Kotor Cable Car and Churches, Montenegro

For some magnificent views, take the Kotor-Lovćen Cable Car to the top of Lovćen Mountain which is also a national park. The 11 minute ride offers spectacular views of the mountains, Kotor Bay and beyond as you climb 4265 feet (1300 meters) up the mountain.

There are many activities at the top including hiking, an alpine coaster, bike rentals and tours, a playground and dining. There’s even a 5-star restaurant.

There is a shuttle near Old Town Kotor that will quickly whisk you to Dub, the cable car station. Round trip tickets for the shuttle and cable car can be purchased at the shuttle station and run about €32 total per person. Click here for additional information.

After enjoying the views from the mountain, we returned to Kotor and visited some churches. One was St. Nicholas Church. This relatively new Serbian Orthodox church was built on the site of an earlier church that was destroyed by a fire on Christmas Eve in 1896. Construction on the new church began in 1902 and was completed in 1909.

Here, we were serenaded by two priests. The acoustics were amazing.

The Church of St. Luke was also on our agenda, however, it was always locked whenever we stopped by.

Built in 1195, this is one of the oldest churches in Kotor. Interestingly, it is the only building in Kotor that wasn’t damaged in the 1979 earthquake. Click here for additional historical information.

St. Tryphone Cathedral is probably the most famous of the churches in medieval Kotor. Originally built in 1166, the cathedral has suffered much damage from earthquakes and fire throughout the ages, but has been repaired multiple times. Today, it is an interesting place to visit and with its stunning architecture and large collection of religious relics.

All in all, we enjoyed our time in Kotor, but the crowds, as shown in the photo above, were intense. We had an interesting chat with a local tour guide on the cable car ride back down the mountain who confirmed what we had heard from the locals about the cruise ship crowds. They’re fed up with them and with the local government for not initiating limitations.

One of our favorite TV shows is Somebody Feel Phil hosted by Phil Rosenthal. In one particular episode he referred to cruise ships as hit and run tourism. Oh my, that certainly describes Kotor. Keep this in mind if you plan to visit.

As always, I would love to hear from you, so feel free to leave a comment.

Wishing you grand adventures,

Tricia