Kotor is beautiful, quiet, chilled out, fortified the perfect place to explore Montenegro from.
The Bay of Kotor.
Over the last few days I have used the gorgeous Montenergrin town of Kotor as a base for exploring the country of Montenegro. When I was originally planning this trip, Montenegro never came into my mind. That’s one of the reasons I have loved these last few months of wandering around Eastern Europe and the Balkans. I have planned as I went, a few extra days here? Sure! Heading in another direction? Why not! It has been liberating and for a person who is prone to be addicted to organising, a welcome relief.
Bay of Kotor.
Montenegro, meaning ‘black mountains’, is a small country. the population doesn’t even crack one million people. The cities and towns are not on the scale that I have come to expect in Europe. However, that is not the draw of this place. Montenegro is beautiful: mountains, canyons, rivers, forests, bays, beautiful views and some of the best scenery I have seen on this whole trip.
Kotor.
As I mentioned, my base was the small fortress town of Kotor. Here the contrast between old and new is prominent, but charming. The enclosed old town is built behind high fortified walls, with a moat. outside of these walls are expensive yachts the bob up and down and the towering fjords of the bay. inside the walls it was reminded a lot of the charming cobbled streets of Italy. All my favourite things, the stone walls, window boxes, shutters, winding alley ways and, of course, the stray cats (some so friendly they will jump on your knee if you sit for longer than 5 seconds). Above the old town is a towering mountain. perched on top of that is the old fortress, which is the highlight of the town. Climbing up the fortress will cost you 3 Euro, but not if you’re a resourceful backpacker. if you walk outside of the city walls you’ll find a goat path that leads up to a woman’s kitchen where you can drink home-made rakjia or pomegranate juice or chow down on bread and cheese. Just for the record, I went for the pomegranate juice. The view from her patio is spectacular and it was a great place to rest my unfit bones that had just scaled a mountain. From here you can sneak across and enter the fortress from a hole in the wall and continue the climb to the top. Up here, the view is even more amazing. the climb down is actually hard. the pathway is rocky and slippery. so I’m glad I didn’t climb up it. Other than that in Kotor I wandered, went to the cat museum, meandered and walked the city walls. Inside the walls this is very much a tourist town, so local interactions were only really with the awesome staff at the hostel and the team who took us on the day trips who were funny, charming and silly. I like the Montenegrin sense of humour. Kotor is a comfortable day trip, but I’m glad I stayed here a few days, because that meant I was able to see even more of Montenegro.
Streets of Kotor.
The hostel offered two trips across Montenegro which I was able to take. By doing this I have seen a big chunk of the country without the hassle of moving from hostel to hostel and catching public busses. Maybe as I am getting further into this trip, I am a sucker for convenience at a decent price. The first trip journey up north to Durmitor National Park. On this day, we crossed from one side of the country to the other to see turquoise lakes, giant mountains, deep canyons, pine tree forests and winding rivers. The drive took us from Kotor, to party town Budva, through the forests and windy roads around the mountain ranges. We saw the Morača River canyon which is over 1000 metres deep. Nearby there is a quiet monastery that sits in the mountains. It was so peaceful here and Orthodox priests in robes wandered around tending to the garden and the water supply. After Monastery Morača we visited the Djurdjevića Tara Bridge. The bridge is gorgeous, is over 350m long and it stands 150m above the Tara river. So of course this is the perfect place for a zip line. This was amazing fun. I ‘flew’ from one side of the canyon to the other, past the bridge and mountains and over the river and trees. I’m so glad I did this. take off was a bit scary, but from there the view was magnificent. We also ventured to Crno Jezero (known as the Black Lake) for a hike. This place was so beautiful it was like being inside a postcard. the water is turquoise blue on the edge and black in the middle, the mountains surround the water covered in pine trees. The day we were here was rainy and misty, which only added to the mystique. Unfortunately for me, I had clearly done too much fun and adventurous stuff that day so I took a tumble on the hike down the rocks and almost into the water. I have huge bruises on my legs and arms and I’ve pulled a muscle where I tried to grab the rocks to stop myself falling. It seems I should remember how unadventurous I actually am and not extend myself! Seriously though, it was a great day and the sights were amazing.
I zip-lined over that!
The second day trip went through central Montenegro. Again, the landscapes were simply stunning, but it was not the thick pine forests and canyons here; it was soaring rocky mountains and winding roads. We stayed a short while in Lovcen National Park to visit the Mausoleum of national hero and writer, Njegosh. But the important thing here is not the man’s grave, it is the stunning view across the whole national park that people come here for. In fact, I didn’t even go inside the crypt; I spent my time enjoying the view that went all the way to Albania. As it often is, one of the highlights for me today was the food. Firstly, we visited a village famous for its smoked ham called “prshuta” as well as smoked goat cheese; served on two thick slices of sour dough, it was simple, but amazing food. We washed it down with some not-so-delicious rakjia and oh-so- delicious home-made honey wine. Secondly we had amazing fresh fish caught that morning from the river by the restaurant. All amazing and quite cheap too. From there we stopped in at the old capital of Cetinje where we wandered the streets and visited a monastery. Sorry if I sound nonchalant about that monastery, but our new stop eclipsed most of the monasteries I’ve ever been to. Ostrog Monastery is a pilgrimage site for believers of Orthodox Confession and for Catholics and Muslims as well. It is carved in the cliff in mountain Byelopavlichi by St. Basil of Ostrog in 17th century, the most notable Montenegrin saint. His bones are kept inside the chapel, which is actually a small cave. They are considered a relic, a sacred item, and are said to have healing powers. I walked into the room where the bones are kept. They are covered by an embroidered gold blanket and many pilgrims kiss the bones. I felt quite awkward at this point, not because of the kissing of bones, but because I felt I had no right to be there as a non-believer. I shuffled around the cave and when I was told to approach I sort of backed away. it wasn’t that I didn’t feel welcome, it was that I felt like a fake being there. I have been to a lot of religious sights on this trip, but I have not felt this way before. it was very strange. When you climb to the top of the Monastery there is a beautiful view (are you sensing a theme?) over the Byelopavlichi plain. From the monastery we finished the day at Lake Skadar is the largest lake in the Balkan Peninsula, which of course was, you guessed it, beautiful to look at. Our driver on this day was a proud Montenegrin who had a talent for mix tapes. When he found out I was Australian he pulled out a CD and winked at me, saying, “you’ll like this”, after a lot of rock ballads, on came Midnight Oil, Savage Garden and Natalie Imbruglia. I was like being home, but in the 90s.
Lovcen.
I have really enjoyed bouncing from one side of Montenegro to the other, mainly because everywhere you look is towering mountains, impossibly deep canyons, turquoise rivers, lush National Parks, cliff-face monasteries and dense forests. Maybe I should have called this entry ‘Montenegro: always a beautiful view’.
Ali's adventure 