"The Black Mountain" Republic of Montenegro by TheWanderingCamel

Republic of Montenegro Travel Guide: 2,445 reviews and 5,780 photos

Way back when ....

It was over thirty years since I'd last driven over the mountains behind Dubrovnik into Montenegro, then part of the country we knew as Yugoslavia, and a world that time seemed to have left behind. Memories stayed of a wild and beautiful land, lush green valleys between towering mountains, sunflowers tucked into the halter of oxen pulling a wagon piled with hay, a woman in baggy pink trousers and a snow-white headscarf with a huge pile of firewood on her head, narrow, rutted mountain roads and a night spent in a bleak hotel in Titograd run on strictly Socialist lines of brusque rudeness and the very antithesis of hospitality. We had thought to drive from Titograd to Skopje around the top of Albania but the road we'd driven coming from Dubrovnik was so bad, concern for the car's ability to survive another day on a road like that saw us take the main road back up to Belgrade and then the highway south. It was all part of a haze of memories of a long-ago summer spent travelling from Norway to Greece.... Over the years, I'd returned to nearly all the other countries I visited that summer, now it was time to revisit the Balkans.

The accidental tourist

Only days before I returned, Montenegro had become an independent country - Crne Gora - Black Mountain - her people voting for sovereignity over their own state in a referendum on May 21, 2006. Titograd has gone back to its historic name , Podgorica - and I'm sure the hotels are both more welcoming and more comfortable now. Not that we tried one out, this was the briefest of visits, a few short hours, exploring the Bay of Kotor and Kotor itself, a gem of a walled mediaeval town that lies at the head of the bay.

Montenegro is set to become a major tourist destination. It might be tiny but with its wonderful scenery, historic towns and cities, unspoilt beaches, excellent sailing and more, it has so much to offer. If you like your sightseeing to be crowd-free, your beaches relatively empty and your wallet not stretched to the limit - now's the time to go. We hadn't planned to go to Montenegro when we visited Dubrovnik but when we were told our hire car agreement allowed us to cross the border, the decision was made.

This visit was only for a day but a return that will take us deeper into Montenegro is definitely on the agenda. I hope we make it before we're as old as these folk we found sitting in the shade of the main gate of Kotor..

leyle

Given the focus of our day in Montenegro was the Gulf of Kotor the tips that were on this page have been moved to the more appropriate setting of Kotor

Last visit to Republic of Montenegro: Jun 2006
Intro Updated Dec 7, 2007
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Comments (7)

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JLBG Dec 5, 2008 at 9:39 AM

Nice pictures! You seem to have ghost pictures: 18 are mentionned but only three show. I suppose you transferred them to Kotor but their ghost might remain for some time in this page!
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Zvrlj Dec 7, 2007 at 3:15 AM

Very nice Montenegro pages. We are glad you liked that country. Greetings from Kragujevac, Serbia I&V
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SLLiew Dec 6, 2007 at 12:15 AM

Great page of Montenegro :)
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tiabunna Dec 5, 2007 at 3:58 AM

I was just enjoying myself - then I ran out of tips to read! I hope there are more to come, even if you have to return to Montenegro, Leyle. :))
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VeronicaG Nov 27, 2007 at 12:24 PM

Your pictures show an interesting glimpse of Montenegro--sounds lovely!
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Trekki Nov 19, 2007 at 10:05 PM

Me too :-))) Marvelous intro photo, Leyle :-))
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willy_wonka Nov 12, 2007 at 4:08 PM

looking forward to this one!