Peaks of the Balkans stage 8: Babino Polje - Plav

The hike from Babino Polje to Plav is a slightly longer section. The hike leads up to the beautiful Lake Hrid and ends in the town of Plav.

The best way to split this day hike into two stages is to spend the night in Treskavički Katun/Katun Treskavica (waypoint 4g), where the distance is
12.1 kilometres on the first day and 8.2 kilometres on the second day. In Treskavički Katun there are shepherds in summer (end of June to end of September) from whom you can get fresh food and possibly also overnight accommodation. If you split this hike up, the first day would mainly be an ascent and the second day a hike.
and the second day would be the descent to the town of Plav.

You start at the crossroads in Babino Polje (300 metres south-east of the
Eco mountain huts "Hrid", waypoint 11f ), the path continues through the forest
to Katun Bajrovica, where you can buy home-made specialities.

From there, the hiking trail from Tepsijica continues westwards along the Hridska Rijeka river to the eastern side of the Hrid river (at an altitude of over 1800 metres, waypoint 1g). The lake can be circumnavigated and its western part offers particularly beautiful viewpoints. Lake Hrid is a nature reserve (the highest level of protection) within the Prokletije National Park and camping is not permitted there.

The trail continues to another viewpoint at Sacirov vrh (Sacirov Peak). The next point is Veliki Hrid (waypoint 2g, 2011m), followed by the rocky outcrop of Veliki Hrid (number 540 in the national trail network). You then follow the Trskavica hill down past the Katun Treskavica summer huts (Katun Temnjak, waypoint 4g). There is a forest road along the Treskavicka river, which you cross in the direction of Kofilajca. The trail continues along the northern edge of Kofiljaca and over Redzov dol to leave the forest at Korita.

From there, the route continues along a dirt road, followed by
a tarmac road (waypoint 5g). The path then leads along the old, architecturally characteristic Ottoman symmetry of the town and reaches the roundabout in the centre of Plav (waypoint 6g). In Plav, you can visit the Redzepagica Kula (tower) and the old wooden mosque. There are also shops selling food, rest areas and overnight accommodation.