CIRCUIT AROUND KORITA – A NEW TOURIST ATTRACTION

Kučka krajina is one of my favorite areas in Montenegro. We discovered it years ago, when local shepherds were the only inhabitants of the mountain pastures of Kučka Korita and when there were no signposts and marks at all.

Whenever we wanted to show the wild beauties of Montenegro to our foreign guests, we made the tour that is now called „Circuit around Korita” or Panoramic Road No. 4, according to the project of the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism that started two years ago. And as we were informed that the official promotion of the circuit will take place soon, we decided to satisfy our curiosity and assure ourselves of the changes, which should bring this region closer to tourism and foster its economic development.

The Circuit around Korita, only 65 km long, contains a two-hour hiking trail along the old patrol path that leads to “Grlo Sokolovo” (see also: The patrol path to Grlo Sokolovo) or Falcon’s Throat, a panorama point that offers a breathtaking view of the Cijevna Canyon and the Albanian Prokletije mountains, also called Albanian Alps.

Other highlights are the Medun Fortress and the Marko Miljanov Museum – and all this situated against a magnificent backdrop of high mountains, authentic villages, picturesque forests and pastures. Good for a fascinating experience!

We made the tour on a sunny day early in November, while the golden autumn colors of the beech forests illuminated the picturesque winding road (photo 1). The road (recently reconstructed) was excellent until the junction to Bukumirsko Lake. Signposts had been put everywhere and the first panorama point was equipped with benches, a map of the circuit and appropriate information boards about the highlights and the road (with a warning for large campervans not to proceed further, as there are narrow stretches and many bends). The Orljevo monument and the bust of Novak Milošev, one of the greatest Montenegrin heroes, were impressive (photo 2).

We continued through Medun – a visit of the fortress and the museum is certainly recommended – and finally arrived at Kučka Korita (see also Revisiting Kučka Korita). How nice to see the new signposts and marks for the hiking trail! A great job indeed, as this is one of the most impressive “easy” hiking routes in the central part of Montenegro!

Approaching “Grlo Sokolovo” (photo 3), we enjoyed the colors of the green pastures, yellow golden trees and grey-white karst rocks, which hardly differed from the dry walls that could be seen everywhere.

The panorama point itself (1370 m) was a great surprise (photo 4). Imagine: instead of the old dilapidated military post, a beautiful terrace was built with comfortable benches, information boards and a picture/map that showed the names and altitudes of the mountains in Albania. Everything was clean and tidy, obviously prepared for the official promotion!

The trail continued through the beech forests (photo 5), uphill, and finally downhill again, with a fantastic view of the weird rocky landscape of Kučka Korita (photo 6).

After a cup of coffee in a small pub at the beginning of the trail, we continued the circuit along the Cijevna Canyon, enjoying, once more, the autumn colors along the road (photo 7).

This time we decided to make the recommended detour of 3 km to the village of Rašovići. The monument of the Battle of Fundina – the place where 5,000 Montenegrin soldiers defeated an army of 20,000 Ottomans in 1876 – offered a magnificent view of Podgorica and Skadar Lake. And guess what? We found a group of old and primitive graves between the monument and the village (photo 8) – I think it would be interesting for foreign tourists to learn something about the history of these graves!

The information board at the beginning of the circuit told us that you can spend 7-8 hours to see all the beauties of this tour – and it is true! I would recommend the trip to all foreign tourists and expats: it is not far from Podgorica and offers you many different natural and cultural experiences. But if you are Montenegrin and you have never visited this area: don’t miss it, it’s just wonderful!

P.S. When you visit the Marko Miljanov Museum, don’t forget to ask for the new audio guide, which will enable you to learn a lot about the area. It is also available in English and it is free of charge.