?abljak is largest town on mountain Durmitor, high mountain in northern Montenegro (2,522 m). ?abljak itself is town at highest altitude in the Balkans, at 1,450 m above sea level. Although being a center of municipality of the same name, it is a small town of some 2,000 inhabitants. The town of ?abljak and the whole municipality with Durmitor, Sinjavina and Tara canyon, make up a very interesting tourist destination.
Podgorica, and its international airport, are some 170 km away. There are several daily flights from Belgrade. There are regular flights from Budapest, Zurich, Frankfurt, Ljubljana, Paris, Rome and Vienna.
Maybe the best way to get to ?abljak, especially for those unfamiliar with roads in northern Montenegro, which are not up to European standard. Buses to ?abljak are frequent from Podgorica, and the ride should last no more than two hours.
You can get to ?abljak either by departing the road from coast to Serbia at Mojkovac or take the route Podgorica - ?avnik - ?abljak, the first route being the higher quality road. Either way, those are curvy, mountanious roads that don't permit high speeds and require additional caution. During the winter, when whole area is covered with snow, those unfamiliar with roads should let someone more expirienced and informed get them to ?abljak, as roads might get covered with snow and ice. Driving in this conditions might be a nightmare for someone used to autobahn - standard, but is a piece of cake for local bus, minibus or taxi drivers.
?abljak is very small town, so everything is within walking distance. You can get to some of the lakes around the town only by foot - it's untouched nature! However, some chairlifts, skiing pistes etc. are reachable only by car.
Snowboarding is increasingly popular in recent years, as many enthusiast gatherings and competitions are being held at Durmitor.
?abljak is not really a shopping resort, leave that for coastal towns or Podgorica. It is, however, the right place to buy a genuine Montenegrin healthy food from the locals.
?abljak has some excellent national cuisine restaurants. Notably, there is "Katun" restaurant on the very shore of Crno jezero, "MB" motel-restaurant, "Mom?ilov grad" on the ?tuoc...
Cold hors d'ouevres include the famous ''njegu?ki pr?ut'' (smoked ham) and njegu?ki cheese, pljevaljski chesse, mushrooms, donuts and dried bleak. The main courses specific for the northern mountaineous regionare boiled lamb, lamb cooked in milk, ''cicvara'' in fresh milk cream (buttered corn porridge), boiled potatoes with cheese and fresh cream (''kajmak'').
It might be a good idea to make an order and reserve seats a few hours in advance, as restaurants are small and may be crowded and it might take some time to prepare the courses in traditional way.
Montenegrin quality wine is a must-try. The best known Montenegrin wines are the premium "Vranac", "Pro Corde", "Krsta?", "Cabernet", "Chardonnay" and the famous home made Crmni?ko red wine.
Grape brandy (''rakija'') "Montenegrin loza", "Prvijenac", "Kruna" or home made grape brandy (''lozova rakija'', ''lozovaca'') is also great.
There are four major hotels in ?abljak: Planinka, Jezera, ?abljak and Durmitor. Besides these, there are many small motels (MB, Bjeloor...) in and around town, not to mention that almost every local resident is willing to rent a room at affordable price - accommodation in ?abljak is abundant, except around New year's eve, when the place is overcrowded.