With just two years of age the Democratic Republic of Montenegro is the youngest country in Europe. Derived from the territories of former Yugoslavia it lies small, wild and beautiful surrounded by Albania, Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia on the Balkan peninsula. From its sandy beaches at the Adriatic coast the wild mountaineous mainland rises to 2.500m on top of Durmitor NP. Old legends say that the rocky outcrops of Mount Bobotov (Bobotov Kuk, 2.522 m) form one of the mighty pillars carrying the sky. Part of this UNESCO World Heritage Site is also the Tara River Gorge, the 2nd largest canyon in the world. More than 80km long and up to 1.600m deep it is only topped by the Grand Canyon in North America. In the East lies Lake Skadar, with almost 500km2 the largest lake of the Balkans and a NP on the territory of Montenegro with rare birds like Pelicans, Pygmy Cormorants, Herons and Terns.