Day 7: Babino polje to Plav
Saturday 1 August 2026, 22.2km, 720m up, 1250m down

Mirsads Mountain Cottage to Zeppelin Hotel

We all slept well in the cool quiet of our homestay rooms and woke refreshed to another beautiful day with clear blue skies. Our kind hosts were in the kitchen from about 6.30, preparing our cooked breakfast of eggs and sausages, stuffed pastry and a platter of cucumber, tomato and feta cheese as well as fresh bread and plum jam.

Well fed, we set off up the road through pine forest. An hour or so along the path we came across a cafe where we enjoyed coffees and a relaxing chat. Further fuelled with caffeine, we plodded on, first along dirt road, and then onto a track, still continuing to climb with occasional beautiful views over the countryside.

One highlight of today’s hike was our lunchtime spent on the shores of a lovely deep lake – Hridsko jezero (Lake Hrid). We tested the water with a brief cool swim and quickly dried out in the warm sun. A friendly dog joined us at the lake and happily played fetch with a favourite stick, occasionally spraying us with water as she shook herself off after each retrieval.

The walking was mostly on rocky dirt roads but fortunately was generally in the shade of the forest. As we turned downhill towards Plav, we were all excited to find raspberries growing, ripe and sweet, with branches reaching out to us as we passed. Stopping to feast on them slowed our pace and we enjoyed a more leisurely walk.

The dirt road became asphalt,  and we started to pass houses, then found ourselves on a footpath which led us along the main street of a major town.

Our accommodation is in a building in the centre of town. Directly across the road is the town square where a band is performing a concert. The deafening music is apparently going to continue until 1 in the morning! We all hope that with doors and windows closed, and ear plugs in, we may catch a little sleep before tomorrow’s early morning start.