Now that we have seen most of the pretty town of Dubrovnik we decided to make a day trip to one of the youngest countries in the world – Montenegro. There are two countries which are accessible from Dubrovnik. One is Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the other, Montenegro. These two were also part of the former Yugoslavia. Montenegro is also one of the easiest countries to visit for Indian passport holders. You can enter with a Schengen visa, a UK resident permit or a US visa.

Montenegro is a very scenic country. With tall, jagged peaks, beautiful lakes, rivers and natural scenery this country should have been on top of every traveler’s itinerary. However the access to the country seems limited compared to other major countries in Europe. The capital, Podgorica, has its only airport with many flights to this destination being seasonal. The other closest airport is Dubrovnik.

With just one day, our plan was to visit the Bay of Kotor. This Bay is believed to have been formed by a retreating glacier, which is believed to have been the southern most glacier. The deep bay left behind by the glacier is a bright blue and is surrounded by tall peaks with pretty towns dotted all along the shore. It was declared a UNESCO heritage site which curbed the chaotic development of real estate n this area. Kotor is a popular stop in Adriatic cruises. Perhaps due to the limited accessibility, or perhaps due to the season we visited, the pretty towns along the bay were quieter and much more enjoyable than many major cities in Europe!

I got in touch with Andro from Cheap Dubrovnik Tours before our trip to Dubrovnik as we didn’t want to take the hassle of renting a car and paying for insurance. Costs in this part of the world hadn’t reached Northern Europe levels yet! We were quoted a price of €180 for a car with driver and an entire day out in the Kotor Bay.

We met Andro outside the Pile Gate at 8:30 am and started our long drive to Montenegro. Border control was quick and we didn’t have to leave the car while our passports were being stamped. Another new country to our kitty!

• Herceg Novi
• Perast
• Church of Our Lady of the Rocks
• Kotor

Herceg Novi

Andro insisted we visit this pretty village that’s located at the entrance of the Kotor Bay. So this was our first stop. This town has been under the Venetians and the architecture reflected this. Winding streets looking out over the Bay and to the Adriatic Sea in the distance. The town was coming to life in the bright morning sunshine. We watched a market being set up as we walked the streets of the old town.

Our next stop was along the narrow entrance to the inner Bay of Kotor. We could see the islands and Perast being insignificant in the large expanse of water and the towering peaks all around.

Perast

This is hands down the most picturesque town in the entire bay! Quiet roads running parallel to the water, the Church of Saint Nicholas with its iconic tower, the beautiful harbour and the views over the bay with the islands of Our lady of the Rocks and Saint George monastery. It is a very small town but the views are simply unparalleled. Every corner opens to yet another beautiful view. The isles in the middle of the bay seem like something out of a fairy tale.

Church of Our Lady of the Rocks

Andro dropped us near the pick up point for our trip out to the Church of Our Lady of the Rocks. They charged about €5 each for a trip up and down. It was a small boat and did wobble a bit during its trip to the island. However the drivers were in complete control and dropped us off at the island in about 5 minutes.

This is entirely an artificially made islet by the people of the Bay over several centuries. Old ships were sunk loaded with rocks and more rocks were added to make this an island. According to local belief, the island was made by local seamen who kept up an oath after finding the icon of Madonna and Child on the rock in the sea on 22 July 1452. So after returning from every successful voyage, they laid a rock in the Bay. Over time, the island gradually emerged from the sea. Apparently, the custom of throwing rocks into the sea is alive even today. Every year at sunset on 22nd July, local residents take their boats and throw rocks into the sea, widening the surface of the island.

We had about 30 minutes to visit the church and wander around this tiny island. We had a view across to the Saint George Monastery on the neighbouring island. We had to take the same boat for our return. If you are confused the boatmen call out to you! It’d help to keep a note of the passengers that traveled with you from the mainland. After returning to Perast, we walked around the lovely town before Andro took us to our next stop.

Kotor

This is the largest town on the bay and it was bustling with activity when we reached. We felt like we were back in the human world after a trip to a fairy tale land! It is located the end of the bay so the size of the peaks around it were staggering. This is also the place where huge cruises dock during the summer. The area outside the old town walls had huge carparks and other modern day conveniences that were missing in the other towns in the bay. Andro dropped us outside the city walls and went to park giving us instructions to explore the walled town and to call him when we returned from the sight seeing.

This walled town was pedestrian friendly just like other walled towns in this corner of Europe. There was a tourist information centre located right inside the walls from where we picked up our map to explore the town. We decided to make an anti-clockwise circuit of the major squares and churches. There wasn’t anything specific we wanted to see so we walked through every lane and every square that looked pretty!

It was a small city and we walked through St. Tryphon’s Cathedral, St. Luke’s Church and other pretty lanes and squares. We also walked out through the north gate to see the river and the old town walls climbing up the steep slopes of the mountain behind. A few hiking routes started from behind the old town to take up the steep mountain for some great views. However we decided to skip it as it would take several hours.

We were getting hungry by this time. As we made our way back out of the old town Andro miraculously appeared and asked if we were ready to have our lunch! We followed him as he took us to an Italian restaurant in the new part of town. It was cold and a heavy wind was blowing from the bay which made it pretty cold that we were happy to get out of it!

After lunch there was one stop left for us to see… which was the viewpoint up in the mountains. Andro drove us up winding roads to the highest point from where we could see the Adriatic Sea and the Bay of Kotor in its entirety! It felt exhilarating to be up at this spot, looking out at the deep gorge created by the southern most glacier!

The sun was already making its way down over the Adriatic and we decided to return to Dubrovnik. It was one of the best day trips we had taken in our travels. The country of Montenegro is so beautiful that we were hoping to return some day, just to explore this quiet corner of the world!