Montenegro is a great place to visit for hiking. There are many hiking trails with some of the most stunning views in Europe. Here are my pick of the best hikes near Kotor, Montenegro.
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Montenegro truly is a hikers’ paradise. It’s a small country in Europe, but has some of the most stunning scenery. Within a short distance of Kotor, you can find hikes that give you stunning views over the city of Kotor, and across the fjord-like Bay of Kotor. You can also easily access Lovćen National Park, with a cable car from near Kotor taking you right up into the mountains. And this National Park has even more stunning hiking trails, giving you mountain views as well as views right out to sea. For the best hikes near Kotor in Montenegro, you really are spoilt for choice.
When is the best time to visit Montenegro for hiking, and where should I stay?
If you’re planning to go hiking in Montenegro, I recommend visiting in either May/June or September-October. The shoulder season avoids the high temperatures in July and August, making it more comfortable for hiking.
However, even in May/June and September/October you can still get hot temperatures. So when you’re planning to enjoy the best hikes near Kotor, Montenegro, make sure you leave early in the morning for each hike. Aim to complete the hikes around lunchtime – or at least get to the top by lunchtime so you’ve done the hard work climbs in the cooler part of the day.
To enjoy the best hikes near Kotor, I recommend staying in or near Kotor itself. You can access the best hikes by walking or public transport. There are lots of public transport options from Kotor, with buses, a cable car, and lots of taxis. Or, if you want to immerse yourself in the mountains, you could consider staying in Lovćen National Park so you’re close to the mountain hikes here.
Check out the best places to stay in Montenegro for your dates on Booking.com here (affiliate).
Keep reading for my pick of the top 3 hikes near Kotor, Montenegro.
Hike #1: Kotor Fortress
The first of my best hikes near Kotor, Montenegro leaves from the centre of Kotor itself. The hike from the centre of Kotor up to Kotor Fortress is my favourite hike in Montenegro. It’s definitely a hike that gives you amazing views for a moderate amount of effort.
The footpath up to Kotor Fortress leaves from the centre of Kotor, a pretty historic walled city. It climbs steeply, in a zig-zag pattern. There are 1,350 stone steps, or you can choose to walk on the steep hill instead.
There’s a small fee once you get part of the way up, but I think this walk is definitely worth the fee.
The footpath climbs up what is called the ‘Ladder of Kotor’. But don’t worry – it’s not an actual ladder. It’s just the name of the path, and it’s just steps that zig-zag the whole way up.
The views just get better and better as you climb. You look down to the triangle-shaped old walled city of Kotor. And you get amazing views of the Bay of Kotor. The scenery around the Bay of Kotor is fjord-like, with the steep mountains rising from around the water. It really is stunning.
About halfway up, you get to The Church of Our Lady of Remedy. The views from here are lovely, and you can take photos of the church with the whole bay behind it.
When you get to the top, you get to Kotor Fortress. The Fortress is ruined now, but there’s still enough left to get an idea of what it would have been like here when this area was an important Venetian city and defence structure.
I enjoyed walking around the Fortress, seeing the ruins of the castle, as well as the Montenegrin flag. And of course, the views from here are stunning.
I was told by someone in the village that it would take about 45 minutes to walk to the top. I took longer, but I was stopping for a lot of photos. You could probably do it in 45 minutes if you just kept going. But I preferred taking my time, to take photos and enjoy the views, as well as stop to catch my breathe – the path is steep and gets very hot! The walk down takes a lot less time. And once you’re at the bottom, you can take some time to enjoy walking around the city of Kotor, and find a cafe to sit with a nice cold beer and ice cream as a reward for the hike.
For the best food and drink in Kotor to enjoy after your hike up to Kotor Fortress, book this walking tour of Kotor that includes food tastings (affiliate), a Kotor cooking class (affiliate), or a Kotor food tour (affiliate).
Hike #2: The Wolf Trail in Lovćen National Park
The second of my best hikes near Kotor, Montenegro is the Wolf Trail in Lovćen National Park. It’s a great walk, that shows you some of the best mountain scenery in Montenegro.
To get to Lovćen National Park from Kotor, take the Kotor Cable Car. It leaves from near the city of Kotor, and you can take a bus from the city to the cable car station. The cable car takes 11 minutes to get to the top, and it’s a lovely ride. The views down the Bay of Kotor from the cable car are stunning.
Book your cable car tickets here (affiliate). Or you can choose this trip that combines the cable car with a trip to Our Lady of the Rocks (affiliate), or combined cable car and Kotor tour (affiliate).
From the top of the cable car, it’s a short ride to the start of the Wolf Trail. It’s one of the most famous hikes in Lovćen National Park, with stunning mountain views.
The trail path first takes you through forests, with lush green trees, as you start to climb. And then, the views start opening out. The higher you climb, the better the views.
If the weather is nice, you can extend the walk up to the top of Babina Glava. It’s one of the highest mountains in Lovćen National Park, at 1,474 metres high. The path can be steep at times, but the views are definitely worth it.
The Wolf Trail is a 10.5km loop, plus a bit longer with the detour up to Babina Glava. You can do the walk in about 4-5 hours – but again, if you want to stop for photos and a picnic, you can easily take the whole day.
The views from the top of Babina Glava was my favourite part of the walk. I visited on a slightly cloudy day, but I actually really enjoyed the feeling of being above the clouds, and looking down on the clouds as they swirled around the bay below. You get great views down to the sea and the Bay of Kotor, and also of the mountains of Lovćen National Park.
At the end of the Wolf Trail, head back to the Kotor Cable Car. And it’s worth spending some time here as well. There are several bars and restaurants around the top station of Kotor Cable Car, with stunning views down to Kotor and the Bay of Kotor. Have dinner and a few drinks here, enjoying the sunset and stunning views.
If you’d rather not do a long hike but still want to enjoy the mountains, you can take this day tour with Get Your Guide (affiliate), or this day tour of the National Park with Viator (affiliate).
Hike #3: Fort Vrmac and Vrmac Mountain
The third of my best hikes near Kotor, Montenegro is another hike around the Bay of Kotor. The hike up to Fort Vrmac and Vrmac Mountain is another of the top hikes near Kotor, giving you more stunning views of the Bay of Kotor.
The footpath leaves from the other side of the water from Kotor, nearer Tivat. You can get a taxi to the start point.
Again, as with many of the hikes in this area, the first part of the hike climbs quite steeply. It’s on a zig-zag path again, but there are no steps this time. It’s not as steep as the Kotor Fortress hike, but the overall walk is a lot longer. So you’ll need to pace yourself as you walk uphill on the zig-zag path.
As you climb, you’re rewarded with lovely views down the Bay of Kotor, and across the water to the city of Kotor. You can even spot the trail going up to Kotor Fortress on the other side of the mountains. There are moments when there are breaks in the trees and you can get lovely views to the turquoise water below.
Keep climbing until you get to Fort Vrmac. It’s not a huge, or well-maintained Fort – even less so than Kotor Fortress. It’s more modern than Kotor Fortress, dating back to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. But it’s a nice point to get to. And there’s a farm nearby with some farm animals which is nice.
Continue climbing uphill to get to the summit of Mount Vrmac. I found this climb more challenging – it was getting hot by this point on the walk, and the uphill climbs felt relentless. The path felt even hotter with the rocks on each side. But the views were nice.
And it was definitely worth it to get to the top of Mount Vrmac. The views were just amazing. You really felt like you were at the top of the mountains, looking across the whole bay. It’s a great place to rest and take lots of photos.
Then it’s time to walk back down – although luckily the walk downhill is a lot easier!
What else is there to do near Kotor, Montenegro?
As well as enjoying these best hikes near Kotor, Montenegro, there’s loads more you can do in Montenegro as well. If you’re looking for more active options, then watersports on the Bay of Kotor as a must-do activity. You can go paddleboarding on the Bay of Kotor (affiliate), which is just beautiful. And you can try kayaking as well, both kayaking within the Bay of Kotor (affiliate), and also in the open sea kayaking around the Luštica peninsula to the Blue Cave (affiliate). Sea kayaking around the peninsula is stunning, with lots of caves to explore.
Make sure you spend some time exploring the historic city of Kotor as well. It’s a beautiful small city, with good sights and some great food and drink. Check out my guide to the top things to see and do in Kotor here. And if you want to explore more of Montenegro, you can head over to Lake Skadar in the east of the country. There are more hiking options here, and the chance to paddle board down a river (affiliate), take a boat trip (affiliate), or go wine tasting near Lake Skadar (affiliate). For more detail on all of these activities and more, check out my detailed itinerary for one week in Montenegro.
Hope you enjoyed my ultimate for one week in Montenegro without a car! Make sure you also check out my detailed guide to the top things to do in Kotor, and also my itinerary for one week in Montenegro. For more stunning Balkan scenery, check out my guides to Croatia, including a week sailing in Croatia, exploring Dubrovnik, and the best things to do in Croatia.
