We went on an excursion at the end of September, the weather was wonderful, the gentle sun and the absence of clouds, we were lucky! Early in the morning they came for us by car, took us to the village of Stoliv, which is on the opposite bank from Kotor, along a narrow path along the bay, where 2 cars could hardly pass. When we arrived at the starting point, there was already a group of elderly tourists and we decided to climb as soon as possible so as not to interfere with each other.
At first, the stone path went up at a slight angle, we walked surrounded by chestnut trees, it was easy to walk, the sun was just rising and our mountainside had not yet warmed up very much and the stones were wet, our feet slipped slightly even in sneakers with rubber soles. Fortunately, our guide Marina gave us a backpack for our belongings, we would have been nice with bags in our hands 🙂 We didn’t need jackets, but I advise you to take it, it’s windy upstairs, as well as water and food for a couple of snacks. Soon we went up to Gorny Stoliv, on the way we had a pleasant conversation, learning new things about our beloved country.
I really liked the village, all these abandoned old houses, a lonely resident, a well at such a height, cows, and of course a view of the bay. In principle, this would be enough for me) We walked around the village, looked at the abandoned church, which, surprisingly, was equipped with an automatic machine that regularly rang the bell. Hearing the voices of tourists catching up with us, we moved on. And then the road ended, there was not even a hint of a trail, only red marks on the stones that Marina was guided by and led us further and further to the pass.
Dogwood berries soon began to lie under our feet in an even layer, making the stones even more slippery, sometimes we stopped to pick a berry or two, very tasty, I had never tried it before. The bell was heard all the way, but we managed to see only one horse just above the village, although judging by the amount of cow excrement, a whole herd passed in front of us!
Almost at the pass, thoroughly sweaty and out of breath, we met a group of elderly French tourists descending to meet us, greeted each other. Honestly, I was surprised, their peers in Russia only sit on benches and in clinics, but here on such a slope! True, they had a different route, easier, and they walked with special sticks, without them it seems to me that you can go down this slope only at the 5th point.
Finally, we got to the pass, to our surprise we found there the grave of an Austro-Hungarian engineer who designed local roads, to whom we were very grateful in the future, because, after goat trails, it was a pleasure to walk along these roads! The forest completely changed, coniferous trees began to prevail, earth appeared under the feet instead of stones, then the walk, although it continued uphill to the peak of St. Elijah, was simple and pleasant.
On the way to the peak, views were opened on the opposite side of Mount Vrmac, directed towards Tivat. Then there was the peak itself, where we made a halt, to be honest, no grandiloquent words are enough to describe this place, I had only one emotion, WOW!!! And the inspiring joy that I climbed to such a height myself, with my own feet! And then the desire to rise even higher, which I hope to fulfill next time. We sat, took pictures, had a bite, and went to the Austro-Hungarian fortress.
It was a pity to leave this place and we looked back for a long time, and now, seeing the photo of Mount Vrmac, I look for the peak with my eyes, and mentally go through our entire path again. Soon the remnants of military formations began to come across, and we approached the fortress. To my surprise, people lived near it, in the former barracks. They greeted us cordially, immediately recognizing us as Russian brothers) We had to enter the fortress through the window, unfortunately we had a very weak flashlight, and we didn’t really go deep. Most of all I was struck by the chapel in one of the departments under the firing of cannons, apparently. The remains of ancient frescoes on the stream and on the floor are the place of installation of the gun and a narrow slit-loopholes. We decided to go back ourselves, they offered to pick us up from the fortress by car.
We went down the serpentine path, the former Yugoslav park, for a long, long time, from there we had breathtaking views of Kotor and cruise ships from above. But it was hard to go down because of not very good shoes, sneakers, not the best shoes, only soft sneakers with thick soles! Below we were already met and taken home, as they say, tired, but satisfied.
Many thanks to the guys for their prompt work, pleasant communication, and for opening Montenegro for us from a new side. To see those places where crowds of tourists are not brought by buses, to enjoy the local beauties without hurrying anywhere, it is worth both the money spent and tired legs!
The plan and description of the tour can be found here: ADVENTURES ON THE FORGOTTEN MOUNTAIN TRAILS (or a walk through an abandoned village, a survey of the Austro-Hungarian fort and a view of the Bay of Kotor from a height of 800 meters above sea level)
