The photograph you've already seen
If you've searched for Montenegro online, you've seen this river: a deep green ribbon threading a hairpin loop around a forested promontory, with Lake Skadar opening behind it. The viewpoint is called Pavlova Strana, and the river is the Rijeka Crnojevića, which flows into Lake Skadar.
The view is genuinely as dramatic as the photographs. Getting there is easy, the road is good, and the village below the viewpoint — Rijeka Crnojevića — is one of the prettiest small settlements in Montenegro.
Route from Podgorica
Leave Podgorica south-west on the E762 / E80 toward Cetinje. The road climbs sharply out of the Zeta plain in a series of switchbacks — this is the old approach to the royal capital, and the views back down toward Podgorica and Lake Skadar on the ascent are worth a brief stop in one of the signed lay-bys. At about 25 km, before you reach Cetinje, turn left at the signed junction for Rijeka Crnojevića. From here the road narrows and descends through karst and scrub toward the river.
Total drive from Podgorica: around 45–50 km to the viewpoint. Allow 1 hour 15 minutes with a slow descent.
The viewpoint — Pavlova Strana
The viewpoint itself is a small gravel lay-by on the right-hand side of the road as you descend. It is signed as Vidikovac Pavlova Strana. Parking is limited — perhaps eight cars — and in summer tour buses park along the road edge, so arrive early or late. There is no fee and no gate. A short stone wall gives you the standard framing. A rough path climbs a few metres up the hill to the right for a slightly higher angle.
The best light is mid-morning, when the sun is high enough to light the far bank of the loop but not yet directly overhead. Late afternoon also works; at sunset the gorge falls into shadow quickly.
Down into the village
Continue on the same road, descending the switchbacks, and you drop into Rijeka Crnojevića village — a handful of stone houses along the riverbank and a historic single-arched stone bridge (the Danilov most, or Danilo's Bridge, rebuilt in the 19th century under Prince Danilo I). The village was once the second capital of the old Zeta principality under the Crnojević dynasty in the 15th century, before Cetinje took that role. The name of the river — the Crnojević River — is directly from this family.
There is a row of small konobas (family-run restaurants) on the riverbank, some with terraces over the water. Ukljeva — smoked Skadar bleak — is the local speciality, along with freshwater eel and carp. Lunch is unhurried and usually excellent.
Boat trips on the river
From the village jetty, small flat-bottomed boats take visitors out along the river and into the upper lagoons of Lake Skadar. Trips typically run 1–3 hours, on demand or by arrangement with the boatman — negotiate at the jetty. The river is flanked by water lilies in late spring and early summer and is genuinely one of the best birdwatching stretches in Europe: pygmy cormorants, Dalmatian pelicans seasonally, herons, and kingfishers.
Parking
Park in the village on the left bank as you arrive — there is a free gravel area by the bridge. Don't park on the narrow road itself; there is almost no room for passing cars. The viewpoint further up the hill has its own small lay-by.
Road notes
- The descent into the village is narrow, with blind corners. Use the horn at obvious blind bends — it's standard local practice.
- In wet weather the road surface is fine but slick in the hairpins — take it slowly.
- No mountain pass above 900 m; any car we rent will handle this drive without difficulty.
Pair with
Rijeka Crnojevića pairs naturally with Cetinje (the old royal capital, covered on the sibling Podgorica site) or with a continuation south to Crmnica wine country. For an urban contrast the next day, walk Stara Varoš.
