Montenegro/Albania: Day 5

Kotor>Žabljak

We started the day by driving an hour south to Budva, another coastal town but also blessed with big beaches and a modern city.

We only had an hour to sightsee so stuck with the miniature Old Town which fills the little peninsula sticking out like a lobster’s claw. Mostly dating from Venetian times it’s actually one of the oldest settlements, ~2,500 years old. It’s a tangle of narrow streets, the tiniest of shops, and obligatory cafes. At one end, by the imposing citadel, are 3 small churches plus the ruins of another 4-5th century one, creating a small haven of tranquility from the tourists.

When our hour was up we were melting from the hot sun and happy to return to our air-conditioned minivan. We wound our way up the steep coastal mountains (600m) to venture inland 1.5 hours to our lunch stop, then another 45 minutes to Ostrog Monastery, one of the most spiritually significant sites in Montenegro.

Built directly into a sheer, vertical cliffside 900 meters above the Zeta Valley, this 17th-century Serbian Orthodox monastery serves as a major pilgrimage hub. It attracts over one million visitors annually—drawn by its stunning architecture, sweeping views, and reputation for divine miracles.

We only visited the Upper Monastery, an iconic white structure seamlessly embedded into the mountain rockface, visible from miles away. Founded by St. Basil of Ostrog, it features two small cave churches decorated with 17th-century frescoes. The Church of the Holy Cross holds the preserved relics of St. Basil, who is widely venerated as a protector and healer. (Thanks Google AI)

*St Basil’s Monastery. In high season the line can be 3-4 hours long to enter, we were fortunate and walked right in*

No photography was allowed inside as it’s a holy place but we went inside the white building above, climbed a flight of stairs to wait our turn to duck under a low entrance carved into the rock to enter the lower cave chapel: an outer & inner dim, fresco-lined chamber which held the relics of St Basil. An Orthodox priest was blessing people and allowing them to kiss the frame of the relic box (I refrained). We then climbed more flights of stairs to the higher cave up by the white cross painted on the rock which was St Basil’s private cave/chapel.

*Modern mosaics on the landing outside the upper cave (so we could photograph them). I wish I could find pics of the inside as the frescoes were so bright*

*On the right side of the balcony from his chapel is where St Basil died. A grapevine grew out of the solid rock at the site which is now considered sacred too*

*On way out we noticed people lying on the ground and piles of blankets on the 2nd floor. These are for pilgrims sleeping out overnight waiting for a miracle cure for whatever ails them….*

Two and a half more hours of driving through farmland, up&down a gorge and into the Durmitor Mountains – my constitution was getting well tested when we finally leveled out in Žabljak, our stop for the night.

*Very few scenery pics as van windows so heavily tinted my phone kept asking me to clean the camera lens!*

It’s a chilly 13°C on this side of Montenegro, a big difference from Budva where we were sweating in the shade at 10am! We’re in a nice alpine hotel where every room is like a suite! We had a surprise birthday celebration for Martin, who is 83 today.