There is a special place I like to take people who are in Montenegro's mountains for the first time . One girl told me it reminds her of the end of the world. Are you familiar with a feeling when you wake up from a deep dream, and find yourself back in "reality"? For a few moments your back doesn't hurt, you cannot remember that your to-do list exists, and part of you is still there, in the warmth of a dream. That dream-like sense follows me every time I climb my favourite hiking trail on the Prokletije (in English, translated as the 'Accursed Mountains'). On the border between three countries, Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo, lies a huge mountain with a scary name. She is open to those who follow her rules and those who are seeking freedom and silence. Many people approach her amazing valleys and enjoy views of big rocky summits, but her real beauty lies when you get a little higher - above morning fog and low clouds, face to face with rugged ridges and amphitheaters shaped by the forces of nature. Today Vlado is with me. This will be his first ever real hike. After my stories, he has high expectations. We had to start early, as we expect rain in the second part of the day. The only noise you can hear is that from light wind on the top of the trees, and a few shy birds letting other forest beings know that we are here. It is not uncommon to see a bear in these forests, but I don't want to scare Vlado, so I tell him that they are on the other side. As my friend slept just a few hours last night, he keeps asking me - how much
There is a special place I like to take people who are in Montenegro’s mountains for the first time . One girl told me it reminds her of the end of the world. Are you familiar with a feeling when you wake up from a deep dream, and find yourself back in “reality”? For a
In Montenegro we like to say we’re more resistant to living in crisis than the rest of the world – and I'm only half joking! For those of us who remember the 90s, this mess we're in regarding Covid-19 doesn't register on the same scale at all. There's no question, though, that social distancing has pushed us to change our routines and improvise to keep physically and mentally healthy - so to keep my spirits up I've been cycling some of Montenegro's least known trails! Being active for me is more than a desire – it's a need. Under lock-down all gyms, swimming pools and parks were closed - but people were allowed outside alone for personal exercise. So, to use an English expression, I got on my bike! After almost 50 days I've managed about 900 km and put almost 9000 metres of altitude in my legs. Not bad; it’s like I cycled Mount Everest! And yeah, I also lost 4 kilos, even though I really enjoyed delicacies from my mother’s kitchen (I also did cooking regularly!). I didn't want to be hugely visible when many people were suffering indoors in small apartments. I also wanted to respect the physical distancing required, so I chose to ride around the thinly populated hills near Podgorica (we are still limited to the municipality in which we live). I picked a route that goes very steeply up into the highlands above Bjelopavlici – less frequented, beautiful and most cyclists don’t go there because of its grade of difficulty. In total it’s not that long a route – about 50km [oh, is that all? - Ed], but there’s one segment which does test you – in 7km you climb about 680 metres. When you come to the foothills and see the pass above
In Montenegro we like to say we’re more resistant to living in crisis than the rest of the world – and I’m only half joking! For those of us who remember the 90s, this mess we’re in regarding Covid-19 doesn’t register on the same scale at all. There’s no question, though, that social distancing has
As a UK business operating nature holidays and tours in Montenegro, including birdwatching, today (National Bird Day) seems the right time to tell you about one of the projects that we have been actively involved in recently as part of Undiscovered Montenegro's commitment to sustainable tourism and eco-awareness at Lake Skadar National Park. It's quite something to see the majestic Dalmatian Pelican up close. The pelicans are one of the biggest draws for visitors to the lake and we operate a stunning kayaking trip to see them in May/June that has left our lucky guests open-mouthed in amazement. Dalmatian pelicans are the heaviest flying birds in the world, sometimes topping the scales at 13kg and with wingspans over 3m. The trouble is, they are fussy breeders and are currently rated as "near threatened". Pelicans, you see, nest on floating vegetation, and when there isn't any, they don't nest at all. The National Park, the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), the Noe Foundation and CZIP (Montenegro's RSPCB) therefore have installed five man-made rafts in the pelicans' natural breeding area of Panceva Oka to give them a helping hand. These rafts have been so successful that pelican numbers have nearly doubled in the last five years (2017 saw the hatching of over 60 chicks, an annual high) - but the rafts are made of wood, and wood, when soaked constantly in water, will not last forever. When it was brought to our attention this year that the rafts were in dire need of repair and that local bodies did not have sufficient funding to manage this before the vital breeding season, we decided to donate the money, also enabling an upgrade to the solar-powered remote video monitoring system that has proven so vital in maintaining this habitat. It felt like we owed the pelicans, as
As a UK business operating nature holidays and tours in Montenegro, including birdwatching, today (National Bird Day) seems the right time to tell you about one of the projects that we have been actively involved in recently as part of Undiscovered Montenegro’s commitment to sustainable tourism and eco-awareness at Lake Skadar National Park. It’s quite something to
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