Hiking Montenegro South Coastal

Montenegro

Five walks through the coastal region of Montenegro between - roughly - the Croatian and Albanian border.

This hiking area is from an unprecedented, virginal and unspoiled beauty, includes the Lovcen massif National Park and the National Park Skadar Lake, the Bay of Kotor with its well preserved medieval towns and  - all the way – the remains of former dynasties and rulers.
Getting there: to get to the hiking area hikers can fly to Dubrovnik (Croatia) and proceed by car/bus or taxi to Herzeg Novi (about 40 km’s). Here we started our hikes. (Flying to Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, is also a possibility). 
Maps and accommodation: the trails we walked were very well marked. For eating and sleeping, transport, the transfers between the hikes and advice we had a lot of support from Zalaz.me, the project of Vlatko Bulatović, mountain guide. Montenegro’s infrastructure for hikers is getting better during the recent years, but support from local people is still important.

April 2010: five hikes, 15-20 km’s, through an unique landscape by oftentimes old Austrian Hungarian roads with phenomenal views, ending with the view at the with Easter snowy mountain ranges of Albania.

Distance per stage: about 18 km.

Day 1:
transport from Herzeg Novi to Crkvice
Crkvice – Grkavac
transport to Perast at the Bay of Kotor
Day 2:
Perast – fortress Vranovo Brdo (743 m) – Orahovac
transport to Perast (6,5 km)
Day 3
transport to Gornja Lastva 
Gornja Lastva - Vrmac – Kotor ( the old town)
transport to  Njegusi
Day 4
Njegusi - Ivanova Korita (1261 m) Lovcen NP
transport to Smokovci
Day 5
Smokovci - Poseljani - Rijeka Crnojevica (at the river)
transport to Virpazar
Day 6
transport to Dubrovnik, views at Lake Skadar and the Bojana river

On trail: fortifications fom the Venetian period - 15th to 17th century. Fortress Vranovo Brdo, this is one of the Austro Hungarian forts built on the heights overlooking Kotor. Day 2.

Kotor, the Unesco-protected city including St Tryphon's church. Walkers who like climbing and have the time can climb the 1350 steps of the fortifications. Which brings you to a height of about 260 metres for a magnificent view of the bay and the old town.

Njeguši, birthplace of the last Montenegrin royal family (until 1918).  On the slopes of Mount Lovcen. The village is also important for its well-preserved traditional folk architecture. Among which is also its gastronomy. Readers of this website know by now that the team loves good food. This is where the so-called Negushsky prshut can be found: the sun-dried pork or beef ham. For many tasty dishes, head to the Zora-taverne. Also try the cevapi (small sausages). Sorry vegetarians...

At the top of Jezerski Vrh peak in the Lovcen Mountains lies the mausoleum of the famous Montenegrin poet and philosopher Njegos. His most famous work is about the battle against the Turks ("The Mountain Wreath")

Perast, at the bay of Kotor (day 1-2) with "the lady on the rock" (picture 2).The island on which the church stands has been artificially created, but the legend tells another story.
It tells the story of fishermen, one of whom had a paralysed arm, who saw an icon rise from the water. The icon of the Madonna with the child was taken home. The next day the icon had disappeared and the fisherman no longer had a paralysed arm. Since then, after every successful fishing trip at sea, it has become customary to throw a stone in the water when returning home. On which, you guessed it, eventually the church was built.

The Orjen Mountains ( Dinaric Alps) go up to 1890 metres. When we walked there (day 1) in spring, the snow was still present. Which made the views in this rough and rugged mountain range even more imposing. The guide informed us on departure where pretty much the route ran and where he was waiting for us again. Also to indicate that there is still room for improvement in guide work. But what a fantastic nature! (Foto 8)
We remembered the names of the villages from day 1 and wrote them down here, but they are probably named otherwise in real.


Besac Castle in Virpazar, with stunning views of Lake Skadar, built by the Turks in 1478. Day 5. The lake is one of the largest in Europe; halfway across is the border with Albania. Climb the hill on which the fortress sits and enjoy a (truly!) spectacular view. Overwhelming nature.

At the return you can eat excellent fish at the Bojana river……
Looking for a paradise? Try Montenegro!

Read more about hiking trails in Montenegro South

Below a "design-video" about Montenegro....hope you like it...