Ladder of Cattaro

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Short stop in Kotor traveling from Croatia to Albania. Short blog entry, too. Did the same trip in 2012 but in reverse. This time I had planned to ascend the Ladder of Kotor (Cattaro is the Italian name, the trail is an old route to Cetinje before roads connected Kotor) all the way to Lovcen National Park. But after a couple of Germans I met at the hostel thoroughly knackered themselves hiking to Lovcen the day before, I was dissuaded and only climbed to the trail junction a couple of hundred meters above the fortress. Great views the entire way.

$US ≈ €0.85

Accommodation and food There are way more hostels now than back in 2021. Guesthouse STEP was €9/night including taxes in a 6 person AC dorm. Place is fairly new, super clean, decent kitchen, and has good WiFi. Pronto Pizza in Old Town serves huge €2.50 slices but my other meals I cooked up some fresh tuna steaks and veggies that I bought in the public market just by the main gate. A few good supermarkets in town including a health food store next to the hostel but all are closed on Sundays.

Transport Local buses run along the coast to villages such as Perast but long distance buses leave from the station south of Old Town, a 15-20 minute walk from the hostel. Old Town Travel direct bus to Shkodër (€15)/Tiranë leaves daily at 08:50, stops in Bar and Podgorica before the uneventful border crossing, and arrives ~12:15 in the center of Shkodër. There's a €2 terminal tax in addition to a €2 charge to put a bag in the hold.

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Photos

Kotor
Old Town

Fortress Walls and Ladder of Cattaro
Trail zig zags up the steep slope left of the walls. Then up high cuts left towards Lovcen NP. The hostel is the red roofed building in the foreground next to the public beach.