After seeing many via ferrata routes in Slovenia and Italy, the mountain hiker, alpinist and mountain rescuer Budimir Backovic from Niksic decided to enrich the Montenegrin tourist offer.
He explains that they are secured hiking trails which, thanks to the assistance of cables and metal gaps, overcome inaccessible routes. He has decided to implement them in Kotor and Durmitor because they are "two epicenters of the sea and mountain tourism".
"There are more and more cruisers coming to Kotor and more and more different individuals or small groups of tourists, younger and older, who are staying in Kotor for one to three days. You can try this activity one day in a 2-hour time interval, leaving you plenty of time to explore the old town of Kotor and other activities that this city offers you. And as far as Zabljak is concerned, it has long been the 'main target' of various nature lovers from all over the world and for the proper reason, many visitors compare this wonderful massive with the Alps."
They claim it is safe (Photo: Private archive)
Ferrata is suitable not only for professional alpinists but also for people of average physical fitness who are not active in hiking and sports.
"Via ferrata Durmitor is located on the rock Uvita greda, which is ten minutes away from Sedlo, in the heart of the National Park Durmitor. The start of the Ferrata is 2000 meters above sea level and ends at 2198. From Uvita greda you can see a large number of mountain peaks of Durmitor as well as the mountains Vojnik, Skocidjevojka ... There is also a great possibility that we will see some of the wild animals known to the National Park, such as chamois, which are located mostly in these areas. The difficulty of this via ferrata is a B/C category. The height difference is 200 and the length is 400 meters. The duration of the climb is up to two hours and for the downhill about 30 minutes. It represents a secured steel road in the rock, meaning that rocks and mountainous sections that were previously unattainable are accessible with this system. It consists of metal gaps set at a certain distance and which all tourists can safely navigate and along which there is a steel wire laid on which each participant is hooked up with two safety carriers located on its or its belt, for safety."
Climb on Uvita greda (Photo: Private archive)
He points out that each participant passes the section with the accompanying instructors, who are also mountain rescuers, and is trained at the very beginning in that kind of free climb. He emphasizes that they have certificates of security and correctness.
"Every participant before the start of the climb is referred to what the via ferrata is, how it is used and how to behave during the climb. It is necessary for the participants to bring trekking shoes, which are suitable for climbing and training. They are secured with alpinist equipment, lanes and ropes, and before climbing they get complete alpinist and protective equipment. "
From the climb (Photo: Private archive)
He adds that he was initially fearful of looking at the rock, but that during the climb it was an unforgettable experience. Backovic adds that the visit is better in Kotor to climb throughout the whole year, but that the announcements and interests for Durmitor are also high.
Text by Obrad Pjesivac, on July 7th, 2019, read more at Vijesti
