Fjords, I always thought they were the exclusive domain of Norway, Alaska, Greenland, New Zealand and other such high latitude locales. Imagine my surprise when one day while surfing through travel blogs, I came across the claim of the southernmost fjord in the world being somewhere in the Mediterranean. The place turned out to be the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro, a place I never knew existed. I had a fleeting memory of the country of Montenegro from my school days when I had read about the division of Yugoslavia into the multiple nations in the Baltic region. One of the nations was Serbia-Montenegro, of which Montenegro officially came into existence in 2006. I came across the said travel blog post when I was researching my Balkan Euro-roadtrip and became very excited to find Kotor was within striking distance of Dubrovnik where I was earlier planning to conclude my trip.
Having been a bit of a geography buff as a kid, I was a bit curious about the claim about Kotor being the southernmost fjord in the world. Fjords are created when a glacier cuts through a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. So understandably I was curious as to how a glacier got itself as far south as Montenegro (almost the same latitude as Spain). Turns out, Kotor is technically not a fjord, but a ria. I am guessing that the term “southernmost fjord in the world” would draw more attention that “southernmost ria”, so for marketing purposes I think the moniker stuck to the Bay of Kotor. A ria is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of a unglaciated river valley that remains open to the sea. I haven’t visited Norway (which is synonymous with fjords worldwide), but have seen plenty of pictures of the fjords there, and having seen Kotor I can attest to the fact that it is as stunningly beautiful as any fjord in Norway.
Cruise ships parked in the Bay of Kotor
Kotor, is the crown jewel of the Bay of Kotor, one of the many waterside towns dotting the butterfly shaped river valley connected to the Adriatic Sea. Standing amidst the steep rocky walls carved by the submerged river valley and the icy blue glacial waters of the bay, you can be easily forgiven if you think you are standing in the fjords. Kotor is easily reached by road from Croatia, being a mere 2 hour drive from the tourist hot spot of Dubrovnik. However, don’t be fooled by the tourist guides of Dubrovnik who will try to sell Kotor as a day trip, it deserves an overnight stay at the very least, something I am extremely glad I did.
Having spent 2 full days in the wonderful town of Dubrovnik, I drove along the coastal highway bound for Kotor. In an hour and a half you hit the town of Herceg Novi, which is the gateway to the Bay of Kotor. Drive about 15-20 minutes out of the town and you will hit a ribbon of tarmac planted right next to the stunning waters of the Bay of Kotor. From then till you reach Kotor, the drive is mesmerizing, you are literally inches away from the water at all times and can see the steep slopes of the bay literally fall into the waters. Take your time and savor the beauty of the bay as you make your way around the stunning scenery of the southernmost fjord in the world.
The drive along the Bay is dotted with pretty towns like Perast
The towns of Risan and Perast are on the way to Kotor (see map, where you can also see the literal butterfly shape of the bay) and are a great place to stop and grab a bite. The cafés are right on the waterfront and I enjoyed some amazing pizzas and beer in Perast while admiring the beauty of the bay. Also, Montenegro is still a developing country and tourism has only recently taken off, so prices are amongst the cheapest you will find in Europe, my large pizza set me back only 5$ and the ingredients were as fresh as if they were just picked from a farm. The Balkan coast being on the other side of the Adriatic from Italy, have cuisine heavily inspired from Italy with local flavors thrown in from time to time. Perast is also a UNESCO protected heritage site has views of the Bay that are actually better than what you see from Kotor itself so is a worthy stop. Risan is another such town where you can stop, stretch your legs and grab a snack while enjoying the million dollar views.
Cafes where you can dip your feet into the azure waters of the bay while enjoying a meal
The town of Kotor is situated in the most secluded part of the bay and is built around the Stari Grad (old town). The Stari Grad is a labyrinth of crooked cobblestoned paths in which you are destined to get lost map or no map. Getting lost is half the fun though and definitely recommended. Make your way to the stately St Tryphon Cathedral which is a good landmark to keep in mind if you keep getting lost. It looks especially resplendent at night. Other buildings of note are the Nicholas Church and the Church of Sveta Marija. The old town of Kotor is said to be one of the best preserved medieval urban entities of the Mediterranean.
The St. Tryphon cathedral in Stari Grad
Kotor is surrounded by the Upper Town Walls, which are visible from parts of the Stari Grad. These walls stretch 5 km directly above and east of the old town, and offer excellent views of the bay to anyone committing to climb the 1400 odd steps and hike to the Church of our lady of health (at the halfway mark) or up to the very top (St John’s fortress). I sadly didn’t have time to do the hike, but I would highly recommend doing it during the golden hour for a mesmerizing view of the bay. Allow 3 hours at least for the hike and carry plenty of water, and keep in mind that the steps are steep.
You can see the lighted upper town walls rising above the Old Town
Sadly, time constraints laid waste to my plans of doing the hike, but I wasn’t leaving Kotor without getting the proverbial money shot of the Kotor bay. So I dug out trusty google maps, zoomed right in and started looking for roads that would take me to a vantage point similar to what you get from St. Johns fortress. After hunting for half an hour and feeding in GPS coordinates into my car I set off. A fair warning: you are more than likely to be driving in a manual car, and the roads to get there are very (I mean it) steep and usually a car and a half width narrow at most. Unless you are very comfortable with driving a manual up very steep slopes I wouldn’t suggest trying this (you’re better off doing the hike). After some hair-raising hairpin bends and getting lost multiple times (the kind which make you feel you’re shooting an episode of Top Gear!), I finally located a small family run cafe sitting right on the crest of the cliffs above Kotor. The cafe owners seemed to be having a family get together of sorts and I felt I was intruding upon their reunion of sorts! But the owners were very welcoming and I perched myself on the balcony with a big bowl of french fries, some excellent cevapi and a couple of shots of the local plum brandy (šljivovica) and settled down to enjoy the sunset on the Bay of Kotor. Mission accomplished I would say, and the pictures below tell the tale.
Waiting for the sunset
The crown jewel of the Bay of Kotor in all its glory
Post sunset, I drove back to Kotor and strolled around in the Stari Grad. The old town is even more picturesque at night though slightly spooky in parts! I had an excellent dinner in a fine dine Italian restaurant accompanied by a glass of the local Montenegro white wine. A three course dinner for two came out to be 18-20 euros only, testament to the fact that Montenegro is an extremely good, value for money destination.
(L) Dinner in the Old Town. (R) Enjoying fresh pizzas for lunch by the bay
Kotor and Mostar were my stops between Dubrovnik and Zagreb on my SE European roadtrip, the full itinerary will be covered in a later post. Both these towns are highly recommended if you are planning a trip in the Balkans and are worth of a night stay in each town. Owing to limited vacations, I only had time for a night stay in Kotor, and if you have a choice to make between Kotor and Mostar, I would still recommend doing a night stay near Kotor and do Mostar as a day trip.
Kotor is an easy two-hour drive from Dubrovnik. Border crossing into Montenegro from Croatia is painless, make sure you have a multiple entry Schengen visa (if you’re an Indian citizen). Montenegro may be small in terms of area, but its stunning mountainous scenery, gorgeous coastline and towns steeped in history are just as good as its more famous neighbor, Croatia. Euro is the official currency although towns in the bay do accept the Croatian Kuna and will give you change in Euros. Most small towns are cash only, so have cash handy.
I stayed at the superb Apartments Radulovic in Dobrota (10 mins from Kotor) which is superb value for money. A one bedroom apartment complete with a kitchen and a huge living room is only ~65 Euros a night which is excellent value. Finding the place is a bit of a challenge so having a cell phone is an advantage. The hosts are very friendly and will help you to locate the property so get detailed directions beforehand if you don’t have access to a cell phone. Finding places in the Kotor area reminded me a bit of India, where the house numbering isn’t exactly scientific! You get a view of the bay from the terrace, rooms just don’t get any better than this. Staying a couple of kilometers away from Kotor is recommended especially if you are driving as the places in Kotor usually will not have free parking and are substantially more expensive.
Sadly, I have completely forgotten the name of the restaurants I ate at in Kotor (both the one in the old town and the one perched on one of the hairpin bends above Kotor). The one in the old town was one of the many Dalmatian/Italian places in Stari Grad. The place where I watched sunset over the bay is much harder to locate, but drop me a note if you’re planning to go to Kotor and I will try to explain where it is as best possible. For lunch, I stopped at Cafe Pizza Djardin in Perast, great pizza and excellent value for money with a great view to boot.
The red circle is the approximate location of the place where I took the sunset shots from, as you can see its quite a drive to get there!!
Top tip: Kotor, sadly isn’t as undiscovered as I thought it to be. It is becoming a frequent addition to quite a few cruise ship itineraries. I visited in May which is the shoulder season, if you are visiting in the peak summer season, you might be inundated with hordes of cruise ship passengers in the old town of Kotor, so planning around cruise ship docking dates might be a good idea. Also, in peak summer, people have reported that the drive around the bay is much busier so add a couple of hours to the trip time google maps suggests. All in all, visit in April/May or post the peak summer season for the best experience.
The glittering town of Kotor, resplendent in all its shining glory.
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