June 29, 2024

Virpazar – Montenegro (June 24)

How on earth do you start to describe a place like this? Words and pictures hardly do it justice.

I had wanted to show Emma the wonders of Montenegro ever since my cycling trip here two years ago. So I booked a quiet lakeside apartment for the entire week in the tiny, picturesque village of Virpazar, on the south east corner of Lake Skadar.

I thought we’d use this village as a base to explore the entire region and it worked out rather well!

This country is insanely stunning with raw beauty in every direction. Huge mountain ranges, rain forests, lakes, rivers and a sublime coastline are complemented by castles, monasteries, churches, mosques and numerous ancient walled towns.

Our first few days saw us exploring the local areas of Rijeka Crnojevića with some stunning views of the river and mountains, reminiscent of places in the Far East – especially with the humidity and 39°C heat (several degrees higher than the average for this time of year).

The mountain roads took a little getting used to – often just one car width, with occasional passing places.

Budva on the coast was the first of a few walled cities and towns we visited; a fascinating place with a beautiful walking route along its perimeter.

We found another ancient walled town next to the Albanian border at Ulcinj, its castle is impressive and well worth the trek. A beautiful small cove sat beneath us as we took a light (and very reasonably priced) lunch in a restaurant and hotel nestled in the walls of the old town. We left with details of the hotel at the end – perhaps for another visit!

Steeped in history, much of it turbulent, there are reminders of the changing dynasties everywhere you look. It often felt like we were in a different continent all together, and I had to remind myself that this is only a two and a half hour flight from London! The fusion of cultures has forged a people who are genuinely warm and friendly. It also attracts travellers and tourists who want to be a bit more adventurous.

We’ve done our usual and booked a budget flight for under £46 each way and, at £18 per person per night, we found great accommodation that won’t break the bank. I spent a while looking up places to stay and found a quaint self-contained apartment with views across the lake, which has fabulous reviews (9.9) and is perfect as a base from which to explore. (Details at the end of the blog.)

Our hosts Vesko and Sneza could not have been more helpful, giving us hints and tips for places to visit, and the food they prepared for us was delicious.

We had breakfast at our accommodation on most mornings, and evening meals on three occasions. From our table, which overlooked the lake, we were entertained by hordes of Swallows, House Martins and Swifts swooping down to pick off insects in flight, narrowly avoiding us in the process.

Our favourite meal prepared by Sneza was a dish consisting of a whole fresh trout and huge carp steak, both of which were caught locally by her son, Luka. If I’m honest neither of us were drawn to the thought of Carp, but by the end of our trip, we had tried it three times and would highly recommend it. It’s a local delicacy and is rather delicious!

Despite being tiny, I’d also say that Virpazar is “up and coming”, with one of the best rooftop bars I’ve ever visited (as far as vistas is concerned). It is rather swanky, with stunning, uninterrupted views of the mountains in all directions and prices that invited us to return.

Our hosts’ son, Luka, took us on a private boat tour of the lake at 6am on our third day, long before the day trippers arrived and while the wildlife was present and undisturbed by the many tourist boats that head out on the water later in the day

It was magical being the only boat on the calm waters, and Luka’s knowledge took us to the backwaters that I suspect others don’t get to experience.

We saw about a dozen pelicans on this trip, along with many other birds taking advantage of the ample supply of fish from the lake. You can see why this has been declared a global wetland of huge importance, hosting over 260 species of bird.

The cultural differences were most noticeable the closer we got to the Albanian border, where the local population retain a language and religion left behind by the Turks after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Mosques and churches intermingle here.

We spent the most fascinating day exploring the tiny island of Beška which is permanently occupied by 15 nuns in the Serbian Orthodox monastery based here. We kayaked across from Murici Beach and were greeted by Varvara, a nun who has lived here for over ten years.

Her English was impeccable, and with so few British travellers here she was keen to speak with us and explain much about the history of the island and links to the saints, two of whom have churches named after them, St George and St Mary. She wouldn’t let us leave without providing us with fruit and drink, the latter made from home made sage syrup – delicious!

We also visited the lakeside restaurant on Skadar that I discovered on my last visit, along with Angela and the staff I met back then. They were preparing for a group of tourists heading over by boat and it was lovely to catch up again after two years. On our way back to Virpazar we stopped at an abandoned fishing village, having to dodge the wild tortoises en route.

With the temperature hovering around 39°C during the first half of the week, we had to rethink our plans a little, deciding against hiring a bike and doing anything too energetic. However, we did head northwards to the Biogradska Gora national park area in order to escape the heat and do some hiking in the rain forest.

The park exceeded our expectations and we’d have stayed longer if we could have, not least to explore the huge variety of flora and fauna present there.

The forests here still have brown bear, wolf and a whole host of other amazing creatures roaming, as well as the most amazing collection of ancient trees and fungi.

On other days, we found a more relaxing way to escape the heat, this being exploring the isolated coves and beaches of the Adriatic coast. We didn’t have to look too far to find idyllic coves with well stocked beach bars. Here’s a selection of them:

Buljarica Beach

Krysta – Balon beach bar.

Galija Beach

Radanovici (Jazz) Beach

Drobni Beach.

A visit to this region wouldn’t be complete without a trip to Stari Bar, but we didn’t stay too long on account of the searing heat on the day we visited.

Our hosts suggested we visit a Christian Orthodox Monastery built into the mountains at Ostrog. It was a great suggestion on the only day of our holiday that saw some cloud. But when we got there the blue skies arrived.

This was an awesome structure, revered by many, and visited by pilgrims far and wide.

And I couldn’t sign off without another mention of our favourite bar, which we visited three times at Cocktail O’Clock.

And now for some random pictures.

A fantastic trip and many thanks to our hosts for all of their recommendations and hospitality. We hope to be back soon!

Oh and a post script to our blog….

Turns out Wizz Air contacted me just before midnight to inform me of an aircraft postponement. We’re not sure of the details but it looks like it’s an airline failure. We’ve been delayed a full 24 hours and so they are putting us up in the Ramada Hotel in Podgorica, all meals included!

So, in order to take advantage of this extra day we popped on a train and headed back to our village for a final beer. Emma’s first time on a Montenegrin train.