The Mountains of Montenegro (Cicerone Press, 2007)

Kom Vasojevicki, Kom Kucki and Kom Ljevorijecki from Stavna, Komovi, Montenegro (Nikon D200, Nikkor 28mm f/2 AI)

256 pages; published July 2007; 1st edition; ISBN 9781852845063

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Text from introduction to The Mountains of Montenegro (Cicerone Press, 2007). Click here to read more on this title on the Cicerone website.

‘Few parts of Europe are so little known as the countries lying between the Danube and the northern frontier of Greece….’ Sir J. Gardner Wilkinson, Dalmatia and Montenegro (London, 1848)

Introduction

Ljepsi od Alpa—‘more beautiful than the Alps’. This description of Montenegro’s mountains was given to me by a Croatian climber, in the most congenial setting of a wedding, just over the Slovenian border. And it was these words, together with a postcard of improbably sheer-sided peaks in Durmitor, the country’s best-known mountain area, which first drew me to Montenegro, while living in Zagreb between 1999 and 2001.

Montenegro (or more correctly Crna gora, ‘Black Mountain’) lies on the southern Adriatic coast, sandwiched between Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Albania; and within its borders are some of the wildest, most spectacular, and least visited mountains in Europe.

Most of the surface area of the country is taken up by the Dinaric Alps—a great string of mountains, extending in furrowed ranges from Slovenia and Croatia in the north, and reaching their greatest altitude in inland Montenegro, Albania and Macedonia. Rising in some places almost sheer from the Adriatic, these mountains throw themselves up in soaring, jagged limestone tops, and have alternately been compared to strings of pearls, and the entrance to hell itself. The fierce, rugged character of the Montenegrin highlands is reflected in the name of the mountains running along the northern part of the Albanian border: Prokletije, meaning ‘the accursed mountains’. Yet the landscape is also rich in wildlife and plants, from the diverse birdlife of Skadarso jezero to the primeval forest of Biogradska gora.

The mountains of Montenegro are at their most impressive in the inland areas of Durmitor and Prokletije, where the stunning terrain typically consists of glacial cirques surrounded by fine ridges—often wonderfully exposed—and steep-sided 2,000 to 2,500m peaks, some of which require a degree of scrambling to ascend. High pastures, often scattered with stone or wooden shepherd’s huts (known locally as katun), give way to valleys the lower slopes of which are cloaked in dense pine and beech forest, and picturesque lakes. Between these mountain areas, the landscape is slashed by deep canyons—one of which, the Tara, is the second deepest in the world.

Like the mountains of neighbouring Croatia, Slovenia and other countries from the former Yugoslavia, the mountains of Montenegro are criss-crossed by well-established, clearly marked trails. There are some mountain huts and shelters, although considerably fewer than in Croatia or Slovenia—most of the walks in this guide require carrying a tent—and detailed maps are available for some of the most popular hiking areas.

Montenegro is rapidly gaining popularity as a destination with travellers from Western Europe—in particular with the current tourist boom in neighbouring Croatia. However with the exception of a few busy spots on the coast, much of the country—and in particular, its mountains—remains little visited.

The routes in this guidebook range from easy day walks to extended and relatively demanding mountain treks, and include both circular as well as point-to-point itineraries. It is possible to link a number of the routes to form even longer treks—following the route across Biogradska gora, Komovi, Magli? and Ku?ka krajina, for example, would amount to an excursion lasting about eight days. Almost all of the routes are easily accessible by local public transport.

Montenegro is easily reached from Western Europe—either a direct flight to Podgorica or Tivat, or via Dubrovnik—and costs within the country are relatively low. Added to these already considerable attractions are the country’s many other, perhaps better-known assets—a beautiful coastline, fascinating history and some impressive architecture. The proximity of Croatia and its own lovely coast and mountains might be added as a further lure.…

It is hoped that this guidebook—at the time of writing, the only comprehensive English language guide available to the mountains of Montenegro—will enable more people to visit this remarkable area, and shed some light on what is, quite simply, one of the finest walking destinations in Europe.


Boka Kotorska (Bay of Kotor), from Perast, Montenegro (Nikon FM2n, Nikkor 20mm f/2.8 AIS)

Geography

The mountainous character of the Balkan peninsula is reflected in its name. A Turkish word meaning ‘a chain of mountains’, balkan was initially used to describe the Stara Planina range in modern Bulgaria. Later, and particularly from the 19th century, it came to be used to describe the whole region – with distinctly negative connotations.

One of the most extensive mountain ranges in the Balkan peninsula is the Dinaric Alps. (With the exception of a narrow strip of coastline, almost the entire territory of Montenegro is occupied by these mountains.) Stretching southeastwards some 700km from the Slovenian border, the Dinaric Alps run the length of Croatia, through Montenegro and into Albania, from where they continue as the Pindos Mountains into Greece. Their steep western slopes present an almost impenetrable barrier towards the Adriatic (a factor which has contributed to the relative isolation of inland Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia from the various ‘Mediterranean’ civilizations to have settled along the coast). Perhaps not surprisingly, their inhabitants have always been fiercely independent.

Montenegro’s rocky Adriatic coastline runs northwest–southeast between Croatia and Albania, broken towards its northwestern end by Boka Kotorska (the Bay of Kotor), a deeply indented, fjord-like inlet surrounded by steep, bare mountains. The coast is divided from the interior by a steep, outer rampart of mountains, including Orjen (Walks 1–2), on the border with Bosnia-Hercegovina and Croatia; Lovcen (Walks 3–4), above Boka Kotorska, and crowned by the mausoleum of Montenegro’s ruler-poet, Petar II Petrovic Njegos; and Rumija, above Bar. These mountains are relatively modest in elevation, with peaks averaging 1600–1700m; the highest point is Zubacki kabao (1894m), on Orjen. Karst features are especially prominent on Orjen, which has relatively little vegetation; forest cover is somewhat more extensive on Lovcen. In both cases, surface water is minimal.

Behind these mountains a broad plateau runs inland for some distance – an area described by J.A. Cuddon in The Companion Guide to Jugoslavia as a succession of ‘troughs and crests of turmoiled rock’. There is a saying among Montenegrins, that when God was in the act of distributing stones over the earth, the bag that held them burst, and they all fell on Montenegro. It seems particularly appropriate for this area. Within the southeast part of this plateau lies the Montenegrin capital, Podgorica (meaning literally ‘beneath the mountain’). To the southeast of this is the basin of Skadarsko jezero (Lake Shkoder in Albanian), which at 391km² is the largest lake in the Balkans. Beyond this area and further inland lie the country’s most elevated mountain areas.

In the northwest of the country, just across the border from Bosnia’s Sutjeska National Park, are the remote areas of Maglic and Bioc, crowned by Maglic (2386m) and Veliki Vitao (2397m) respectively (the former lies actually on the Bosnian border).

Slightly to the southeast of these, bounded to the north by the River Tara and to the west by the River Piva, is Durmitor (Walks 5–7). This is Montenegro’s best-known and most visited mountain area, with its numerous peaks over 2300m, including Bobotov kuk (2523m), usually described as the country’s highest but actually overshadowed just a little by a peak on the Albanian border. It is an area of quite exceptionally beautiful scenery, with glacial cirques and lakes, high ridges and spectacular, steep-sided peaks.

Stretching southeast from Durmitor parallel to the River Tara is Sinjajevina, a long, jagged succession of high peaks, including Jablanov vrh (2203m) at its southern end. South of this, along the headwaters and west of the River Moracka, are the equally rugged Moracke planine, including Torna (also known as Babji zub, 2227m). These mountains gradually recede in altitude towards Niksic and Podgorica, and towards the River Zeta. Southeast of Sinjajevina, across the River Tara, is Bjelasica (Walks 8–9), with its somewhat more gentle, rounded tops.

Further to the southeast lie the high, wild and sometimes quite remote mountain areas along the Albanian border, at the headwaters of the River Tara and the River Lim. Komovi (Walk 10), which lies just south of Bjelasica, is a relatively compact area, reaching its highest in Kom Kucki (2487m). South of Komovi and slightly lower in altitude is the rugged and very little visited Kucka krajina (Walk 11, also called Zijevo). To the east of these, across the northern tip of Albania, lies Prokletije (Walks 12–15), a heavily glaciated area with a steep, Alpine profile, including Maja Kolata (2528m), the highest mountain in Montenegro. (Altitude increases over the Albanian border, where Maja Jezerce reaches 2694m.)


Bobotov kuk (2523m) from Trojni prevoj, Durmitor, Montenegro (Nikon D200, Nikkor 28mm f/2 AI)



Text and photographs copyright Rudolf Abraham 2007-2010



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