Many will be familiar with destinations from the UNESCO Мир Heritage List such as the Taj Mahal in India, Machu Picchu in Peru, the Pyramids in Egypt, Stonehenge in England, the Grand Каньон in Colorado and Бледское озеро in Slovenia.  But did you know that also on UNESCO’s list of мир природный and cultural наследие sites is Черногория’s biggest национальный парк, Дурмитор? Национальный парк Дурмитор encompasses the Дурмитор chain of горы and the canyons of the Тара river with their 1,500 plant species and 130 bird species. The Тара River Каньон has been declared a UNESCO Мир Biosphere Reserve, and there are also the Draga and Sušica canyons, the Komarnica каньон valley and a great many горный-tops – 48 of them exceeding 2,000 metres above море-level. There are also 18 glacial lakes that have been dubbed the Gorske Oči – the Eyes of the Горный. Along with hundreds of other destinations the мир over, this парк has been specially selected for protection by the United Nations Organisation for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO). The парк is of inestimable value to all of humanity as a centre for the development of Balkan flora, with features of both alpine and arctic and, on the southern slopes, in the каньон valleys, thriving sub-Средиземноморский and even Средиземноморский vegetation, while the lakes are a focal point for plant life more typical of the Siberian taiga. The горный meadows and pastures, the deep fissures, rock gardens, scree slopes, melt воды, peat bogs and freshwater habitats are what makes this part of юг-eastern Europe so valuable, and incomparable to anywhere else in the мир. Национальный парк Дурмитор extends over 39,000 hectares, with 20,000 hectares under UNESCO protection after its inscription in the Мир Heritage list in 1980. Дурмитор also comprises the highest-altitude town in the Balkans – Жабляк, located at 1,456m above море-level and surrounded by no less than twenty-three peaks more than 2,300m in height. German geographer Kurt Hassert said, “Among the горный giants of the юг-Slavic countries, the most powerful and most великолепный is Дурмитор”. Photography lovers will attest to the fact that the combination of горы and lakes makes for some of the most красивый, природный subject matter. Национальный парк Дурмитор is an inexhaustible source of inspiration from which some of the most красивый works of искусство have sprung, and the very name Дурмитор has some interesting stories associated with it. It is told that the word Дурмитор is of Romanic origin, from the Latin word dormitorium – it was from this word that the Italian word dormitorio came, or dormire, meaning to sleep.  When they were advancing into this territory the Roman legionaries are said to have asked themselves whether perhaps the горный was sleeping. Another etymology of the name Дурмитор dates back to the time of the Celts. According to this version the name is derived from the Celtic “water from the горный” – dru-mi-tor, which many find a more likely explanation. Some notable peaks dominate, setting the rhythm for all the others. The most striking are: Боботов Кук – 2,523m, Bezimeni Vrh – 2,487m, Minin Bogaz – 2,387m, Međed – 2,287m, Savin Kuk – 2,313m, Ljeme – 2,455m, Planinica – 2,330m, Crvena Greda – 2,175m and Pruta – 2,393m. The Austrian explorer Oscar Baumann was the first to scale the highest peak of Дурмитор – Botovo Kuk – at a height of 2,523m, and his thoughts, written in “First Steps in Ciro’s Cave”, are still quoted сегодня: “To our east stretched a deserted valley in the karst, full of rocky debris and snow drifts … while on the other side we were greeted by the green ландшафт … [A]ll was glistening beside Lakes Skrcko and Malo, which looked like two dark blue eyes”. In its unbelievably deep and picturesque valleys, beneath the горный slopes, surrounded by rich plant life, Дурмитор conceals eighteen glacial lakes or, as the locals calls them, the Eyes of the Горный. Mentioning just a few of them, there are Modro, Zminje, Vražje, Riblje and, certainly the best known, Crno Jezero (the Чёрное озеро) which is frozen over in зима but in July and August reaches water temperatures of twenty celsius or more. This горный range offers ideal conditions for active holidaying all the year round – пешие прогулки, biking, angling, mountaineering and snowshoeing – but Дурмитор also offers opportunities to get to know its cultural and исторический наследие with visits to sites preserving prehistoric remains dating back to the time of the Illyrians, as well as the Romans. A variety of cultural influences have left their mark in the form of various характерный structures. The Illyrians left tumuli, or burial mounds, while характерный of the Roman period are камень bridges, standing stones and caravan trails that can be found in this регион. Necropolises with their stylised tombstones, the ruins of Turkish bridges and watchtowers along the old черногорский-Turkish border, the remains of the древний fortification of Pirlitor above Lever and the three monasteries in the Тара valley, at Dobrilovina, Dovolja and Đurđevića Тара, raised between the 15th and 17th столетия – all bear witness to a thriving mediaeval мир here. Seven areas of the Национальный парк Дурмитор are subject to special protection schemes, each with their own specific characteristics: the old-growth spruce and fir лес in the Mlinski Potok valley, the stands of black pine at Crni Podi in the Тара каньон, the Чёрное озеро with its nearby лес, the Skrčka lakes valley and the immediate area of the Sušica каньон, the Барno Jezero озеро with its immediate surroundings, the Zabojsko Jezero озеро with surroundings and the area along the Тара river каньон. Do you want to discover and enjoy the beauty of мир наследие? Национальный парк Дурмитор is a направление you should not miss – just look at how magical the Чёрное озеро is in зима.