Virpazar - a lovely fisherman's village

Virpazar is a small fisherman's village on Skadar Lake. It is situated near Podgorica, on the road towards the coast. Virpazar is easy reachable from Podgorica or Bar as it is half an hour drive from both directions. The village is the capital of Crmnica, a historical region, most fertile area in Montenegro and well known for autochthonous wine - the Vranac. For most boat excursions around Skadar Lake, Virpazar is the starting point.

In the past, the village was very important trading point, visited by traders from Podgorica and Shkoder. Its name says so as the word ''pazar'' means “marketplace”.

Little tree-shaded square in the centre of Viprazar has small restaurants, tourist information point and stands where people sell their products like fruits, vegetables, Crmnica wines, grape brandy made by locals as well as souvenirs.

Tavern Badanj and boat restaurant Silistria are ideal places to taste traditional, good quality food and enjoy your meals with delicious Vranac wine. If you happen to be there in the morning, stop by Badanj and order ''priganice'' with their cheese and honey. They are perfect.

Above the village, up on the hill, stands beautiful and well-preserved castle Besac. The castle was built by the Turks in the 15th century and it was used as a police station and during the Italian occupation as their stronghold. It's an easy walk from the village to the fortification where from the top of the castle one can enjoy stunning views of Virpazar and its surroundings.

Virpazar hosts Festival of Wine and Bleak every year in December. It's a great opportunity to taste wine and fish from this area as well as dance to the traditional music and listen popular pop, rock or jazz groups.

If you decide to stay in Virpazar for a couple of days and meet the region starting from here, then Country house Djurisic is a right place for you. The host of the house is a great guide and cook, very hospitable and always in the mood to tell you a myth or an interesting story about the specific area or Skadar lake in general.