Aug 8, 2014
Hiking up Mount Srd
Having explored the old town of Dubrovnik and then walked the city wall, all in one morning, we decided to enjoy more of the city albeit a little differently. We decided to head up to Mount Srð, the mountain which stands over Dubrovnik to its north, with a peak height of 412 meters. That’s taller than St John’s in Kotor, so we were expecting some fantastic aerial views during this hike.
There are 3 ways to access the summit of Mount Srd. The easiest and quickest is by taking the cable car at Petra Kresimira Street, and the journey of mere minutes costs 60 kuna and 100 kuna respectively for a single and a return journey. For anyone with a car, it is also possible to drive up via the village of Bosanka. As for us, we took the active way up – some 90 minutes walk of it – a serpentine footpath which starts from Jadranska Cesta (near the long sign board which welcomes folks to Dubrovnik) above the old town and goes all the way up to the Fort Imperial.
The earlier parts of the serpentine was pleasant to walk, under the cooling covers of trees, until when we encountered a most unlikely location for a block panel featuring two men, one seemingly giving the other an order. Some kind of art installation? From this point on, we were under the exposure of the sun, trudging up terrain filled with rocks and pebbles. I was glad I had put on a proper pair of walking shoes while F regretted his choice of sandals, even if they were the sporty kind.
At the next serpentine turn, another panel was found. One of a man carrying a large cross. As we looked up, there were more panels at each of the zig-zagging turn. It was then things started to click. We were greeted by the Stations of the Cross, depicting Christ carrying the cross to His crucifixion. The very first panel was that of His condemnation, with the series culminating to the final panel of Him being laid in a tomb.
The settings in which these panels were back-dropped against was seriously magnificent. While the sun was not our best friend at this time, it did shine to give us most spectacular views that stretch from Dubrovnik to the Elaphite Islands. Just, wow. We were getting quite a compensation for our effort, every single scorching step of it.
Atop, we found the military stronghold of Fort Imperial, completed in the 1812 by Napoleon’s occupying soldiers. At some point in the 80’s it served as a discotheque (oh yeah) before being used as a military base again during the war in the 90’s against Serbia. Today, while not all wings of the fort are accessible, it houses the Museum of Croatian War of Independence that’s currently running the exhibition of “Dubrovnik in Homeland War”, as well as a TV tower which looks like a rocket, ready to be fired!
Just beyond the cable car station stands a 20-meter high procession cross and altar. A gift from the Archdiocese of Brac, an island located in between Split and Hvar, it was made from the luminous white stone that was quarried locally. (Fun fact: the limestone for the White House also came from Brac) It was damaged by shelling during the war in 1991, but later reconstructed, and now standing majestically, overlooking Dubrovnik from the mountain.
We took our lunch break up here, making sandwiches with supplies that we’ve picked up from a local supermarket, complemented with a couple of fresh tomatoes from the garden of the house we were staying in. There is also a restaurant up here which, according to other fellow guests in the house, serves pretty good food.
Eventually we made our way back down, re-experiencing the beautiful scenery pretty throughout the downhill hike, and marvelled at the level of sea traffic surrounding Dubrovnik and its neighbouring islands. Time for a nap so we could catch up with some sleep, before heading down the beach for a swim in one of the clearest coastal waters by a major city that we’ve ever seen.
Hiking up Mount Srd: full Flickr photoset (including all 14 panels of Stations of the Cross)
Wow view indeed and definitely worth the hike ;)
The Europeans have great ideas on how to encourage people to appreciate the natural beauty a bit more; this is one of them ;)
Great post! I recently took the cable car up to Mount Srdj only to notice from above that I could’ve hiked up. Looks like a great adventure. If you have a moment i’d love to get your opinion on my travel blog. I just put up a post all about my favorite things to do in Dubrovnik :)
Keep on taking the road less travelled :)
Elle
Hi Elle – what a lovely blog you have, and hope you’re enjoying your adventure around the globe.
I wish I had had time to go kayaking while in Dubrovnik, but after a few very active days in Montenegro before hand, plus the hike, we were pretty much beat and out of time. Ah, the story of travel, so much to do and see, so little time and budget… ;)
Hello! Great hike!
Do you remember where the hike start and which road we have to take ?
Than you !!
Hi Fred – the serpentine footpath starts from Jadranska Cesta (near a long sign board which welcomes folks to Dubrovnik) above the old town and goes all the way up to the Fort Imperial. Have a look at this map: https://www.google.fr/maps/@42.6478825,18.108308,17z
I loved your post! We will head up tomorrow! :)
Hope you had a great visit :)
[…] If you prefer the cheap option, there is also the possibility to go up Mount Srd hiking. I read a very nice review from this hike, but at this time of the year it was too hot to spend 1 and a half hour hiking uphill. Read this blog post about it: Mount Srd Hike […]
Hi! Nice post. We ran that trail up just this past June.
PS. You may want to correct that Fort Imperial was finished in 1812. In 1912 Napoleon was long gone.
Thanks for spotting the error! Bad typo… now corrected :)
[…] om de héle berg eens op te klimmen. Tijd om daar verandering in te brengen. De berg ‘Srd‘ opklimmen duurt ongeveer een uurtje. Geen duizend trappen, wel een redelijk steil […]
Me and my partner are travelling to Dubrovnik on 13 July and whilst we are there we are hoping to walk to the top of Mount Srd. What sort of path is it up to the top and would sturdy walking shoes be advisable or would something a bit less substantial be okay?
I have no idea what it is like now, but back when we trekked the path, it could get rugged in places. Good sturdy shoes would be good, otherwise something like shoes for trail running? Sandals are not really advisable although it could be managed.
Trail is rough, better to have sturdy shoes, plenty of rocks. Very little shade after the first section of the trail.
Tram ride now 90/170 kuna (Sept 2019). We hiked it up, cable carred it down.
Great views!
[…] Srd Mountain […]