How to Spend A Day in Kotor, Montenegro (From Cruise Ship)
Kotor, Montenegro---- You've probably never heard of it. It's okay, I hadn't either. That is until I found it as a port of call, as many do, on my recent European cruise. Now having visited it, I can safely say Kotor is such an underrated city. As you enter the old town you'll instantly feel like you're in a fairytale. The charming sidewalk cafes, a medieval maze of cobblestone paths, and copious amounts of cats all await you.
Similar to Dubrovnik, the city walls, which snake up the hillside leading to the Castle of San Giovanni, are the major attraction in Kotor. The only downside to this is an entrance fee and.. yikes.. 1,350 steps to make it to the top. But what if I told you you didn't have to pay an entrance fee, could climb up zero stairs, see the same beautiful views, and not have to deal with obnoxious tourists, yet STILL get to the castle. Sounds dreamy right? Here's all the deets about the Ladder of Kotor, the best option for all the views when in Kotor.
Finding the Trailhead
The trailhead is hidden, but not difficult to find. If you're coming in from a cruise, you'll either tender or dock just across from the main gate to the old town. When looking directly at the entrance of the old town, instead of following the crowds inside the gate, stay outside the gate and go left. You will pass over a bridge with water beneath it. If you look to the right while on the bridge you should see this view.
Keep walking straight for a couple blocks until you hit a second river bed. You can see it was almost dry when we were there. Take a right here.
You'll pass some old buildings leading you straight to the gravel trail head. Note: The trail is rocky and uneven, so definitely wear closed toe shoes. Also bring lots of water!
The Hike
You'll find that as you get going there are no lack of switchbacks. Back and forth, back and forth you go as you gain elevation.
The views get better and better the higher you climb.
As you zig-zag your way up the mountain, about 45 minutes in, you'll come across a house with a rusty "Relax. Drinks. Fotos" sign in front of it. lol at "fotos". At this point you can cross towards St. Ivan's Chapel and hike down the castle walls, or you can continue on the Ladder of Kotor. We decided to continue on the ladder for a bit longer.
If you're lucky you might even run into some local residents, like we did. Cows, donkeys, and cats, oh my! Hello, natural petting zoo.
As you get further past the house, the trail becomes rockier and less "path-like", however, it still remains easy to follow. Just look for the red circle.
Eventually you'll come across a crumbling staircase right off the trail that leads to a big concrete platform with some seriously postcard-worthy views. After taking in the beauty, we decided to end our trek up as the dark rain clouds were starting to roll in. (we like pina coladas, but NOT getting caught in the rain).
Heading back down it's easy to see the castle to the left and just head in that direction. It's only a couple switchbacks down before you'll find yourself on the short path towards the chapel and castle.
You'll end up at what I'm sure used to be a beautiful, thriving village, but now is in ruins. Yet, St. Ivan's Chapel, which is probably a thousand years old, still stands in full. Pretty impressive! So is the height on that "Olive Garden' tree behind it. Yes, I am in Montenegro thinking of unlimited salad and breadsticks.
From here, If you take the path to the left of the chapel, it'll take you right to the "hole in the wall" that leads to the castle.
All you have to do it climb through the hole and whoop! There you are. Standing in the fortress.
The view is just as beautiful from the Castle as on the Ladder, just a different perspective.
After exploring the different areas of the castle, the downhill climb begins. I'm not gonna lie, it is steep, but imagine climbing UP those steps. whew! No thanks.
The stairs are on one side and the rock path is on the other, which can sometimes make it a little crowded when everyone is trying to climb up/down at the same time. Luckily, I think the storm clouds ran everyone off, so we didn't have too many issues.
It takes about 30 min to descend the stairs at a moderate pace and it spits you out right into the heart of the Old Town where you can end your day with a well-deserved ice-cream cone or exploring the shops.
In total, we hiked up about 3 miles on the ladder itself. It took about 2 hours including time to stop and enjoy the views, drink water, and take photos. Then we spent about 20-30 min exploring the Chapel and the Castle before climbing down the city walls into the old town, which took an additional 30 min.
xoxo,
Em