The coast of Montenegro is incredible, but don’t neglect the inland delights this country has to offer. We spent 5 days between Kotor and Budva, but even in the shoulder season (late September) both cities were full of tourists during the middle of the day when the cruise ships emptied. We debated a night at Sveti Stefan (a splurge!) but instead decided to head to the relative isolation of montenegro’s rocky interior – we did not regret it.
First we headed to Lovcen national park, a winding 1.5 hour drive up the mountains from the bay of Kotor. There are two routes to get to Loven- P1, the notorious 25-hair-pin-turn rollercoaster that ascends directly behind kotor, or a more meandering coastal route that curves inland just after Budva. After some debate, we took the latter. We heard from locals that due to two way traffic on a one way road, that was nonetheless incredibly steep and narrow, P1 could take up to 3 hair-raising hours. After confirming this by reading a few semi-hysterical tripadvisor reviews, our decision was made.
We headed through cetinje (Montenegro’s former capital – a mid-size town in the heart of the plateau behind montenegro’s coastal towns) toward Lovcen. Of note, signage was scant here and we relied on google maps. The scenery was increasingly beautiful as we drove into the park – mountains of pale grey rocks with bright red and green trees clawing out of every crack in an unlikely but absolutely gorgeous display. Mt. Lovcen itself is a dark, deeper grey in color- allegedly responsible for the country’s name monte – negro à literally “black rock.” There were well-signed hikes everywhere. We stopped for an hour and followed several trails which were in excellent condition, taking in the increasingly beautiful views before heading on to the park’s centerpiece, the Petar II Petrovic Njegos Mausoleum.
When I read about the Mausoleum initially I was bemused. Apparently well prior to his death, the famed Petar II Petrovic, vladika (bishop-prince) of Montenegro in the mid 1800s, requested that he be buried in a monument on the top of Mt. Lovcen and even went so far as to begin construction himself. Petar II is a famed figure in montenegro’s history, responsible for modernizing montenegro’s infrastructure and continued resistance against outside political powers. Although I think demanding an elaborate monument in a tricky location is a bit grandiose (and morbid for that matter) I have to say – the guy had style. The mausoleum is up a seemingly endless set of perfect stairs that ascend through a tunnel then emerge at the mountain’s peak. A white path curves towards the tomb, with striking views over cetinje and clear to the bay of Kotor and Lake Skadar unfold in either direction. The mausoleum itself is relatively austere, with a large statue of Petraus II resting in the arms of a giant eagle… because how else would you depict yourself in the afterlife (note to self – order large stone eagle).
After taking in the views for a half hour, we drove back down through the park, but took a right turn off the beaten path instead of heading back into cetinje. We heard there was excellent prosciutto in the area, and we wanted to try it.
Njegusi is a small town (one real street, 3 restaurants, a few stalls in the street) town that is famous for two things: cheese and prosciutto. Njegusi is our kind of town. We drove on a narrow road that looped around Lovcen towards the bay of Kotor, with phenomenal views all the way to the Adriatic, joining up with perilous P1 at its apex before heading back into the valley towards Cetinje. Getting the views without the 25 hairpin turns was an unexpected bonus of this route. Just after diving back into the valley, the road pulls right through a small village. Of note, google maps failed us at this point; the area marked as “ngejusi” is a cluster of houses where the restaurants that claim to be in Njegusi are in a town labeled as “Kopita” on google maps. For a frantic 5 minutes we were worried our extra driving was in vain before coming upon this village a little further along P1 than expected.
We pulled into town and right up to Konoba Radjonica (skjgsg?), the highest rated place on tripadvisor. Walking in the door we were greeted by warm smiles, a crackling fire and a complimentary glass of a local spirit made from quince – yay!!! The restaurant was cozy and gorgeous, with lovely wood and large hocks of ham hanging from the walls and ceiling. We made ourselves at home and ordered a platter of cheese and prosciutto.
For 9 euro, a MASSIVE platter of prosciutto and cheese arrived. The prosciutto was heaven – thinly sliced, incredibly flavored. My Italian husband said it was the best he’d ever had. The cheese was tangy, paired perfectly. The homemade bread was delicious as well; with a crumbly crust and almost sweet taste. We ended up ordering a second platter. Delicious – everything we hoped for and more.
Stuffed to the gills and happy, we headed onward to our home for the night, the teeny town of Rijeka Crnojevica on the edge of Lake Skadar. We picked Rijeka because we wanted to go fishing on Lake Skadar and I was excited about the brilliant view over the lake I had seen in many guidebooks – which looked to me like a more verdant version of horseshoe bend in Arizona. We found rooms at a winery on booking for a good value, but realized they were a little out of town (although “town” is a word I would use loosely for the cluster of ten little buildings that constitute Rijeka). We drove up into the winding hills and after ten minutes found ourselves at Estate Duyere. The winery itself, we learned, was under construction, but the lovely stone building looked promising for visitors next year. Our apartment – for 26Euro a night – was a spacious little home with a giant living room/kitchen (fully equipped) and a huge bedroom, with patios on either side looking out over the vines. It had a bit of a lived-in feel, which as frequent Airbnb guests, isn’t something we balk at. Our host spoke only a few words of English, but he immediately sat us down and poured us (and himself) glasses of Rakija and wine and waved back over the vines repeating “panorama, panorama” and then at the vines “my wine, my wine.” He then handed gestured at the “minibar” in the living room – actually a nearly full-scale fridge full of bottles of booze and said “for you, for you.” The message was clear. When we settled in, I looked more closely at the bottle and saw the same vista I was looking for in the region was clearly depicted on the label. I had a sneaking suspicion, and grabbed my boyfriends hand and pulled him out the door. We walked across the vines and past the under-construction winery. After seven minutes, we reached a small stone all and a magnificent view. The ribbon like channel from lake skadar winding itself around a green hill – exactly the view I was looking for. We opened a bottle of the red (moderately tannic, mildly sweet – tasted like a rich pino noir) and watched the sunset. Perfection.
The next morning we started bright and early, driving 25 minutes to Virpazar on lake Skadar proper. We reached out to Jelena at boats Milica two days in advance and she was easily able to arrange a private cruise for us for the very reasonable price of 25 euro/hour. We pulled into the harbor at sunrise. After a cappuccino and a debriefing on boat trip kormoran (the most adorable restaurant on a boat I have ever been on (with all respect to grand banks in NYC, Willy T’s in the BVIs and the Idler in South haven Michigan, all excellent vessels) we climbed on boart a lovely wooden boat with an outboard motor and headed out. We followed a long and beautiful channel lined by tall reeds out to the open lake. Skadar is a deep blue/green, extraordinarily calm, and surrounded by green hills – gorgeous. We tried our luck at 3 different spots and came up empty, but it was a lovely and relaxing day nonetheless. We snacked on water chestnuts plucked directly from the lake before heading back into Virpazar and then to Duyere for dinner. Our two days inland from the bay of Kotor did not disappoint.
The Nomad MD 