Welcome!

A short drive from Podgorica airport to the hotel in Podgorica. After check-in, you will have the opportunity to meet the tour leader and the group. After an introductory briefing, you have free time to explore the capital of Montenegro at your own pace.

Only 30 km from the capital of Montenegro - Podgorica, is the largest lake in southern Europe. It is fed by the river Morača with its tributaries. On its way to the Adriatic Sea, the crystal-clear mountain river encountered an obstacle in the form of a mountain massif, and looking for a way out, created this lake.
From the town of Virpazar, which seems to have been created for a theatrical play (it is quite small but at the same time extremely colourful and interesting), we take a boat trip to explore the lake. We navigate through the reeds and meadows of water lilies. And when we get out of this tucked belt, we will have a view of a large natural mirror that reflects the mountains, fishing villages, monasteries and churches, a former island with the fortress Lesandro from the Ottoman Empire, a current island with a former prison - Grmožur. Skadar Lake is also a very important point for migratory birds.
We set aside the second part of the day for a tour of Godinje - village above the lake on the slopes of Mount Rumija. This small village, at the time of the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, was often the site of battles between Turks and Montenegrins. The inhabitants of the village, therefore, built at that time a series of underground passages that connected all the houses in the village and led out of the village. Today, it stands out with local specialities and wine production, because this region, where the humid sea breeze and sharp mountain air meet, is especially suitable for growing quality wine. There, we will have a chance to taste some of the local wines and have lunch.

We leave Podgorica and move deeper into Montenegro. After a short drive, with a carefree chat, walking along the icy clear river Mrtvica, we can't escape the impression that we are headed to some magical place, through some enchanted kingdom. In the end, we reach a really magical place - the Gate of Wishes (Kapija Želja). It seems here that the two rocks merged into a kiss of love. This place fulfils wishes. You need to strongly make a wish, and throw a pebble through the gate into the emerald green water. Just be careful: the wish must not be to the detriment of the other, because otherwise, it will return by misfortune.
And then, we move from the magical to the ecclesiastical. At our next stop, we will get to know the Orthodox faith in the best way. Let Morača Monastery tell you about Orthodoxy! It was built in a gorge above the Morača river, which, as a guardian of time, guards over this area.
May this day please and inspire even the greatest connoisseurs of spirituality. Let’s finish it, then, in the same style. We will replace, the comfort of hotel room, with a luxurious scenery of the starry sky. Tonight, we will allow the great creative mother of nature to lull us to sleep, in somewhat more modest beds, with stories about the beauty of creation.

Today, on the way to Žabljak, we will stop at the impressive Đurđević Tara bridge, which connects the two sides of the Tara river canyon. As we walk across the bridge, from a height of 135m, we will enjoy the view of the Tara River and the vertical cliffs overgrown with tall and proud pines, which, with their endurance and perseverance, defying all adversity and harsh conditions, deserve the greatest laurels.
Žabljak is a sleepy town, but nowadays, especially in summer, there are many hikers and other nature lovers.
It takes time to truly know someone. But if we look someone in the eyes when meeting, it could be enough in getting to know him or her. It doesn’t take long, and we’ve built the foundations to hang out in the future. That's why we're going to meet the eyes of the Durmitor mountain- the Black, Snake and Pond Lakes (Crno, Zminje and Barno Jezero). People of the Balkans call glacial lakes the Mountain Eyes. We will follow paths bordered by dense forests of pines and spruce trees. We will be accompanied by the rocky peaks of Durmitor the whole time. And that accompaniment will delight us even more.

Northeast of Žabljak is Serbia. We head there today. We will first stop at another precious cultural and religious place. The Mileseva Monastery, which, in addition to peace within its walls, preserves one of the greatest treasures of the Orthodox world, the Fresco of the White Angel. The electronic image of which was sent into space in 1963 as the only work of art deemed relevant as a description of humanity sent by the people of Earth. This incredibly powerful work of art, with its peaceful androgenic image of an angel, radiates and calls for peace and tolerance among nations.
And with peace in our hearts, we reach Sirogojno village on Zlatibor Mountain, more precisely the Old Village (Staro Selo) - an open-air museum. Abandoned and restored original 19th-century houses from villages and hamlets from the Zlatibor Mountains were brought to this hill, partially overgrown with pine forest.
Here we will have the opportunity to get acquainted with the past of Serbian villages, the everyday life of the villagers, and enjoy the traditional gourmet cuisine, for which the Zlatibor region is far known in Serbia.

Driving on the section Mokra Gora - Vilusi, with a total length of fifteen and a half kilometres, passing through twenty-two tunnels and stopping at several passing stations, you will understand what train travel used to look like before. This section is only a part of the railway that used to connect Dubrovnik and Belgrade over Sarajevo. The track overcomes a large height difference and makes a large number of serpentines. Therefore, when viewed from the air, the rail tracks form the shape of the digit eight.
At the Hotel-Village Kustendorff you will enjoy romantic scenery in vivid colours. You can easily imagine yourself as an actor playing the role of a traveller. Your role: enjoy carefree local cafes, restaurants, swimming pools and saunas, basketball and tennis courts, or a stroll through the countryside in the early evening.

And as soon as we enter Bosnia and Herzegovina, here we are in Višegrad, right on the Bridge over the Drina. Apart from the fact that Ivo Andrić, our famous writer, immortalized the name of this bridge in the novel of the same name, this stone bridge with its eleven magnificent arches is a true masterpiece of Ottoman architecture.
If you are in the mood for a little more walking, there is another Hotel-village of the Famous Artist Kusturica - Stone-town (Kamengrad). Built-in the style of Herzegovinian towns and with the charm of Dalmatia, with its stone houses, streets, and squares, it speaks of the spirit of an artist who wants to connect, to create, and not to dismantle.
Sarajevo - The vibrant capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a city where Orthodoxy, Islam, and Catholicism meet. In the time of Yugoslavia, it was considered the heart of the country. Not only because of its central position but more because of the harmony and love of the people of all religions who lived in it. It was considered a place of music, parties, fun ... and then the war. Like a big pendulum of a clock that swings from one end to another- our Sarajevo is thrown into the greatest horror of war, it becomes a place of greatest suffering and fiercest fighting.
But a lot of years have passed since then, and the pendulum has swung back from that ugly end. Now, without any discomfort, you can once again enjoy its streets.

TThe streets of Baščaršija (old part of town) are full of shops... images and sounds of the eastern Bazaars. Shops where copper pots, trays, and other metal cutlery and dishes are made. Barbershops, wooden objects, tools, burek, earrings and jewellery, kebabs... streets full of people ... mosques ... and again shops with fabrics and tailoring materials, scarves, knife sharpeners, watches, mobile phones, cups and pots ... the low roofs of the workshops covered with red tiles, all make a maze of the old eastern bazaar. The main square of this part of the city - Sebilj is always full of pigeons and the people who feed them. In the middle of the square is a wooden fountain covered with a copper dome, which many consider a symbol of Baščaršija. It dates back to 1891 and represents a reconstruction of the fountain erected in 1754 and destroyed in a fire in 1852.
A walk-through Sarajevo is a walk through the history and cultures of various conquerors who temporarily governed this city. Thus, from the part of the city that is unmistakably the legacy of the Ottoman Empire, we move without noticeable borders to the part where the Austro-Hungarian Empire left its mark. There, everything is more similar to other cities of European culture: the Catholic Cathedral, the Orthodox Cathedral and walk through the wide pedestrian zones. A visit to the brewery, where Sarajevsko Beer is brewed, is also not a bad idea. Or you can walk along the quay of the river Miljatska, buy some delicious ice cream, or have the famous "dest upola s lukom" - Sarajevo's street food speciality – minced beef, finger-shaped, in half a bun with onions.
There is something else you must not miss - the place where Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Young Bosnia movement that fought to overthrow the Austro-Hungarian government and join Yugoslavia, assassinated the Austro-Hungarian Prince Ferdinand. The event triggered the beginning of the First World War.

Halfway to Mostar, in the small Bosnian town of Konjic, we will stop to taste another delicacy. From Konjic, we take a road that it seems to leads nowhere. But the road will take us to a hidden bunker built in the 1950s to be the Atomic War Command in the event of a nuclear war. From there, the Marchal Tito and his 350 closest comrades would command and lead the country. After the break-up of Yugoslavia, it remained a secret to all but a few people familiar with its position and construction. Quite by accident, during the renovation works of one of the exterior-mask buildings, construction workers found a tunnel that led to the heart of the hill. This story ends in the most beautiful possible way and is the right formula for how the world should function. Namely, such a dark building, created in case of mass extermination, has been transformed into a building of a prestigious cultural institution where you will see installations and works of local, regional, and European artists. Works that critically look at the past, but also at the present, sending a clear message to humanity in which direction to go.
Mostar - a city on two rocky banks of the Neretva River, squeezed by the Herzegovinian steep mountains, connected by a slender fairy arch of a stone bridge. Due to its unique beauty and elegance, perfectly blended into the stone landscape and enriches it with a special elegant note. This bridge is the most recognizable landmark of Bosnia and Herzegovina. From this bridge, brave local young men jump from a height of twenty-four meters into the emerald-turquoise clear water of the Neretva River. In the architecture of the old town, its narrow-cobbled streets, stone houses covered with stone shingles, we feel that we are slowly approaching the coast.

Understanding the administrative and ethnological division of Bosnia and Herzegovina, or more recently, the division into two entities: The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and The Republika Srpska, is a very complicated task. Let's just say that Mostar is the largest city in Herzegovina in the entity of the Federation and that Trebinje is the largest city in Herzegovina in the entity of Republika Srpska. Note: do not confuse Republika Srpska with the Republic of Serbia. The Republika Srpska is an entity within the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Republic of Serbia is an independent country bordering Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Now that we have clarified everything, we can move on.
On the foundations of the church from the fourth century, which can still be seen under the glass floor, delicious wine and other products of the divine beverages will be offered to us by the monks of Monastery Tvrdoš. Tvrdoš monastery is only four kilometres from Trebinje town and dates back to the fifteenth century.
Trebinje is a town surrounded by stone walls on the banks of the river Trebišnica. What especially distinguishes it, apart from the charm and beauty of such stone towns, is the proximity to the biggest tourist pearl - Dubrovnik. Only twenty kilometres from the border with Croatia, and 30 kilometres from Dubrovnik, lies Trebinje- the town in Herzegovina and offers a pleasant peace and shade of plane trees as a contrast to the Dubrovnik crowd.

Dubrovnik - certainly one of the most beautiful, and allow me not be too humble, the most beautiful fortified medieval town in the world! With its rich history, connections with the Venetian Republic, it is certainly one of the pearls on our journey. It is a place that not only highlighted the natural beauty of the southernmost Croatian coastline, but it seems that nature brought together human creativity and natural beauty to create a work that will inspire everyone.

Curving the beautiful and picturesque Adriatic road, we will re-enter Montenegro and start closing our loop itinerary. Following the road framed by cypress trees, with sounds of crickets which subjectively raise the temperature and invite us to the shade, constantly splashed with the scents of the Mediterranean, we reach Herceg Novi. Herceg Novi differs from the neighbouring Perast and Kotor. Whilst these two towns were much more influenced by the Venetian Republic and Catholicism, Herceg Novi was in earlier times under Turkish occupation and later by significant Montenegrin-Orthodox influence. The town is beautiful and it is worth visiting. It is located at the western end of the Kotor bay, guarding the entire bay as a robust and proud guard. Moving east, we come to the narrowest part of the bay, the so-called Chains. It is named after the fact that in the time of pirates and foreign invaders, local defenders used to strung chains from coast to coast and thus prevented invaders from entering the bay. Deeper in the Gulf, Perast awaits us, a town with an incredible history, myths, and barely a few more houses than churches within it. It is located on the steep slopes of Mount Orjen from one side, and the sea on the other side. We will settle in the most beautiful place with a view of the iconic islands of St. George and Our Lady of the Rocks (Gospa od Škrpjela).

Every time I come to Kotor I have that warm feeling of safety... somehow, I feel tucked away and protected. I have the impression that I have entered a familiar room where only beautiful things happen, a port where the sea is always calm…
We will climb to St. Ivan's Fortress, which is the easternmost and highest point of the defensive walls that stretch around the entire city, up to 300 metres above sea level. The smell of sage and yarrow will accompany us as we walk. The view on the red roofs of the city made of stone will follow us all the way, as well as the streets that meander, move towards each other, and flow into the squares. The sea and the boats, seagulls in constant search for food, cypresses, and pomegranate bushes... All those impressions seem to bounce off the steep slopes of the surrounding mountains, sinking into the heart again and again. If this doesn't make you romantic - nothing in the world will.
In the afternoon relax with a coffee, a cold beer or a drink in a local cafe bar. Grab lunch and stroll the streets of this beautiful town, visit a museum, maybe a green market, or just imagine that you are a resident and try to feel everyday life.

"Who on the mountain height doth take his stand,
Sees more than he who stays upon the plain."

Original:

“Ko na brdu ak´ imalo stoji,
Više vidi no onaj pod brdom.”

Gorski Vijenac (The Mountain Wreath)
1847, Petar II Petrović Njegoš (1813 – 1851) - Prince-Bishop of Montenegro and poet

We drive high into the mountains along the serpentine road above Kotor. The road leads us to the village of Njeguši, widely known for its dried and smoked meat products (Njeguški Prosciutto) and cheeses. Each of the households in this tiny village is engaged in this business as a family. It is worth trying and maybe even buying some of these products.
After a sweet break - a little activity is needed. We will achieve this by hiking from Međuvršje to Njegoš's Mausoleum, which is located at the “Jezerski” summit. The trail is mostly wooded. The last leg is a stair consisting of 461 steps to the Mausoleum where the greatest son of Montenegro rests - Prince-Bishop Petar II Petrović Njegoš. Lived from 1813 to 1851 and ruled from 1830 to 1851, this philosopher, poet, bishop, and prince was and remains the most respected figure in Montenegrin history among all Montenegrins. The mausoleum is the work of the famous Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović and was erected in 1974. The relics were transferred from a modest church on the same site, which was destroyed during the construction of the mausoleum.
With a strong impression of omnipresence over the whole of Montenegro, both physically and spiritually, we walk down to Ivan's Troughs, where we can drink clean and cold spring water. From here we will drive back to our hotel in Perast for the last group supper on this journey.

This slow Balkan adventure ends today. After breakfast, we drive you to Podgorica airport and wish you a safe and pleasant journey, with the desire to see you again on another adventure, on another tour ...