 | Durmitor National Park's Black Lake in northern Montenegro | | | | | While driving from Kotor on the Montenegrin coast to Durmitor National Park, I struggled to find words to describe the scenes that continued to roll out around me. When writing about Montenegro, George Bernard Shaw said, "Am I in paradise or am I on the moon?" This quote makes me angry. Both paradise and the moon are exalted, unearthly places, and while the quote captures the idea that Montenegro is unlike anywhere else on the planet, it does not honor what I found most intriguing: it is first and foremost of this Earth. In Montenegro I had a gut-punch moment that reminded me how incredibly diverse this planet is. Each place has its own mysterious beauty, and while it feels like this diversity is endless and regenerating, it most definitely is not. I encourage you to see this one for yourself. I recently spoke with Tamara Sheward, our Lonely Planet expert in Montenegro. She has been traveling there frequently over the last decade with her family and once lived in one the high-altitude villages. Read on to find out her recommendations, which are both inspiring and actionable. | | | | | Digital editor, Lonely Planet | | | | | | | Montenegro's national parks | | | After a decade exploring Montenegro, Tamara Sheward knows Montenegro. Check out her list of unmissable experiences below. | | Wander around scenic Kotor Old Town | | | | | | | Lose yourself in the alleyways of Kotor. This achingly atmospheric medieval fortress town is tucked between moody mountains and a beautiful bay. | | | | | Make a pilgrimage to Ostrog. Marvel at this 17th-century Orthodox monastery clinging miraculously to the side of a 900 meter-high cliff face. | | | | | Relax on a pink-sand beach. Ogle the postcard-perfect island village of Sveti Stefan from an olive-tree-lined, pink-sand beach. | | | | | Tuck into hearty riblja čorba (fish stew). The riverside restaurants on Ada Bojana serve the best. This is the island home of traditional fisherfolk and Montenegro's largest nudist beach. | | | | | Soar (and squeal!) over the 1300 meter-deep Tara Canyon. This super-fast zipline will give you quite the rush as you glide over the deepest canyon in Europe. | | | Let us help you to plan a trip | Everything you need to know about visiting Montenegro is in this book, reported by writers like Tamara who share all the insider info. | | | Go high or go low, but whatever you do go outside | | Camp in Durmitor National Park, raft the Tara River, hike the Durmitor Mountains | | | | | Read on to discover all the things Tamara loves most about her time in Montenegro. | | | | Enjoy swimming= picturesque beach in Sveti Stefan | | | | | Tell me a little about yourself. | I've been with Lonely Planet since 2009, when I was featured as a bumbling new writer (covering Cambodia) in LPTV's Roads Less Travelled documentary series. Since then, I've written for dozens (maybe 30? I've lost count!) of LP titles and have been a freelance editor for about as many. My pandemic pivot: going from writing books to shelving them – I'm a Learning Services Officer at my city's library! | | | What is your tie to Montenegro? | I've had Montenegro mania since my first visit more than a decade ago. My husband (who I met on my first LP guidebook writing assignment covering Serbia) has ancestral ties to the Montenegrin highlands. We've spent many months living in his father's childhood village of Goransko (1014m, pop 200) in the family vìkendica (cottage): herding cows, traipsing through bear-dwelling forests, helping villagers make (and drink…) rakija (Balkan firewater somewhat akin to schnapps) and eating way too much pršut (cured ham) and kajmak (local unpasteurised dairy product with the texture of cream cheese). | | | | | Don't neglect the country's evocative interior and majestic mountain regions, including Lake Skadar and Prokletije and Žabljak National Parks. | | | What first drew you to Montenegro? | While most visitors come for the coast (and who can blame them?), I fell in love firstly with the attribute that gives Montenegro (Črna Gora: Black Mountain) its name. I love exploring the Piva and Žabljak regions – with their lazuline lakes, looming mountains and eerie moonscapes. | | | What pulls you back to Montenegro again and again? | I've returned often in the years since my original Goransko adventure, exploring the country from tip to tail while researching for LP's Montenegro guidebook, as well as gadding about off writing duty. The wildly varying landscapes – commanding massifs, serene seas, deep gorges – set my soul soaring. | | | | | "It's Montenegro's people – welcoming, loud, generous, dramatic – that truly have my heart." | | | How has Montenegro changed over the years you've been traveling there? | A LOT of money has come into Montenegro in the last decade-plus, particularly on the coast. Prime example: once sleepy seaside town of Tivat is now billed as the "new Monaco," thanks to its high-end Porto Montenegro development featuring a superyacht marina, mega-luxury resorts, helipads and more designer boutiques than you could shake a Chanel suit at. | | | What do you miss most about Montenegro when you're not there? | Montenegrins are a passionate bunch: whether the topic is kayaking or kajmak, they're bound to have an opinion… and aren't afraid to express it! Living in Australia where folks often couch their thoughts/opinions in "diplomatic" euphemisms or hide behind manners, I do miss the Montenegrin straightforwardness! | | | | | Rent a car since many of Montenegro's most divine destinations aren't accessible by public transport. Be aware of locals who speed. | | | Tell me about your favorite place in Montenegro. | On the coast, it has to be Kotor's Old Town, sitting pretty beside a sparkling bay with its medieval maze of cafes, museums and palaces. After dark, the walls of the Starigrad Fortress light up, giving it the look of an enchanted kingdom. In the highlands, I'm intensely drawn to Durmitor National Park (2000-meter-plus), with its surreal limestone peaks and glacial lakes, enticingly called gorski oći (mountain eyes) all ripe for exploring. | | | This email was sent to you by: | Lonely Planet Publications Ltd. | 1101 Red Ventures Drive, Fort Mill, SC 29707 | | | |
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