Exploring Kotor and hiking to St. John’s Fort

It’s been a while since you’ve heard from me, I’m sorry. I’ve been quite busing planning our next trip to Peru. Due to political unrest in the country, it’s taking up a lot more of my time than I would like to figure it all out and ensure we can travel through the country safely. Add to that that I’m currently experiencing quite a lot of back, knee and hip pain and I’m all over the place.

But I’m hopeful. I’m remaining hopeful. Because when we were about to leave for Montenegro, it wasn’t all sunshine and daisies either and that trip turned out perfect. So I’ll just focus on that and just tell you a bit more about our time over there.

After our hiking day through the Lovcen National Park, we arrived in Kotor. One of my major places to go along the Montenegrin coast. That was quickly quite obvious as we noticed a large cruise ship docked in the harbor. Never a good sign. But apparently we got lucky. One of the coming days 5 (!) ships were supposed to arrive in this tiny coastal town. So one tip; if you’re itinerary is flexible, check if you can find out how many ships are going to be docked because there is only so much space for tourists and you don’t want to get trampled!

The old center of Kotor is really charming, but in my opinion, it’s just like any other old center. It’s nice to wander through but didn’t really blow me away with anything specific. There are already quite a bit of people wandering around, but nothing too bad. We did walk most of the ramparts along the city and were followed by a cute stray cat for most of the way. Happy cat lady over here!

The evening upon arrival in Kotor, we spent entirely exploring the old center, but the morning after is the reason why I would still recommend you all to add Kotor to your Montenegro trip; the Fort of St. John. From there you have an amazing view over Kotor and the bay (as you can see in the picture above.)

Due to my research before departure, I was tipped off from many other bloggers that you shouldn’t take the many stairs up to the Fort. If you want to go off the beaten track, you should take the hiking route that goes around the mountain. Next to the Old Hydroelectric Power Plant (can be found on Google), you’ll find a hiking path leading into the surrounding mountains and up, up, up. You’ll walk through a gorgeous scenery, along a path that’s lined with pomegranate trees. The fruits were ready to be picked as we were traveling in October, so we instantly had ourselves a lovely snack for the road.

On the Maps.me app, you can easily follow the trail leading to the fort. Towards the end, there are multiple ways to get to the end, so you can just see whatever you like best. Right before you’ll reach your destination, you’ll find an old church. Make sure you don’t miss out on that place cause it’s an incredible sight.

At the church, the path goes to the right (from the picture’s point of view, the left) and you’ll notice a little ladder against the wall leading through a hole. When you climb through that hole, you’ll arrive right on the ‘Ladder of Kotor’, leading up to the Fort of St. John. Just a few more steps and the magnificent view is all yours.

We returned the same way we came and then enjoyed our lunch along the path in this beautiful environment. With it being so close to the city, I had never expected this hike to be so nice, but it truly was a gem. I know many people already know about this route, as we did see a few other tourists along the way, but I hope it’ll never get swamped, because the tranquility of the place is also what gives it its charm.

And the funny faces of the tourists that see you climbing through that hole and onto the path with stairs, an added bonus! 😉

♡ Ellen

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