Mrtvica Canyon (slightly amended route)

Firstly, just to say that I haven't included a picture of the more famous parts of the actual canyon, because this is about my tenth time to hike it and so I didn't take many photos. What was different this time is that we took a route that went on the left side of the river, rather than the more usual right bank. The starting point is about 40 minutes north of Podgorica on the main road to Kolasin. There is one asphalt road with signposts for Mrtvica Canyon and the village of Mrtvo Duboko, but we took the road leading to the village of Velje Duboko and parked almost immediately. One path leads across an iron bridge where we joined the asphalt road towards the village of Mrtvo Duboko, past several beautifully constructed houses, then down to a bridge made of thin planks, and further on to the bridge pictured above. Then we joined the familiar path along the canyon itself. For those reading who have never seen the canyon, it is breathtaking in its proportions. It is narrow (maybe 200m wide) by maybe 700m tall, with the River Mrtvica roaring in places below, but sometimes disappearing underground in other sections. In places the flow is interrupted by massive boulders that have fallen from the canyon wall. One part features a path carved into a sheer rock cliff about 100m above the river. This is an ideal hike for beginners, we travelled a little under three hours in one direction before returning. On the way back we took the more familiar, shorter route, which now bypasses private property where at one time we were charged several euros per person to cross a field. However, some slightly hilarious, but also potentially sinister, signs warn of needing to pay to cross this gentleman's land still remain visible.