1350 steps or 1200 meters to the top.
Hmmmmm.....sounds like a great idea.
BUT......make sure you go to the washroom before you start.....and bring water.
The view of the wall from the main piazza in Kotor's Old Town.
The switch backs make it quite deceiving as to how high it is.
Again....if your knees are ok....go for it. You can always turn back.
The Tourist Information lady was very helpful. She let us know that in the off season (now) it is free to climb.
I must say, there is always, in all our travels, someone who is trying to scam tourist. A man was there with his little sign asking for a payment of 8 euros, each. Deb paid and I started to ask him why and told him what the TI lady said, and he abruptly waved us on. He did manage to get 5 euros from Deb...but that was it.
However, he got QUITE an earful from the female hikers coming up behind us. They didn't pay one cent. Standing up to scammers, if it is safe, or even asking questions, I will do. I took his photo which resulted in him waving us on.. Having said that, be safe. There were people around so I felt I needed to say something.
Walking to the very back of the Old Town, you will see the path getting quite steep, even before you get to the steps.
And we are off.............
Views of the incredible colours of the Old Town.
On the way up, people allowed us the right of way on the steps. Coming down, we moved to the stones to allow fellow climbers the stairs.
The walls were built over a long period of time. Between the 9th and 19th Century.
Our Lady of the Health Church. Built around the 14th Century. When the plague of 1435 killed most of the town's people and their religious leaders, the church was erected to ensure God's protection to keep the rest of the town and it's people safe.
The Bell Tower was an addition in the 18th Century.
Our goal was to climb to the church, about 1/3 of the way up.
Mistakenly enough we thought we were more than half way...we could see the top. We kept going.
The back and forth (switch backs) of the steps.
Taking a break at the Castle of St. John.
Three major earthquakes later have left this castle in ruins.
We are 260 meters above sea level at this point.
This kitty was scaring Deb as it walked along the wall, with quite a drop on the other side.
Views of the Port and Kotor city.
We saw yachts from the US in the Port.
The Bay of Kotor is referred to simply as 'Boka' (the Bay).
The Boka area has almost 100 Catholic Churches, 200 Orthodox Churches and many monasteries.
We visited an Orthodox church in the Old Town of Kotor that was built in the 11th Century.
More about that later.
Because of it's wealth of cultural and historical importance, this area is now a World Heritage Site since 1979.
The Old Town is built in a triangle design with a fortified wall enclosing it.
(Below) We actually took a wrong turn at these ruins. The steps here, Deb's at the bottom, are almost 'ladder like.' Straight up. Still not sure how we missed our path.
The opening in the wall was a sure sign that we are on the wrong passageway.
Found our way back....and LOOK at this view.
Stunning all the way up.
Took us an hour (one way) because of all the times we stopped to take photos.
Behind me, around the Bay, at the base of all these mountains, is a (narrow) two lane road that our bus took to get us to Kotor. Forty-three and a half kilometers, or one hours drive. The scenery is brilliant all the way.
Some tourists stood close to the edge of this wall....not me and not Debbie.
Queen of the Castle
The next four photos I took in succession to show Deb getting up them...it was steep, long, and as we got higher....a bit scary. I should have counted them...
There's LD at the bottom of one of these very long flights of steps.
You can't tell, but she is half way up it!!!
Good job!
Scariest part of the whole climb....is this manmade bridge, consisting of half inch steel planks, not attached well, and the sound..... when you crossed....yikes..... was like you might go through.
Of course it was ok, safe, many go over it. But being the scaredy cat that I am, it was a leap of faith for me to cross. Going in doesn't look so bad, but heading back down (in the photo below) shows how high and open we are.
An adult Mistle Thrush was the only bird I saw on the journey.
What a beauty.
Time for lunch and a sit down rest.
No utensils, no plates.....finger food for sure.
Cheese and prosciutto.....and of course our water.
Love this meat.
At the very, very, very top of our trek.
Rewards are obvious.
I am so happy we persevered and continued the climb up after the church.
Deb always teases me about all the treks we have done in our travels.....but we have those memories of the challenges we have been successful in completing.
Pretty excellent for two 'mature' gals from Canada.
Heading down for some pasta and seafood......and of course cappuccino.
We will be returning to Kotor to explore more of the Old Town before we leave....because we tuckered ourselves out on the climb.....and didn't have enough time to meander around the town.
Stay tuned........
