Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Lovćen National Park
Lovćen National Park's 6220-hectare offering is cultural as well as natural, encompassing
the old Montenegrin heartland and the impressive mausoleum of the national hero, Njegoš.
Like many of Montenegro's mountains, Lovćen is karstic in nature with craggy grey-white
outcrops, sparse vegetation and, beneath, caves. Water disappears into the rock and
bubbles up elsewhere to form springs.
Heading up Mt Lovćen (1749m), the lower slopes are covered in forests of black beech.
Once these deciduous trees lose their leaves and their distinctive black trunks are bared,
you'll understand why the Venetians named it the 'black mountain'. Higher up, the beech
is joined by an endemic pine called munika. Healing and sweet-smelling herbs poke out
from the rocky slopes, including sage, rosemary, balm, mint, chamomile and St John's
wort.
Cetinje, Montenegro's historic capital, is a great place to base yourself while tackling
the park's hiking and mountain-biking trails, although Kotor and Budva are also nearby.
Over half of Montenegro is more than 1000m above sea level and 15% is higher than 1500m.
