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Contents
1. Introduction
We drove from Kotor (see my blog Kotor, Montenegro: Travel Guide) up the steep, narrow and scenic "Kotor Serpentine" road to Lovcen National Park. We visited Njegos Mausoleum in Lovcen National Park and then drove through Cetinje, the once royal capital of Montenegro, to the impressive Lipa Cave.
We took a 1 hour tour of Lipa Cave before driving back on a good road to Budva. We decided to visit Budva another day (see my blog Budva, Montenegro: Travel Guide) and continued on back to Kotor.
We didn't walk around Cetinje as it is very spread out and it was hot. We drove around this quiet and spacious town and liked what we saw. It looks like it is a very pleasant town to live in. There isn't much of interest to see unless you want to visit a number of museums. We didn't!
This drive could obviously also be easily started from Budva, Tivat and Perast. It took us about 7 hours.
2. The Kotor Serpentine Road
The Kotor Serpentine road is a historic road that weaves its way up the mountain from the outskirts of Kotor to the western entrance of Lovcen National Park.
We have driven on some difficult roads during this 3 month road trip and this was one of the most difficult. The road is only a single lane in many places and climbs steeply up the mountain with numerous hair pin bends.
When vehicles meet on narrow sections of the road one vehicle has to partially pull off the road or reverse back. Unfortunately there is often a bit of a drop off from the edge of the road and I was concerned I would damage our tyres if we pulled over.
One tactic is to follow other vehicles up. The more the merrier and the bigger the better! This forces the oncoming traffic to give way. Don't drive down the road to Kotor in the morning as we saw several tour buses coming up. Usually the buses expect, and insist, that smaller vehicles give way.
Trees often block the views, but drivers should be concentrating on the road anyway! There are not many viewpoints where you can stop so take advantage if you see one. The views of Kotor Bay are fantastic.
3. Lovcen National Park
We were relieved when we reached the top of the Kotor Serpentine road. Shortly afterwards we turned onto an excellent new road through Lovcen National Park. We were immediately stopped by a man on the side of the road who was collecting a toll fee of Eur 6. He did give us a receipt so it must have been legitimate.
It was a scenic drive through Lovcen National Park. On the eastern side of the park the not so new road steeply descended down to Cetinje. There was very little traffic.
Apparently there are a few hiking trails, but we didn't see any trail signs nor did we see any one hiking. It would be quite easy to park the car and hike in the open countryside. Most people seem to just drive through Lovcen National Park or visit Njegos Mausoleum.
4. Njegos Mausoleum
We went here as it was highly recommended on the Tripadvisor forum. Also the Bradt guide book says "it's as glorious as anything Montenegro has to offer".
Unfortunately I can't confirm this as we were put off by the Eur 8 entrance fee. It was a hazy day and the views wouldn't have been great. I didn't think it would be worth shelling out Eur 16 for the two of us.
Since our visit I have looked at photos of the mausoleum on several websites and believe we made the right decision. The mausoleum itself isn't that special in my opinion. The setting is special, but you need a clear day to appreciate the views and justify the entrance fee. The view of the Bay of Kotor is no better than from the Kotor Sepentine Road or from the top of the fortress wall at Kotor.
The road up to the Mausoleum was fine and ended at a turning circle at the steps to the Mausoleum's entrance. You then park on the side of the road (see the photo). The Bradt guide book says "good luck in finding a space" but we didn't have a problem.
You can get good views of Lovcen National Park by just climbing the steps to the Mausoleum's entrance. It is worth the drive up to appreciate these views
The adriacom website provides some historical information and photos of the mausoleum and the views. You can see from their hazy photo of the Kotor Bay that it probably isn't worth paying to enter if the weather isn't good.
5. Lipa Cave
Lipa Cave is about 6 kms south west of Cetinje. The final 3 kilometres is along a narrow dirt road which is in reasonable condition. There is a large paved car park at Lipa Cave with a restaurant and toilets.
There are 5 tours each day from 10.00 to 16.00 and they last 1 hour. It costs Eur 14.90 for an adult. They do advise on their website that you should arrive 30 minutes before the tour starts. I am sure you can arrive a bit later as long as they have space on their land train. Our train was almost full when we visited in late June, so don't arrive late in peak season.
The cave is cold so don't wear shorts and a T shirt unless you are a very hardy soul. We changed into jeans and wore a jacket.
The tours of Lipa Cave have very good reviews on Tripadvisor. We thoroughly enjoyed it and Lipa Cave was very spectacular. The guide was excellent and English was the language for the tour.
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