Montenegro Hotels

Montenegro

Tourism in Montenegro

Tourism in Montenegro is one of the main contributors to Montenegrin economy. The location of this small Mediterranean country, architectural and cultural heritage, diversity of landscapes and climates and relatively well preserved nature makes Montenegro suitable for tourism.

In the year 2005, approximately 820,000 tourists visited Montenegro, of which some 272,000 were from abroad. This represents nearly a 17% increase over the prior year, and Montenegro is considered one of the the fastest-growing tourist destinations in recent years.[citation needed]

Montenegro (Montenegrin/Serbian: Црна Гора, Crna Gora (pronounced [ˈt͡sr̩naː ˈɡɔra], listen (help·info)), Albanian: Mali i Zi ([ˈmali i ˈzi])) is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south and borders Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast, Albania to the southeast. Its capital and largest city is Podgorica, while Cetinje is designated as the Prijestonica (meaning the old royal capital or former seat of the throne).

Coastal region

This region is of main interest to tourists. The Montenegrin Adriatic coast is 295 km long, with 72 km of beaches, and with many well-preserved ancient old towns. The main attractions are:

• Old town of Kotor

  listed with UNESCO world heritage sites.

• Boka Kotorska

  (Bay of Kotor, some say most beautiful bay in Europe, with ancient small town of Perast and its islets.

• Old town of Budva

  very well preserved old town.

• Sveti Stefan

  a small hamlet on an island turned into a luxury hotel.

Besides these, every other coastal town, especially south of Budva, is very popular among tourists, primarily because of sandy beaches and vibrant nightlife.

Central region

Although it is most densely populated area of Montenegro, it has fewer tourist attractions. Notable are:

• Ostrog monastery

  a famous pilgrimage site,

• Duklja (Doclea)

  Archeological remains from Roman times outside Podgorica.

• Skadar lake

  a popular wildlife reserve.

• Cetinje

  historical capital of Montenegro.

• Mount Lovcen

  national park and Petar II Petrović-Njegoš's Mausoleum afford breathtaking views of the surrounding country.

Northern region

Peaks of DurmitorNorthern region is centre of Montenegrin mountain tourism. It has ski resorts, and is popular for its untouched nature. Destinations in the north are:

• Zabljak

  on mountain Durmitor, the most popular mountain tourism destination in Montenegro.

• Kolasin

  also popular destination, near national park Biogradska Gora, mountain Bjelasica and ski-resort Bjelasica

• Tara River Gorge

  second-deepest canyon in the world. Tara river is a popular rafting destination.

• Biogradska Gora with Biogradsko Lake

  a national park and untouched virgin forest.

The entire area of Durmitor mountain and Tara river canyon is protected as a national park, and listed with UNESCO world heritage sites.
Text and photos partialy from Wikipedia