Bobotov Kuk is a peak in northern Montenegro

Montenegro

Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...

. At 2523 m (8,278 ft), it is the highest peak on Durmitor

Durmitor

Durmitor is a massif and the name of a national park in North Western Montenegro. It reaches a height of 2,522 m .The massif is bordered by Tara River Canyon on the North, Piva River Canyon on the West, and by Komarnica River Canyon on the South. To the East, Durmitor is open to a vast ...

 mountain, and had been thought to be the highest point in Montenegro, but new surveys have revealed there are three higher peaks on the border with Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

. Most Montenegrin mountains are visible from Bobotov Kuk, among them Lovćen (above the Adriatic Sea

Adriatic Sea

The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...

), Kopaonik

Kopaonik

Kopaonik ; is one of the larger mountain ranges of Serbia. It is located in the central part of Serbia, while a small portion extendeds to North Kosovo. Its highest point, Pančić's Peak, is above sea level....

 and Tara

Tara Mountain

Tara , is a mountain located in western Serbia. It is part of Dinaric Alps and stands at 1,000-1,500 metres above sea level. The mountain's slopes are clad in dense forests with numerous high-altitude clearings and meadows, steep cliffs, deep ravines carved by the nearby Drina River and many karst,...

 (in Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

), Maglić

Maglic

Maglič is a medieval fortress in Ibar gorge 20 km south from Kraljevo in Serbia. It is placed atop a hill around which the Ibar River makes a curve, about 100 m above river level. The fortress protected the only caravan road that connected the Morava Valley and Kosovo polje...

 (in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

).

The first recorded ascent of Bobotov Kuk was in 1883 by an Austrian cartographer, Oscar Baumann

Oscar Baumann

Oscar Baumann was an Austrian cartographer with a keen interest in ethnography.He attended classes on natural history and geography at the University of Vienna, and in 1885 was part of an Austrian exploratory expedition of the Congo Basin headed by Oskar Lenz. However, he had to leave the...

. The first organized mountaineering group from Zagreb

Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...

came to Durmitor in 1926. In 1931 two Austrians did the first winter ascent from Bezimeni vrh.

Peak and surroundings

Northern and eastern sides of here compact summit pyramid, which is around 200m high, rises above steep scree slopes that descent into large rocky basin Valoviti Do (between 2000 and 2100m), which is strewn with huge boulders and partially covered with snow remains whole summer. Western side of Bobotov Kuk is most impressive. Together with Bezimeni Vrh and Djevojka peaks Bobotov Kuk, which is between them, form biggest wall (sort of amphitheater) of Durmitor. It is around 400m high and almost 2 km wide. Below the wall are immense scree slopes, equally high, that descent steeply towards the bottom of amazing Skrka valley, which contains Veliko Skrcko Jezero (1686m) and Malo Skrcko Jezero (1711m) lakes. This is most beautiful part of Durmitor! On the south Bobotov Kuk falls steeply towards the basin of Zeleni Vir (2028m) lake, which is placed at the bottom of the beautiful amphitheater above which walls of Bobotov Kuk, Lucin Vrh, Minin Bogaz (2387m) stretch. South of the lake are Zupci (2309m), fantastic string of cliffs that look like teeth of some dangerous dinosaur. Lower 300m of this side of Bobotov Kuk is mix of steep rocky terrain with lot of grass and scree. Above it is summit pyramid.

Short history

Due to isolated position, wild surroundings and volatile history of continued liberation struggle Durmitor and its highest peak were very lately discovered, both scientifically and esthetically. Scientists came first, of course. They were very rare. First of them was Amie Boue who wrote about geology of Durmitor in his book ‘Geological Excursion in Turkish Europe’ in 1840m. In 1883 Bobotov Kuk was first climbed by Dr. O.Baumann. Those were the years of more intensified scientific research of Durmitor. In 1895 German geographer Kurt Hussert wrote first book about physical geography of Durmitor. At the end of 19th century Serbian botanist Josip Pancic discovered many endemic and rare floral species. Extraordinary karts phenomena on Durmitor was first described by Serbian scientist Jovan Cvijic, who was then known in the world after his Das Karstphanomen dissertation from 1893. Then came volatile part of early 20th century and everything was stopped for a while. First organized mountaineering group visited Durmitor in 1926. They were members of Sljeme club from Zagreb, Croatia. In the same year first climbs in the eastern face of Bobotov Kuk were done. In 1931 2 Austrians, Bauer and Obersteiner, did first winter ascent via NW ridge of Bezimeni Vrh and some other peaks. In 1933 group of Slovenian climbers first climbed highest faces of Durmitor, those of Bezimeni Vrh and Bobotov Kuk above Skrka valley. Group of Slovenians also did first winter climbs in the faces of highest peaks of Durmitor in 1940. Only after the II World War Durmitor became well know destination for tourists, hikers, climbers and skiers.

Climbing Bobotuv Kuk

You can start from Zabljak, a resort town with all the amenities for a comfortable stay. Zabljak can be easily reached by a direct bus from the capital, Podgorica. From Zabljak itself the route to the peak is well marked with clear signposts and trail markings. It is about a 10 hour round trip as long as a moderate pace is upheld. The outward walk consists of about 4–5 hours hiking until the last ascent where it is a scramble to just below the peak where you are directed to a slightly perilous path that winds its way up up to the summit. You have to be aware that this is a strenuous hike, appropriate only for fit hikers. A thoroughly detailed and easy to follow description of the route and other treks in Montenegro can be found in the book 'The Mountains of Montenegro - A Walker's and Trekker's Guide' by Rudolf Abraham.