Ivan Drobnjak, Entrepeneur
Ivan Drobnjak on revealing Montenegro’s hidden beauty through off-road adventures and motorbike passion
There are two ways to get to know Montenegro – one is through its roads and cities, and the other is the way Ivan Drobnjak takes you. His project Monteguide reveals the country through dusty tracks, canyons, and forest trails, where nature sets the pace and the motorbike becomes your companion in a genuine adventure.
Ivan Drobnjak from Nikšić, founder of Monteguide, speaks to Diplomacy&Commerce about the landscapes he has explored with tourists determined to discover our country in a different way. “Monteguide aims to show the world the unexplored beauty of Montenegro, known only to a small number of people, even at the local level. That is disheartening, and such injustice needs to be corrected. The goal of the rides is to go as far as possible from civilisation – into areas where you cannot charge your phone or connect to Wi-Fi. The only thing left to do is to reconnect with yourself and with natural surroundings. It seems to me we have lost that skill. After every ride, it’s striking how few local nature enthusiasts we encounter – mostly it is foreigners, who are often better informed about our remote landscapes than we are ourselves,” says Drobnjak. As he adds, the project was born out of pure enthusiasm – a fusion of his passion for motorbikes and for nature.
He describes motorbike riding as a special kind of pleasure, one that demands complete concentration but in return offers a sense of unity with everything around you.
“Starting from myself and my own interests, I wanted to share this experience with others. I was looking for a way for people who don’t have much time to visit as many mountains, canyons, and lakes as possible in a single day, to pass through dense forests without fear of getting lost. That is how, little by little, Monteguide was created. We ride and promote Montenegro 365 days a year, depending on the weather conditions. During winter, when the mountain areas are buried in snow, we explore the south of the country. And since we also love snowboarding, we often combine these two passions,” explains Drobnjak.
Enduro riding demands total concentration, every single second. By the end of the day, all the fatigue fades before the feeling of adventure. It’s a blend of adrenaline and nature – far from the noise, the phones, and the everyday routine. Every mountain has its own character, and every route its own story.
When asked how many kilometres he has covered, he says it is difficult to give a precise answer: “Judging by the mileage on the bikes, the worn tyres and the GPS tracks, we are talking about tens of thousands of kilometres. We don’t stop until we’ve tested every trail that even resembles a path. We often consult with locals, who are always willing to share advice or to host us. Those are usually the most interesting adventures. Once someone asked me what we do when we get lost. I found that to be a particularly intriguing question, because we never think of it that way – when we come across an unfamiliar track, we don’t consider ourselves lost. We are exploring. Besides, we always encounter hikers and nature enthusiasts with whom we exchange information. By ‘we’, I mean a group of enduro enthusiasts from Montenegro. In enduro riding, concentration has to be one hundred per cent, every second. By the end of the day the fatigue is obvious – both physical and mental – but all of that fades compared to the smile and the feeling of adventure. It is a mix of adrenaline and nature, far from civilisation, phones, and everyday life,” emphasises the motorcyclist.
Drobnjak says that every mountain is distinctive in its own way. The coastal ranges – Rumija, Lovćen and Orjen – he describes as wild, rocky, and merciless on tyres.
“It is similar in the west of the country: on Bijela Gora, Somina, Njegoš, Golija, the Piva mountains, Durmitor, and Sinjajevina. The central ranges – Bjelasica and Komovi – are somewhat gentler, at least in terms of the terrain we ride across. Every mountain has landscapes and routes you simply must see. People from abroad often ask me what they should visit in Montenegro. I usually recommend Durmitor and its lakes, Sinjajevina and Lake Zabojsko, Bjelasica and Lake Biograd, Prokletije… Luckily, the list is extensive.”
There is increasing interest among tourists who plan to explore Montenegro on two wheels.
“Without exception, everyone is amazed by our landscapes. They fall in love with the colours and develop a special respect for the harshness of our barren mountains. I am glad that our own people are also showing more and more interest in off-road motorcycling. We often take for granted what is right in front of our eyes, failing to notice the beauty we are surrounded by. That is why it is a particular pleasure for me that we have managed to attract the attention of local nature lovers and show them Montenegro in a new, different way,” concludes Drobnjak.