THE TARA RIVER

 

Tara is a river in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro and forms the border between the two countries in several areas. It emerges from the Komovi Mountains, a part of the Dinaric Alps of Montenegro. The total length is 146km.

 

The Tara River cuts the Tara River Canyon, the longest canyon in Europe and the second longest in the world after the Grand Canyon, at 78 kilometers in length and 1,300 meters at its deepest. The canyon is protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A part of the canyon includes the Durmitor National Park.

 

The Tara river is rich in endemic salmonid fish species, huchen, globally endangered, and together with the Drina river and most of its tributaries,  Piva, Bistrica, Ćehotina, Lim, Prača, Drinjača, Sutjeska, is a Europe’s example of habitats and spawning grounds.

 

 

Rafting on the Tara River

 

Tara is a  world rafting destination. Rafting is also one of the most popular forms of recreation in this part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The one-day rafting route from Brštanovica to Šćepan Polje is 18 km long and it takes 2 to 3 hours. In 2005, the European Rafting Championships and in May 2009 the World Rafting Championships were held on the Vrbas and Tara rivers. According to the International Rafting Federation, the events were hugely successful.