Hulking Mt Orjen (1893m) separates Herceg Novi from Hercegovina and is higher than the more famous Mt Lovćen, the ‘black mountain’ itself. Patches of evergreen maple and white oak can be found amongst the rugged limestone karst on the lower slopes, giving way to firs and beeches above the winter snowline.
It’s a great landscape for hiking and mountain biking, but you’ll need to be well stocked with water as any rain that falls here quickly disappears into the porous karst. For six months of the year there is snow on the mountain and even on a scorching summer’s day you should be prepared for a storm.
A hiking trail commences near the bus station at Herceg Novi (look for the red and white painted markings); heading towards Kotor take the first road to the left, followed quickly by a right turn. This is the start of the mammoth Coastal Mountain Traversal hiking path, which leads all the way to the shores of Lake Skadar.
Planinarski Klub Subra , the local mountaineering club, operates two huts on the mountain and can arrange guides.
