The Mt. Biograd National Park is located in between the rivers Lim and Tara, in the central section of Mt. Bjelasica, and within the park is one of the three last ancient forests of Europe. This basin has been a protected area since 1878 when it became the so-called King's Reserve - a gift to the then King Nikola. Even then the idea of the imperative of preserving Mt Biograd was alive. And it really has remained almost untouched - a shining example of the idea of Montenegro as an ecological state. The glacial nature of the landscape - the high mountain summits and glaciers form a wonderful contrast to the lakes and meadows. Although these summits are high and reach to more than 2000 meters (the highest one being Black Head - 2139 meters above sea level) and some of the types of trees as high as 40-50 meters, the area appears very tame. In the very heart of the forest, at a height of 1094 meters above sea level is Lake Biograd. The unique blue green color is caused by the thick woodlands reflected in its water. There are 86 different types of tree; many of them protected species (20% of the endemic species of the Balkan peninsular grow in the Mt. Biograd National Park). Nature lovers love to walk through the woods of juniper, fir, beech, elm, oak and lime, and ornithologists and bird lovers can watch eagles and hawks in flight.
Of other larger game the commonest are deer, chamois, bears and wolves. As many as 80 species of butterfly can be found here - 40% of the total number of species found in Montenegro. Mt. Biograd is not just a masterpiece of nature but also a real ethnological treasure chest. On the edges of the forest in the pasture lands and villages, there are many log cabins, water mills and shepherds huts - examples of local national architecture as well as archeological sites. Place names too (such as Sjerogoste, Kraljevo Oko, Ganovaca etc) witness to the long history of this area, and also of its unchanging nature over the years. It is as though there is no sense of history passing in Mt Biograd but there is the regular cycle of the seasons measured by the indescribable playing and changing of the colors of the woodlands, or the pasture lands which come to life every year only to fall silent again. On the edge of this national park is the Moraca monastery (13th cent.) with its beautiful and important frescoes from the XIII, XVI and XVIII centuries and some of the most important icons of the 17th century in the whole of Montenegro.
