Bobotov Kuk, the highest summit in Durmitor

Bobotov Kuk is the goal for almost everyone who turns up in Durmitor with walking boots. It’s the highest summit in the massif and, according to the Žabljak tourist board, the highest peak lying entirely inside Montenegro. But be clear from the start that this isn’t a Sunday ramble. It’s a full high-mountain day with a steep, exposed finish, in a range where the weather turns quickly.

How high it really is

There isn’t one agreed figure. MONSTAT gives 2,522 metres, National Parks and the Žabljak tourist board 2,523, and UNESCO, in its entry for Durmitor National Park, 2,525. I’d rather say about 2,520 and not argue over three metres. Plužine municipality adds a nice detail, that its boundary with Žabljak runs right over the summit. What is clear is where it stands in the national pecking order. Montenegro’s highest summit is Zla Kolata, 2,534 metres according to National Parks, but that’s in Prokletije, right on the Albanian border.

The name, according to the tradition the tourist board records, comes from the Bobota, a family or clan of herders who grazed their animals here, and an older name, Ćirova pećina, goes back to a legend about a hunter called Ćiro. The first recorded ascent is credited to the Austrian geographer Oscar Baumann in 1883. Together with Bezimeni vrh and Đevojka it forms the group known as Soa Nebeska.

The routes up

The Žabljak tourist board publishes seven itineraries, set out in the table. Two start in Žabljak itself and go via the Black Lake, Lokvice and Valoviti do. Two more start at the Sedlo saddle, on the Žabljak to Trsa road, and climb past Uvita greda and Zeleni vir. Another two leave from Dobri do, one of them with an unmarked stretch around Surutka. The last starts at the Škrka hut. They all finish the same way, via Velika Previja and the Škrčki pogled viewpoint.

National Parks specifically recommends the Sedlo route via Zeleni vir. Neither source gives distances or timings, so I’d plan on the whole day and leave at dawn.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Žabljak before prices climb.

When to go and what to take

The season runs from June to October, depending on snow, weather and the state of the path, and the tourist board warns that snow and ice can stay on the higher sections throughout. The last stretch is steep and exposed. You’ll want proper boots, warm layers, water and food for the day, and the discipline to turn back if the sky closes in.

If you’ve no mountain experience, National Parks offers a guide for €40 for half a day or €80 for a full one. To sleep closer, the Škrka hut sits by the two lakes in that valley, opens in summer and expects you to bring a sleeping bag.

The view from the summit

From the summit you look over the whole of Durmitor. The tourist board lists Rbatina, Obla glava, Međed, Savin Kuk, Šljeme, Bandijerna and Zupci, and to the south Đevojka, Šareni pasovi and Prutaš, with the Škrka valley and its two lakes below. On clear days the view reaches mountains in neighbouring countries. For me it’s the best reward northern Montenegro offers anyone on foot.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Bobotov Kuk and choose by the reviews.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Žabljak before prices climb.