Bobotov Kuk

About this place

Bobotov Kuk is the highest peak of the Durmitor range in northern Montenegro, at 2,523 metres. It was long thought to be the country's highest point until new surveys showed three higher peaks on the Albanian border. From the top you can see most Montenegrin mountains, Lovćen above the Adriatic, and mountains in Serbia and Bosnia. The cartographer Oscar Baumann made the first recorded ascent in 1883. A German geographer wrote on the area in 1895, the Serbian botanist Josif Pančić studied its rare plants and Jovan Cvijić its karst. The first organised climbing group came from Zagreb in 1926. The summit rises as a rock pyramid of about 200 metres above a wide stony basin where snow can last all summer. Its western face, with Bezimeni Vrh and Djevojka, forms a natural amphitheatre nearly 2 km wide above the Škrka valley and its lakes. To the south lies the small Zeleni Vir lake. The last part of the climb involves scrambling with your hands. The peak is 7.8 km in a straight line south-west of Žabljak. Sources put the round trip from Žabljak at about ten hours on a marked route, strenuous and suited only to fit hikers. Start at dawn and watch the weather, as storms can build quickly. Bring water, food and warm clothes, and tell someone your plan. Do not go in snow without experience.