Niegosz Mausoleum, Lovcen Pass and Kotor

Our expedition in Albania ended, and we entered Montenegro. Civilization welcomed us again 🙂

For the night we stayed near Bar at a cozy little campsite called Bartula My Olive Garden Camp.

In the morning we set off towards Kotor, planning to visit the Mausoleum of Niegosz on the way. The route was quite demanding, due to a mistake we made. Heading north, we were tempted to drive through the Sozina tunnel, which was supposed to shorten our route. Instead, it forced us to drive along a stretch of very narrow local road. It wasn’t faster. A lesson for the future: a white road on Google Maps is never a good sign, especially in the mountains.

The Mausoleum of Niegosz, a prince-bishop of Montenegro and a poet, is located on the Jezierski Peak in the mountains of the Lovcen National Park. The views are amazing, especially when the weather is good.

Fun fact: the mausoleum was built in 1974 to a design by the sculptor Ivan Meštrović, in the place of an old chapel where Njegoš wanted to be buried. It stands at about 1,660 m above sea level, and you reach it through a tunnel with 461 steps, so plan some extra time with small children.

We drove down to Kotor through the Lovcen pass (there were so many bends!). We stopped there for a while to admire the views of the entire Bay of Kotor. We even saw a plane taking off!

In the afternoon we went for a walk around the old town of Kotor. A walk through the cool streets was a relief on that hot day.