Visiting the villages of Gluhi Do and Limljani has been on my bucket list for a long time. These villages are situated in the region of Crmnica, which is considered to be one of the most fertile regions of Montenegro, in particular for wine production.
Crmnica was one of four Montenegrin ‘nahije’ (sub-districts) and consisted of 7 tribes. The region has been very important throughout history, as many famous Montenegrins were born here.
Today, Crmnica has 22 villages. So why Gluhi Do, why Limljani? Gluhi Do is hardly ever mentioned by internet media, but its name, in translation ‘Deaf Valley’, made me curious. Limljani is particularly famous for its history of ‘railway stations’ and the church of St. Thomas (Sv. Tome) that was miraculously moved by a landslide … but remained intact.
We planned to make a round trip, not knowing what we were going to find. And what we discovered greatly exceeded our expectations!
The Route
The starting point for this tour is Virpazar (blue line on the map below), but the approach from the coast is possible from the old road Petrovac – Virpazar (red line).
From Virpazar, follow the road towards the coast, pass the junction to the Sozina tunnel uphill and turn left after two sharp hairpins (at 11.5 km). The narrow asphalt road leads you downhill along the slopes of Mount Stepen (568 m). Finally you arrive in the hamlet of Srednja Mahala, where you cross the highway above the tunnel.
Turn left at the first junction, drive along the railway and then turn right under the railway to the center of Limljani (‘Sredina sela’) Don’t forget to visit the St. Thomas’s Church (red cross on the map) on the left side of the road.
Continue through the village and turn left when you join Panoramic Road „Between Two Magical Shores“, which leads you back to Virpazar. Take care: on this part of the road there are several potholes, fallen rocks and landslides.
The total distance of this circuit is 42 km. The roads are paved but narrow and, at some stretches, in a rather bad condition.
Our trip
Although it is also possible to reach Gluhi Do from the valley (which is much less interesting), we drove uphill following the road to Petrovac for 11.5 km. Then we turned left at the signpost of Gluhi Do. The narrow road led us through romantic dense forests, alternated with colorful meadows and rough karst rocks. We encountered some dilapidated stone houses and ruined vaulted wine cellars, but in the hamlet of Jasen we saw several renovated houses. No wonder, as the view of Crmničko Polje and Skadar Lake was fantastic!
Gluhi Do has around 160 inhabitants and consists of several hamlets. People who have seen works of the famous Montenegrin painter Nikola Gvozdenović-Gvozdo can imagine how the scenery looks like in this area. Gvozdenović often paints goats, old shepherds, roosters, stone houses and churches, like the church of the Holy Mary and the beautiful church of St. Michael the Archangel that dates back to the 15th century (see photo).
We approached the new highway to the coast and we could see the pay toll stations for the Sozina tunnel from above. A narrow road led us over the tunnel to the other side, to the village of Limljani.
Passing under the railroad we entered the village that has a population of 154. Actually, it does not look like a „real“ village, as most houses are quite remote from one another. The surroundings are green and fertile, vineyards are everywhere.
In the center (‘Sredina sela’) we found the St. John’s Church with a big graveyard and further beside the road was the miraculous St. Thomas’s Church. It is unbelievable that this church was moved by a landslide and that is is still standing on a rock.
Several farmers were collecting hay and working on the land – but we continued our trip on a narrow road, through green Mediterranean vegetation and in between high dry stone walls until we arrived at the Panoramic Road No. 3 ‘Between Two Magical Shores’.
Returning to Virpazar, we followed this road, which appeared to be, first of all, an adventurous road with potholes and fallen rocks… and magnificent views of the valley.
But let me tell you two interesting stories about the village of
Limljani
Can you imagine that Limljani entered the Guinness world record book as the village with the biggest number of railway stations in the world?
At the initiative of king Nikola, regular railway transportation was established between Bar and Virpazar in November 1908. The train developed a speed of 25 km/h and the trip lasted 2-3 hours. At that time, the long-shaped village of Limljani had even 4 train stations! The last train ran in 1959, but King Nikola’s train carriage called „Ćiro“is still exhibited at the railway station of Bar with two steam locomotives and two passenger cars, one of which served as a saloon car for the royal family.
Last year it was announced that the old train would be prepared for a unique tourist offer – to transport tourists through Crmnica (Virpazar-Limljani-Virpazar). This excursion called ‘By the trail of old Ćiro’, was announced by the Tourism Organization of Bar. It would also enable tourists to experience a wine degustation in five wineries in the area of Limljani. Let’s hope that this tour will be organized in the nearest future!
The story about the St. Thomas’s Church (Sv Tome) is even more amazing. The church probably dates back to the 15th-16th century and was built out of very solid material. The story goes that in 1896, after torrential rains, the church „sailed off“ from its original place of construction by a landslide that moved the building for more than 100 meters downhill. The religious building rotated 45 degrees and stopped on the edge of an abyss with a different orientation: southeast-northwest. Although all surrounding houses were destroyed, the church hardly suffered any damage.
Later on, the church was damaged by the earthquake of 1979, but survived once more. Isn’t that a miracle?
Montenegro is a country full of stories and legends, full of hidden places that deserve to be discovered. Although I have been living here for decades, I never stop discovering new secrets and it is a pleasure for me to share them with others!
Wonderful article. My wife and I will plan to follow your route.