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| Hiking | 7.10 Miles |
2,115 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.10 Miles | 3 Hrs 55 Mns | | 2.08 mph |
| 2,115 ft AEG | 30 Mns Break | 8 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | Described as an ancient trade route built by the Romans or a military road built by the Austrians ,I asked a local where did the ladder go ,to which he replied “Istanbul”, I suppose you could get there this way but I turned around before that. Setting is stunning overlooking the town of Kotor and Boka Bay with the Dinaric Alps on both sides of the fjord. Think of it as the warmer version of Norway or New Zealand.I chose to start this by entering the old town via the sea gate ,finding my way through the maze of streets to the fortress entrance ,paid the fee of 3 euros, and started ascending the 1350 or so steps of San Giovanni fortress, a building project that began in the 9 th century. Not very far up you start seeing nice views of the town and the bay, and a third of the way up is the Church of our Lady of Remedy which treated among others plague victims. I suppose the climb up to here had already thinned out those that were incurable. Next to the irregular stone steps is an adjacent steep path with loose rock which on the frequent meetings of others going up or down served as the yield lane when someone wanted to pass or for someone descending.After about 30 minutes was able to reach the top of the fortress where the Montenegrin flag flies. Had carried my camelback with 2.5 liters as I had read there was no shade and no water but there were a few enterprising locals who carried water up to some of the viewing platforms,to sell for a fee. In order to hike the ladder,the switchback path connecting Kotor and Cejtine, I needed to get to it, either find a window in the fortress to exit through or return all the way back down and out of the old town to a waterway a short ways north of the seagate. I descended about 300 feet looking over the walls ,where possible , looking for a route to the ladder switchbacks, I finally spotted a few people above me that were outside the fortress, so back up but still not seeing any obvious window to step through.Back at the top I asked a couple of young Brits that had ascended via the ladder
and they gave me enough hints to locate the window.After finding and crawling through the window the connecting path wasn’t as steep of a descent as I anticipated. I headed for the small abandoned church that sits next to the ladder and the ruins of the village of Spiljari. The church as it turns out was the abandoned chapel of St. Ivan , I decided to enter and the pumpkin was startled as was I , yes there was a donkey “guarding “ the entrance. After stopping to take pictures of the chapel and ruins I continued upward on the switchbacks in a short distance came across a small house advertising goat cheese,ham, scotch,rakia also noted a couple of porta potties I presumed for customers, a nice elderly woman tending a fire ,I presume the owner , gave me a helpful point toward the path. Actually there is no difficulty staying on this path as they are blazed red and white and the turns were obvious. There were so many switchbacks that you never feel the grade is that steep. Pomegranate trees abound but no fruit on the lower limbs , I suppose either the free range donkeys or mountain goats that roamed the area took care of them.After reaching near the end of the switchbacks there was a donkey or goat path that I took to the ridgeline that put me a little below Krstac Pass.Enjoyed the views here and decided to return.On the the way down, skipped returning through the fortress and continued on the switchbacks to town. I did return to the old town to visit the cat museum and the arsenal square. |
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