers for a short ride to the starting point for rafting in Brstanovice, Montenegro. I was joining one of their booked tours as they had space.

As soon as we arrived, a short briefing on how to behave during rafting and how to use the equipment. The communication was somewhat fluent. Would go back and forth writing and expressing in gestures. It was easy to pick up and I followed through.

We all got on the raft. Here we go!

The entire 4 hours of 22km (13.7 miles) rafting on the Tara River was filled with few rapids and plenty of paddling and spinning! Needless to say, I wasn’t disappointed. I only regretted coming at this period of time. I surely wished that I had come here earlier in the summer to get the best of the rapids in the high water level with warmer water temperature.

At one point, the guide actually took over the whole raft and spun us in the middle of rapids. That showed how experienced the guide was and he knew what he was doing. Let’s say he made things a lot more fun even though the water level was low.

Bottom line: it was extremely exhilarating and adrenaline-pumping! All thanks to the guide!

At the end of the rafting expedition, we arrived at the camp where my hostel was located which was a bonus to me because other rafting tours I had in the past would require me to get in the cars all soaked and wait to arrive at the camp or the original destination to change into dry clothes.

My night was treated to some nice heat from the fireplace at their hotel with a fun night with the guests at the hostel. They were partying all night long as I worked on my blog before I knocked out.

Canyoning

I skipped breakfast in the early morning, but I grabbed a small snack for the road trip to the starting point of canyoning.

After about two hours of ride through the country side of Montenegro scattered with old wooden farms and free roaming cattle amongst some stunning mountain scenery, we finally arrived at the starting point, and then we bumped into two outdoor experts who were already at the area. They asked if they could tag along and when my guide asked to see if they had gear with them ready. And they did.

Everything was smooth, so they just put on their gear and joined us. I was wearing two layers of wetsuit. The water was pretty cold and the guides recommended. By the way, this was not a booked tour as this was a trail for the guides to test out before next year.

The Tara River Canyon is the 2nd largest canyon in the world just behind the Grand Canyon in the USA. I’ve been to the Grand Canyon and what I loved about the Tara River canyon was that it was completely different, I mean for one it wasn’t in the dessert but also it was a much more narrow sheer canyon which felt much more intense.

Anyways, the 3.5km (2.2 miles) of canyoning was filled with swimming, jumping from waterfalls, using ropes, slipping, and plenty more!I was in awe with the beauty of their almost sheer cliffs, scatters of trees and amazingly blue snow-melt water it unlike anything else. Vertical cliffs, waterfalls, ravines sparkling rapids, narrow channels and a gallery of figures were exuded through out the entire canyoning experience.

Tara River Canyon is one of the most naturally beautiful places I have ever seen.

Final Thoughts

Frankly, the most beautiful way to test yourself and your adventure spirit will be to experience unforgettable moments and to enjoy in this European jungle, the river beaches and a pleasant lunch in the Tara River Canyon.

I do not regret having this entire escapade with Rafting Club TARASPORT.

Rafting Club TARASPORT

• Address: Igmanskog Marša bb, 73300 Foča, Republika Srpska, Bosna i Hercegovina
• Email: info@tarasportrafting.com
• Website: http://www.tarasportrafting.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raftingtarasport