In my opinion, when I was an elementary school student, we often went "with school" to the cinema. We mostly watched partisan films, although I loved them. They were sad, so I would leave the hall of the late cinema "Kultura" swollen and distorted. I cried the most watching the movie "Boško Buha". The main heroine was still called Jasna. However, the partisan film that left the strongest impression on me at the time was called "The Peaks of Zelengora". I only watched it once, I didn't want to spoil the impression with replays. The only thing I remembered from the movie was that one of the heroines was called Čarna. Since then, that name has become the most beautiful female name for me, and it is quite rare. Only since that time, almost half a century, Zelengora has become a mythical mountain for me. Like Olympus for the Greeks. I did not have the opportunity to go to those regions during the SFRY. It was only seven years ago that I visited Tjentište for the first time, and after that three more times. The idea to go to Zelengora was born after a visit to Lake Trnovac. We got to Trnovački jezera passing partly through the national park "Sutjeska" to which most of Zelengora belongs. It took another year for the trip to Zelengora to be on the list of potential tours, and then suddenly, one Wednesday in early October, the decision was made: "We're going to Zelengora on Saturday." An internet search has begun. Sanja was in charge of reading how to get there, Duško had to prepare for a 24 km drive on macadam in one direction, and I charged the camera battery. We were early because we had a long journey ahead of us. We didn't want to go through Šćepan polje and Foča, but instead went via Vraćenovići, Bileća and Gacki. We did our homework well, so we easily found the place where, not far after the village of Vrba, you turn left towards Čemerno. The sky was clear, but a thick fog was rising towards the mountain tops, so we stopped to admire the scene.
We drove for a long time. The road was at times tolerable, at times not so much. It took us more than an hour to cover those 24 kilometers on dirt roads. I understood why I almost never saw our mountaineers go to Zelengora despite the beauty of the mountain and the lake. On Zelengora, according to some sources, there are seven, and according to others eight glacial lakes, the so-called "mountain eyes", as well as one artificial lake. Our goal was Lake Orlovačko. We drove to the end of the road. Here and there there were some road signs and we arrived at the planned destination without wandering. At first we drove through the forest. The inscription "Source of the Neretva" intrigued us. We got out and looked around, but we didn't see any path, so we left this for the return, if we get there. Later, the environment changed: some katun, undulating surfaces. Larger reddish areas were seen here and there. Later we realized they were blueberries. Only the green color was negligible. We didn't come at the right time of year for her. I wanted to say: "We will come again in the spring", but... then I was not sure that I would keep my promise.
When we reached the end of the road, through the trees we saw Orlovačko lake below us, the second lake in Zelengore. We left the tour of the lake for after returning from Bregoč (2114 masl), the highest peak of Zelengora, which was our final goal that day. Apart from it, only one other peak of Zelengora is over 2000 meters, and that is the peak of Kozje Strana. It is located very close to Bregoč and is only one meter lower than it. The path was marked, and even where the markings were not visible, a well-trodden path could be seen. We reached the intersection and all three of us without thinking continued to follow the well-trodden path that we continued straight on. Around us was an endless undulating expanse dotted with blueberries. We passed by the former katun, of which very little remains to be seen, only the foundations of stone houses.
We walked forward without any effort, delighted with the surroundings. Yes, I like autumn and autumn colors the most, but it would be nice to experience the green, spring phase of Zelengora as well. Maybe someday... Walking so enraptured, following only a narrow goat path, at one point we realized that we were moving away from the goal. Duško and Sanja unsuccessfully tried to help themselves with some applications. There was no choice but to go back. Duško even claimed that out of the corner of his eye he saw a turn that we had overlooked.
We didn't find that Duško path, but we saw Bregoč and headed towards it. Only, despite the fact that I read that there are no mines, some irrational fear appeared in me and I was not at all happy that we were walking off the trail. Everything here was red with blueberries. There were still blueberries. I have never seen and tasted bigger and tastier. But, Duško rushed towards the goal, and Sanja and I would only occasionally reach for a blueberry, trying not to lose sight of him.
In an instant, on the opposite side, I saw something that could have been a path. And she was. Then my apprehension left me and I could fully devote myself to enjoying the surroundings. The sky was cloudless, and the temperature was unexpectedly high for the date and the altitude we were at. We slowly climbed all the way to the foot of Bregoč. Only the final climb was steeper, and the trail was slippery. As we ascended, the massif of Zelengora began to open up. I was enchanted. I stopped after every step in an attempt to capture these incredible scenes with my camera. That's when we saw the forest for the first time, another reason why Zelengora has the name it does. The peak of Kozje Strana rose in front of Bregoč, and below them we saw a pond where ducks were swimming. Our goal was to the right of the path we were climbing and we couldn't see it. In front of us was a pass where we saw mountaineers who had arrived earlier than us, or lived closer.
When we finally reached the pass there were no more difficulties. On the right, we saw a cross at the top, by which we knew it was Bregoč. The view from the top is, to say the least, fantastic. We knew little about the mountains on other sides of the world, but there was no doubt that we could see Maglić, Vojnik and Lebršnik in the southeast. Sanja immediately reacted: "Put Lebršnik on the list." We have to come here one more time though. We just need to convince Duško to drive 50 km on macadam.
We barely separated from the top. But we had other plans, and the day was no longer long, although the subjective feeling was that we were in the middle of summer. We started along the ridge to the opposite side, wanting to get as close as possible to Maglić. Light was not our ally in that direction. A lot of wooded areas could be seen from here. The ominous hum of a motor car that disturbed the silence and the beauty of the scene chased us away from here.
At the start, Sanja planned to climb Kozje Strane as well. I was already tired and I was thinking about how I was going to get back to the car. However, we did not allow him to fail to fulfill the plan. We let her climb while we rested at the base. We followed her with our eyes. She was lightning fast. When she joined us again, she consoled us: "You haven't missed anything as far as the view is concerned." We were returning along a slightly marked path. Now we were not sorry that we lost our way at the start because we had the opportunity to see several different sides of Zelengora, of which there are many because its massif occupies a large area. From this side, we had a direct view of Stog, which both in name and appearance reminded us of Stožina in Durmitor.
When we returned to the starting position, we descended to Lake Orlovački. I looked at earlier photos of the lake and saw that it was not in the element. The water was at a much lower level, but in addition the lake looked beautiful. I've read that it's quite popular, especially with anglers. There were campers nearby, and there is also a mountain lodge nearby.
On our way here we saw a signpost to another lake. It is about Jugov or Borilovac lake, the only artificial lake in this area. We did not want to pass him because we deviated very little from our path. The lake is small and tucked away. Next to it, we noticed a new building with the inscription "Mountain House Vrhovi Zelengore". The facility was closed, but the tables in front of it allowed us to sit down and finally have a bite to eat. The sun was already setting, so the lack of light diminished the beauty of this area. I also walked to the small dam. Sanja and Duško said: "We will see the photos".
There was no time to find the source of the Neretva, although we didn't even know where to look for it. Darkness was slowly descending. There were fireworks of colors in the sky that enchanted us. We pretended that Zelengora was personally sending us greetings. We had a long way home. Few drivers would manage to drive so much, on such a road, and climb to the highest peak of Zelengora. But one is Duško.
Bonus video:
