Montenegro's most beautiful places, and where to look from

Some countries are beautiful for their towns and some for their landscapes. Montenegro is the second kind, and what I find exceptional is how little separates the sea from the high mountains. In a single morning you can see a bay walled in by rock and a glacial lake at 1,400 m. This is my list of places to look at, and to photograph, with the viewpoints named in the official sources.

The Bay of Kotor, from above and from the water

What makes the picture is water boxed in by mountains which, on UNESCO’s figures, come close to 1,500 m. The classic view is earned by zigzagging up the walls to St John’s, the fortress that watches over the old town from 300 m up. The other is from the road of hairpins that climbs from Kotor towards Njeguši on the side of Lovćen.

Perast has its own postcard. From the waterfront you look straight at the two islets, one with the church of Our Lady of the Rocks and the other with the monastery of St George. Early in the morning, before the boats, I think it’s the most photogenic spot on the coast. Everything to see in the village is in Perast.

Mountain viewpoints with names

This is where the national park viewpoints come in, listed by the National Parks on their pages. On Lovćen there’s Jezerski vrh, with the Njegoš Mausoleum at 1,657 m, Štirovnik at 1,749 m, and others such as Kuk, Krstac and Babljak. The National Parks say that from Jezerski vrh, on clear days, you can see much of the country, Orjen, Rumija, Durmitor and the Komovi, and parts of Albania, Herzegovina and Croatia. The climb is covered in the Njegoš Mausoleum.

In Durmitor, the park’s viewpoints are Ćurevac, at 1,625 m and looking down into the Tara Canyon, Sedlena greda at 2,227 m, and Nedajno at 1,480 m. In Biogradska Gora there’s Bendovac at 1,774 m, plus Zekova glava and Crna glava, both above 2,100 m.

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Fresh water, from the river bend to the Black Lake

My favourite picture from the centre of the country is the bend of the Crnojević river shortly before it reaches Lake Skadar. You see it from Pavlova strana, a viewpoint the Cetinje Tourism Organisation lists among its landmarks. Directions and the best time of day are in Pavlova strana.

In the north there’s Durmitor’s Black Lake, at 1,418 m, covering 0.52 km² and almost 50 m deep according to MONSTAT, ringed by forest. And in Biogradska Gora, Lake Biograd, surrounded by a primeval forest protected since 1878.

Places best seen from outside

Sveti Stefan is the obvious example. The islet of stone houses joined to the mainland by a sandbar with a beach on either side makes more sense from the roadside viewpoint than from within. I feel the same about Ostrog, set into a rock face at about 900 m, and about the Đurđevića Tara Bridge, which the National Tourism Organisation describes as five arches and 365 m long.

My running order and the score I give each one are in things to do in Montenegro.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Perast and pick one that fits your day.

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