Bojana River Island
Bojana River Island
Bojana River Island
Bojana River Island

Ada Bojana is a triangular shaped 480 ha island that divides the river Bojana into two arms. The sea front is 1.8 km, each of the river banks is 2.8 km. The "summit" of the island tops at 3.4 m elevation. It lies at the southernmost tip of Montenegro, thus, the southern arm of the Bojana makes the border with Albania. A bridge connects now the island with the Stoja plain and Ulcinj.

Century and a half ago, there were only two small islets in the wide mouth of the Bojana river. In 1858, the schooner Merito, owned by Antun Allegretti from Trogir and commended by captain Naporelli, seek shelter between the two islets. Unfortunately, a terrible storm sank the ship. The legend says that sand accumulated behind and around the wreck and gave birth to Ada Bojana. Though the story is well documented there is little chance that this wreck could be the cradle of the island.

The hydrodynamic of delta formation has now been studied carefully in other places. There are several exa- mples where the recent building of a delta has been entirely monitored by the uses of aerial and satellite photos. It can build in as short as 30 years when the flow of the river has been accelerated upstream (canalization, rectification of the banks, etc). Any process that increases the sediment load in the estuary leads to the formation of a delta. It is very likely that it was the case for Ada Bojana in the XIXth century and that the Merito wreck was a coincidence.

Ada Bojana is now covered by thick vegetation that makes it a special micro ecological world, the home of rare plants and rare animals. Bird watchers and plant lovers will find here a heaven ! The island is a naturist resort (FKK) in complete contact with nature.