Montenegro signpost with palm trees

Visit National park Lovcen

You have chosen Montenegro as your next destination but you still haven’t planned what to visit? If you have a day or two extra, make sure to include this nature’s gem in your tour.

The national park Lovcen covers the central and the highest part of the mountain Lovcen and with total area of 62.2 square kilometres. Established in 1952, Lovcen is also full of the rich historical, cultural and architectural heritage protected by the national park. The area has numerous elements of national construction such as the old houses and village guvna. The cottages in katuns, summer settlements of cattle breeders are also typical for this part of Montenegro.

The entrance fee for the national park is 2€ (children 0-7 years – free).

The visitors of the park have the Information Centre at their disposal. The centre has a guide service which is available to organised groups as well as to the tourists. The tourists can also get guide maps with marked walking and hiking trails and various advertising materials about the park.

What to do at National park Lovcen?

A visit to Njegos Mausoleum:

The biggest and most important monument of Lovcen national park is Petar Petrovic Njegos (famous poet and philosopher) Mausoleum. The magnificent mausoleum is situated at the top of its second-highest peak, Jezerski Vrh (1657 m). Getting there takes a bit of a hard work because you need to climb 461 steps up to the entry where two granite giants guard the tomb of Montenegro’s greatest writer. Don’t miss visiting this attraction since the view from the mausoleum is breathtaking and it gives you the best panoramic view of Montenegro.

NOTE:

  • The entrance fee to the mausoleum costs 3€ (2.5€ for children).
  • If you forgot to stock up on food, you can find a restaurant at the bottom of the mausoleum stairs.

The mausoleum of Njegos located on the top of the Lovcen Mountain, Montenegro.

Hiking: Hikers and mountain climbers can enjoy and explore of well-marked trails in the national park Lovcen. Here are some of the trails you can choose:

  • Palac – Trestenik – Sancevi – Kolozun – Vjetreni Mlin – Dolovi – Palac – length: 12,7 km
  • Ivanova korita – Jezero – Bukovica – length: 12 km
  • Ivanova korita – Majstori – length:  4,5 km.

NOTE: It is possible to book a professional guide for organised groups.

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Adventure park:

The adventure park is an outdoor park where participants have to follow a trail located in the trees 1.5 m to 15 meters above the ground. The park is situated at Ivanova Korita, in the proximity of the bungalow of the park. It has 10 trails, of which 3 are new and they give the opportunity for sport and extreme adrenaline activities.

  • Each trail has around 15 different ‘games’ which are positioned on different heights, and they are specially adjusted, depending on your age (5-70 years).
  • Each user of the park gets the necessary equipment (belt, helmet, gloves), and there is a professionally trained team of instructors that will explain the manner of use and application of all the games.

Sport manifestations:  If you find yourself visiting the park through the months listed down, make sure to check out these manifestations:

  • April and September meetings of the Montenegrins
  • Speed hill car race Lovcen (13th of July – National Day of Montenegro)

wooden lodge in "Biogradska Gora" National Park, Montenegro

How to get to National park Lovcen?

The national park is situated on the southwest of Montenegro, in the hinterland of Kotor province. It is by most part accessible by car, but the safest way to get there is by taking Lovćenska road from the town of Cetinje.  At the end of the road you will reach the entrance where you can purchase tickets for the National park Lovcen (3€).

By car:  

  • If you are driving from the direction of Ivanova korita, take the route over the Krstac pass, on the Kotor-Njegusi-Cetinje road
  • From Cetinje turn to Lovcenska road which will directly take you to the national park

NOTE: be aware that the road up to the Mausoleum is challenging with quite a lot of hairpin turns, so if you are not experienced driver you might want to consider taking a taxi to the top!  Also you should know there is limited parking available below the Mausoleum.

By bus: There are no direct bus lines to the national park, only to Cetinje (located in the small valley under the Lovcen mountain) so once you arrive at the bus station in Cetinje you’ll find a couple of taxi drivers which are more than willing to drive you to the top and wait for you – for about 20€.

You can travel by bus to Cetinje from many cities in Montenegro, here some of the most popular routes:

  • From the capital of Montenegro,Podgorica to Cetinje – the bus runs around 9 times a day and the ticket costs around 3€
  • Budva – Cetinje: also for this route the ticket price is around 3€
  • Ulcinj -Cetinje; the drive from Ulcinj lasts approximately 2 hrs and 30 min, and the bus runs 3 to 5 times a day (depending on the season)
  • Kotor – Cetinje: the buses from Kotor run up to 5 times a day and the price of the ticket is around 5€.

Accommodation

You can choose between two hotels located in the National park Lovcen:

  • Hotel Ivanov Konak (4*) – free parking and Wi-Fi; all rooms include  balcony, minibar, and a private bathroom with a shower.
  • Hotel Monte Rosa (4*) – free parking Wi-Fi; offers the service of renting bicycles and cars

Camping: If you prefer sleeping in nature, you can camp in the National park Lovcen, but you will need to pay a fee of 10€ (space for tents or campers).

Other information

If you need more information about the National park Lovcen, feel free to contact the administration of the park via e-mail or phone:

  8Comments

  1. Max   •  

    Hi,

    First of all, thank you for the well-written guide above.
    Could you please specify how long would it take to hike from Cetinje to the summit and back? Would love to know if I can make it on a day trip from Podgorica.

    • GetByBus Team   •  

      Hi Max,

      hiking from Cetinje to Lovcen (Where the Mausoleum is) is about 20 km each direction with quite an elevation, so i would say a bit much for a one day trip.

      Kindest regards,

      GetByBus Team

      • Max   •  

        Thanks a lot for getting back to me guys, your help is greatly appreciated.

  2. Asia   •  

    Hi! Is Kotor serpentine open during winter months? And if it is open, is there a lot of snow? 😉

    • Melani Grubić Mikulić   •     Author

      Dear Asia,

      We don’t have that kind of information unfortunately, but You can try to contact Tourist Board Kotor, maybe they can help You.

      Best regards!

    • pawel n   •  

      hi there,
      could you tell me if someone answer your question about doing hike during winteR?

  3. Phil   •  

    I am visiting at end September staying in budva, is theroad suitable to drive up with a motorbike/scooter?

    Is the park open in September?

    Are there brown bears/wolf’s?

    Is the park safe from attacks?

    Open times?

    Thanks

    • Melani   •     Author

      Dear Phil,

      I suggest to contact directly the customer service of National park Lovcen via following e-mail address: nplovcen@nparkovi.me

      Best regards,
      Melani GBB Team

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