Montenegro Hikes: Bobotov Kuk – Highest Peak in Durmitor National Park

After nine hours of driving from Timisoara, Romania to Montenegro and after a few hours of some well deserved sleep in our brand new tent we said “Good morning Montenegro!”. The main attraction for us is the Bobotov Kuk hike.

The road is really long from the perspective of time as the magical highways seem to have skipped the Serbians and the Montenegrin from this area.

Distance

16 Km

Total Time

9h 45 min

Active Time

8 h 00 min

Vertical Relief

+1200 / -1200 m

Min/Max Altitude

1520 – 2523 m

Average Speed

2.4 km/h

Hike to Bobotov Kuk Peak

Our first target in this country was of high importance and as such we woke up at about 06:30 AM in order to be on our way to the Bobotov Kuk hike, the official rooftop of Montenegro (besides the Kolata peaks that lay on the Albanian border), by 09:30AM. This summer we have big plans, three rooftops in four different countries: Moldoveanu Peak – Romania (check), Korab Peak – Macedonia/Abania (check), Bobotov Kuk Peak, Montenegro – on our way!

We split teams: the support team – Norian and Rosana had plans to relax for the first day but we were on our way to the peak. The day was looking great!

We chose (and when I say we, it was Alex who was in charge of this aspect) our accommodation, Ivan Do camping, to be located right at the start of the hike where we find the red dot marking that will take us in 5 hours time straight to the top of  Montenegro.

The markings are excellent and the start of the hike will take you through the forest on a narrow footpath. In short time you will go over a small river on a wooden bridge and you will start to gain altitude. As a side note, if you do a left at the bridge you will reach Krno Jezero (Krno Lake), but we will go there on another day.

After about 4 kilometers of walking through the forest you will enter a beautiful valley.

After some more walking we have reached the sheepfold where you can buy, besides the obvious cheese, beer and other drinks. Quite unexpected to find such produts up here in the isolated mountains! next to the sheepfold there is also a wild camping place with a small shelter.

Close, just 5 minted away in a small valley you will find a fresh water spring where you can resupply.

We continue forward on a narrow footpath sometimes made out of dirt, sometimes out of gravel, that goes up and up the mountain. After my experience on Moldoveanu Peak, where I left my hiking poles home, I decided I will never repeat that mistake ever again as I had some pretty nasty knee pain out of it. Wherever I go, the poles go as well!

The markings are really good so nothing to worry. The path takes us on the right side of the sheepfold and up the mountain but our peak is still not visible.

We are making our way into areas with bigger slopes that are starting to slow us down. I was starting to worry about the descent and how I will manage it (the areas where I needed to lean on my hands) with all my hand problems, because I left home with a pretty back ache but also with pain killers and anti-inflammatory.

Last night when we reached the camping ground at the footsteps of Durmitor National Park we were thinking: “Look at the mountain range they have, it looks so smooth, like hills!”. Appearances are deceiving! We reached a landscape that resembled the sharp, rough and rocky Triglav range and not some easy hills.

The landscape is highly segmented, arid and full of jagged peaks with lots of  steep slopes filled with gravel and lacking, of course, any security elements like cables or  chains. Ulalaaaa!

Before we reached the final ascent on to the peak (the peak is a massive rock with a 90 degree incline angle) we first need to reach the sharp ridge located at its left side. We were constantly thinking how to approach the peak but when we reached the ridge we noticed the trail continues up through the back side. Reaching the ridge on the other had is simply a pain as there is only gravel and no cables. Hmm… how will we descend?

To our surprise we noticed the final ascent is much easier than reaching the ridge as there is no gravel and even though there some exposed areas you have cables or chains there to keep you safe. From here you can see a beautiful lake in the distant valley that has a stunning color!

If you are going during the full touristic season as we are you need to know that the official timings can be longer as it can get pretty crowded up here. Because of the chain/cable sections you need to wait in line for other people to get across.

After 5 hours time we have finally reached the peak – exactly like the official estimations. It wasn’t easy but it was well worth it – these mountains are really beautiful and special.

We returned on the same road and on the way back we were accompanied by a short summer rain. I was really proud that my knees had an extraordinary performance. I don’t know if it was the meds, the kinetic tape (that I applied wrong and once it is on you can only immediately remove it with a layer of skin) or the fact that I used hiking poles – or maybe it was a little bit of all – but the result was that I had a fantastic day! Can’t wait for more!

GPS track to Bobotov Kuk Peak

How to get to Bobotov Kuk Peak?

Make your way to Žabljak, in Montenegro. It is a big resort and the main entrance into the Durmitor National Park.

Where to sleep?

The best camping place in the are is at IvanDo Camping. When we arrived we went on a reconnaissance mission around the camp to see how it looks. Its positioning was fantastic, close to the hiking routes, but the bathrooms were ‘meah’… As we had plenty of time we visited another camping in the area where besides the fact that the toilets were even worse, it was more crowded and it had a funny smell all around. The group decision was to go back and declare IvanDO the winner.

The camping is really cheap, we payed 8 euros for 2 persons per night (1 car and 1 small tent). Hot showers are included in the price but it depends if you manage to get actual hot water – general advise, try not to shower when the whole camping plans to do the same thing. You can park the car next to your tent and you have access to a few tables, a few fire pits, an open air kitchen (equipped with oven and sinks). Overall the camping is really nice but it has a good minus on the cleanness of the bathrooms. For supplies you have a few supermarkets about 1 kilometre away.

As a conclusion I strongly encourage you to start you Montenegrin adventure!

Good to know

During the hike you will not encounter any huts or places where you could brag a bite to eat or something to drink. As such pack accordingly. In Žabljak you have many options, from supermarkets to all types of restaurants.

As far as I can remember you need to pay a daily admission park fee for Durmitor but I don’t know how much. In any case it will not be much.

Hope you found the information helpful and accurate, but remember, if you have any questions drop them in a comment below!

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