The next morning we woke up at Metro Hotel in Guci. What I liked about the place is that it felt practical there’s a coffee bar right there, and even a small market, so you don’t need to search for basics first thing in the morning.
Me, David, and I went downstairs and ordered two espressos. The bill would’ve been around €1.60 for both. But when we tried to pay, the owner didn’t let us. He didn’t even want us to take the receipt. It was one of those small gestures that instantly changes the mood of your day simple, but it makes you feel welcome in a real way.
We started talking, and that’s when we met the owner properly: Dardan Qosaj. The conversation was natural, not forced, and he ended up telling us a lot about what life and business are like in Guci. He said winter is hard for them because there aren’t many residents and the town gets quiet, but summer is completely different summer is when the whole area wakes up again.
“Have You Been to Hridsko Jezero?” (We Hadn’t.)
At one point he asked us a simple question: “Have you been to the Lake of the Fairies?”
In Montenegrin, he called it Hridsko Jezero.
We told him no. And the way he reacted was almost like he couldn’t believe we were leaving without seeing it. He explained that to get there you normally need either an off-road jeep or you go on foot. If you start from Plav, he said the hike takes around an hour and a half.
Then he surprised us completely.
Instead of just giving advice, he offered to take us there himself in his own jeep.
Off-Road to Hridsko Jezero
So just like that, our day plan changed. We left Guci together me, David, and Dardan—and headed toward Hridsko Jezero. The drive took about 40 minutes without stopping. It was one of those off-road rides where you’re constantly looking outside, because the landscape keeps opening up in different directions.
When we parked, we still had to walk for about 10 minutes, and then we reached the lake.
And honestly, it looked unreal.
The Lake: So Clear We Couldn’t Resist
The water was so clean and inviting that we couldn’t resist we went in and swam. It wasn’t a long “beach day” kind of swim. It was that mountain-lake moment where you jump in, feel the cold shock, laugh, and then suddenly you feel refreshed like your body got reset.
We stayed there for around two hours, just enjoying the place and the silence. No loud music, no crowds just nature, water, and that calm feeling you only get in spots like this.
Back to Guci and Then On to Peja
After that, we drove back to Guci, picked up our car, and continued our journey toward Peja.
Looking back, the best part of that day wasn’t even the lake (even though the lake was incredible). It was how it happened: a free coffee, a simple conversation, and then a local deciding to show us something special just because he wanted us to experience it properly.
Those are the travel moments you don’t forget.