[Switzerland – Montenegro] 2'000 km of hiking trail from Slovenia to Albania awaits you on the Via Dinarica. Kayak trekking and a 3-day festival at a beach in Montenegro were other highlights. Keep on reading to find out whether a 3-day festival pass, which merely costs 30 euros, is worth it or just a scam.
In less than one day to Sarajevo
Did you know that Sarajevo is only 8 hours away from Switzerland? Well if you do not take into account the direct night train to Zagreb but this ride is a piece of cake!
In all seriousness, the trip was comfortable and did not feel too long. In the train we met a friendly family that drove from the UK to Croatia. The bus ride to Sarajevo was beautiful and we became friends with a Bosnian who invited us to stay with him for the next trip.
A city with Turkish bazaars, with a rich history and culture and with three religions living peacfully togehter is less than on day of public transports away from Switzerland
Sarajevo
Sarajevo, also called «little Jugoslavia », is for me the most interesting town in the Balkans. I usually am not a big fan of city trips – but this was before I visited Sarajevo.
The city is still covered everywhere from scares of the siege. Yet the long lasting living together of Muslims, Christian Orhtodoxs, and Catholics uniquely shaped the city.
After spending two days in Sarajevo and visiting some friends we made on the last trip, we took the bus and got off just before the boarder – the adventure finally started.
Via Dinarica
After literally five minutes of walking our navigation app told us to cross a bridge – but there was no bridge far and wide. As the night was starting the fall, we had no other choice than to take our shoes off and try not to slip out.
Dense Bosnian Forest with no real path – a bit scary after the War Child Museum. On the first night we also had the first (and not last) animal visit at the campsite, even the toilet paper was torn apart.
Goal of the second day was to make it to the foot of the highest mountain of Bosnia, mount Maglic. Well, the path was very steep and the 20kg backpacks (food for 5 days) hit us hard. But we got rewarded by a swim in the beautiful Trnovacko Jezero.
After yet another ascent we found a camping site with a view on the lake.
Insight of the day: Cows don't like techno music and start huddling their hooves - one bull was ready to attack. On maps.me somebody indicated that there would be a water source – we found it and luckily it was not dried out (enven though it was August).
The next morning, we hiked up to mount Maglic, the highest peak of Bosnia. At the summit however, a Serbian flag was awaiting us – even up there the political tensions within the three Republics of Bosnia are graspable.
Gradually we hiked down and finally made it to a checkpoint of the Via Dinarica (there are some chairs, a shalter and a water source. A polish women was waiting for her husband and daughter and after drinking some rakja with her she drove us a few kilometres as it was already late.
Highlight of the day was finding prunes on the way for tomorrow’s breakfast. After walking along Jezero Pivsko we started the ascent to Babici. With a thunderstorm approaching we were determined to get to Babici quickly but man this path, well it would be exaggerated to call this a path really, was very steep.
It was marked as a red/white track but it seems that red/white in Bosnia is not equal red/white in Switzerland. Eventually we found a plateau of a few square metres and just camped in the ascent as it started to get dark.
Rough day but the falafel we cooked and the rakja made everything much better.
The next morning we reached Babici (4 houses are enough to be displayed as a village on the map). The next struggle, we had no more water and already thought that we will just have to drink out of a puddle. But we saw some people at a house but when walking towards them they started yelling at us – so we turned around. A few minutes later overtook us with the car and indicated that they just wanted to invite us for coffee.
In the end we stayed for several hours, it started with coffee but rapidly switched to rakja, cheese, bread, meat and just anything they had in their house. To think that we were afraid at first!
Komsiluk means neighborlyfriendliness and is truly lived in the Balkans. You will surely get invited many times. Make sure to pack some Swiss chocolate to give at least something small back :)
Then we hiked for a very long time just straight ahead and gradually saw some houses and paved streets.
At some point a construction worker picked up us with his lorry, he just told us to hop one and we were accepted thankfully.
And the end of the day we reached the only restaurant on the whole way – what a luxury not to have to cook and make the dishes! We were able to camp just next to the restaurant.
The next day we packed our stuff and started the hike further and eventually reached Veliko Skrcko jezero, a lake famous for its blackly coloured water.
Near the lake was an abandoned mountain hut, which was open to the public. Well, half a mountain hut because the other half was without a roof.
We even almost did not mind the rats, that we heard in the walls, as this was much better than setting up camp in the rain.
The next day we started hiking with the goal to reach Bobotov Kuk, the highest mountain of Montenegro. The mountain path was again quite exposed and slippery, be sure to be fine with some exposure when deciding to do this route.
Eventually we arrived to the foot of Bobotov Kuk but as we started the ascent, a thunderstorm started to really kick in. Luckily we ran into two tourists who offered us to take us with their car to Zabljak – but before the long desired warm shower we needed to walk a few hours in the cold rain.
Zabljak is the town where all the tours to Durmitor National Park start and thus the infrastructure is quite good. We stayed there two nights in a hut to recover and explore a bit the region. As it rained before, there were a lot of mushrooms in the forest. But walking alone through the forest and finding animal bones made me head back.
From Zabljak we took the bus to the capital. At the train station, a brawl between three taxi drivers started to decide who can drive us. After the fists were distributed they still wanted us to ride with them, mahhh no thanks. But of course we enjoyed the attention very much ;-) At the end we found a taxi driver who brought to a little village located at a river branch leading into Lake Skodar.
Kayak Lake Skodar
The next day we grabbed two kayaks and started to paddle towards a hostel that was at another river branch.
There landscape of the national park is so beautiful and there are many different bird species. We encountered a lot of headwind which made the undertaking much more difficult.
After eating some carp (this fish has more bones than flesh) at a restaurant by the river (we were the only guests) we continued to paddle and finally reached the village with the hostel. We spent the night with some French tourists and enjoyed some trout (much better than carp!).
Going back was much easier with the wind in our backs.
When paddling back a guy in a little floating cabin saw us and invited us from some, yes you guess correctly, rakja. We fished a bit together and I even caught a fish with the hand line I brought with me.
Sea Dance Festival
From the clam river to the festival at the beach. We took a taxi to Petrovac, where the Sea Dance Festival took place. Phu, there are a lot of tourists at the Montenegrin coastline – this is not the Balkan country with the untouched beaches (for that I recommend South Albania).
Today was the day we found out what a 30 euro festival would look like.
We were not disappointed at all – the stage was literally at the beach. It was a cool mix between internationally renowned artists such as "Shouse" (Love tongiht) and artists from the Balkans. Plus, there was a big techno stage with famous artists! On the second day there was finally the concert of the group from Sarajevo called “Dubioza Kollektiv”, which was our main reason for visiting the festival.
We made it to the first row and yes they went "dubioza" – with an audience knowing their songs by heart.
The way back home
Our last stop in the Balkans was Bar, from which we took the ferry. But first we chilled for a night at a hotel with a pool and went diving. Obviously the Mediterranean Sea is not the mekka for diving but it is still worth it as there are some cool sunken ships to discover.
Finally, we took the ferry to Bari in Italy. The ferry navigates over night and you can book a room. The budget variant (70 Euros) is to bring your matrass and sleep in the hall – no worries, this is totally tolerated and done by many people (so be quick).
Make sure that checking the ferry schedule is the first step of your holiday planning. The ferry form Bar to Bari only runs once a week.
Bella Italia! Honestly, the food in the Balkan is not the best and we were so hyped to eat some Italian food. Instead of taking the train the very same day we stayed one night in Bari and took the train the very next morning back to Switzerland.
Useful Information
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 | Document drafted by us with exact route / packing information / menus for hiking and much more |
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Mathieu Gasser, Luzern (CH)
Hey! :) I love exploring the world and was used to do it by plane. But for 5 years now I am flight-free and made at least equally adventurous experiences. If you have any questions regarding the trip do not hesitate to drop me a message on mathieu.gasser@bluewin.ch
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