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Up, up, to St John’s Fortress

It was already rather warm at 7.15am, an estimated 26°C. From the terrace of our temporary home, we could see a cruise ship that had docked overnight and would probably unleash a large group of visitors into the teeny tiny walled old town of Kotor. Unhurriedly, we finished our tea-and-cookies breakfast, lathered up with dollops of sun cream, and checked that the large bottle of water that was chilling in the fridge was now ensconced in the backpack. We were set for a hike up the mountain of St John.

Hiking to St John's Fortress

Hiking to St John's Fortress

There are two entry points to access the ramparts and fortifications that grace the slopes above Kotor: the main one near the North/River Gate, and another somewhere mid-town (which clearly we didn’t use since I have no idea what that entrance is called). Officially, the “door” opens at 8.00am, but when we got there just a little bit ahead, a ranger was ready to start his work day. For the sum of €3 per person, we each received a multi-lingual information brochure (with route map) and the official permission to commence our hike. I suspect anyone who got here much earlier could have just walked up without fee, since we were already encountering people coming down when we’ve barely started…

The entire fortification was built between the 9th and the 19th centuries, gradually but surely by each of its successive vanquishers, from the Byzantines to the Venetians. The main ascent would have seen us walking up some 1,200 metres in length, or if you prefer counting steps, there are some 1,350 of them (or so the brochure told us). The St John’s fortress sit atop of the mountain that isn’t particularly high, at about 260m.

Hiking to St John's Fortress

Hiking to St John's Fortress

Hiking to St John's Fortress

Hiking to St John's Fortress

As soon as we reached the first clearing, we were immediately treated to a vantage view of the old town and the bay, along with the ginormous cruise ship which height rivalled that of the Church of St Nicholas! We powered on for a few hundred metres more, to about half-way point of the mountain. Here, the Church of Our Lady of the Health (or the Remedy, used interchangeably) perched gracefully, welcoming us into its simple and classically orthodox chapel.

Just by continuing along the path a bit more – mere few metres higher up – we were treated to the iconic vista of Kotor and its bay/fjord/ria (choose the term you prefer), punctuated by the elegant tower of the Church of Our Lady of the Health. I think this is the spot where everyone falls deeply in love with this Montenegrin town. The panoramic view before us was simply picture perfect!

Hiking to St John's Fortress

Hiking to St John's Fortress

Hiking to St John's Fortress

Hiking to St John's Fortress

We huffed and we puffed our way up some more, as we spotted the fortress above the mountain, a planted flag giving away its exact location. The rubble path was clearly giving certain “hikers” some grief, in particular, those who came woefully unprepared and were sporting unsupported sandals, wedges (yes, I still ponder why!), and other random footwear. The heat that was increasingly boring down on us was not particularly merciful either. The mercury hit 30°C just before 9am, when we reached St John’s fortress at last.

The view from here was spectacular too. The distinct triangular shape of the old town, the brilliantly shimmering water, a handful few sea-worthy vessels in action… we found a spot in the shade so we can sit down and gawk to our hearts’ content. That hour of hike up had been worth every effort put in, and we were certainly not in a hurry to go back down quickly. F whipped up a packet of cookies that he had stashed into the bag without me noticing, so we could have an impromptu snack break and prolonged our stay.

Hiking to St John's Fortress

Hiking to St John's Fortress

Hiking to St John's Fortress

Hiking to St John's Fortress

There are branches to the main hiking path that visitors could take, for alternative view of the fortifications as well as other sentry points and small chapels. These paths do require more care while hiking, and they are not particularly obvious either, having been obscured by overgrown grass and other greens. We had a quick look into one of them but turned back before we ventured too far along because I couldn’t ascertain where that path would lead us to.

It took us a couple of hours to make the round trip, which was filled with photo breaks and a snack break. Our other tips for potential hikers? Wear sensible shoes, please, so no one sprains an ankle or slips down the path. This is not a tough hike but it does take some wind out of you, so plenty of water to help replenish along the way. Either get there early, or much later in the afternoon, for there is little shade to shield one from the heated sun. Last but not least, take your time to really appreciate the beautiful and unrivalled scenery. We did, and we loved it.

Hiking to St John’s fortress: full photoset on Flickr

 

All posts in this series:
Montengro: Postcards: Herceg Novi | Flickr Photoset
Montengro: The medieval town of Kotor | Flickr Photoset
Montengro: Up, up, to St John’s Fortress | Flickr Photoset
Montengro: Postcards: Perast
Montengro: Kayaking the Boka Kotorska
Montengro: Kayaking in Lake Skadar
Montengro: In search of the Walnut Valley
Montengro: The ruins of Stari Bar | Flickr Photoset



Category: Europe, Montenegro, Travel

Tagged: , , , , ,

2 scribbles & notes

  1. medca says:

    Well worth the hike with such view ;)

    • Lil says:

      yup! and not something you find easily everywhere since not many cities/towns are flanked by mountain on one side, and sea on the other ;)

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