{"id":2230,"date":"2026-01-03T11:56:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T10:56:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/to-the-roof-of-montenegro-with-a-dog\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T19:53:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T18:53:02","slug":"to-the-roof-of-montenegro-with-a-dog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/en\/to-the-roof-of-montenegro-with-a-dog\/","title":{"rendered":"To Montenegro\u2019s Roof with a Dog"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Another day on our Montenegro road trip. At first light in the village of Vusanje, I set off for the country\u2019s highest peak \u2014 Zla Kolata<\/strong>. Iva isn\u2019t feeling well today, so she stays at the hotel. It\u2019s just me and our dog Ibo. I can already tell you he aced the hike\u2026 but I\u2019m getting ahead of myself.<\/p>\n\n

Zla Kolata sits in the Prokletije range, a place of serious mountains, a web of hiking trails and a raw, sometimes harsh landscape. It\u2019s the kind of range where you quickly realise you don\u2019t come to simply \u201chave a look\u201d \u2014 it demands respect.<\/p>\n\n

By car, as high as possible<\/h3>\n\n

A long, demanding day awaits, under a fierce summer sun. I decide to coax the car as high as it will go. The track leaving the centre of the village turns from asphalt to dirt almost immediately and climbs gently through surrounding pastures. At around 1 250 m a.s.l. the road steepens and enters the forest.<\/p>\n

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Here I run into a spot where a small stream crosses the track. The ground is muddy and, although the road beyond looks reasonable, I don\u2019t fancy it in our \u0160koda Superb. From here on you\u2019d want at least a standard SUV. We continue on foot. I did see cars parked higher up and never came across a no\u2011entry sign, so it\u2019s fair to assume driving up is tolerated to a point.<\/p>\n\n

Shepherd\u2019s hut, sun, heat<\/h3>\n\n

After about an hour of climbing a steep dirt road we pass a small local shepherd\u2019s hut on the right. A sign promises local products and even chilled beer. We don\u2019t stop. Ibo isn\u2019t big on beer and I\u2019m keen to gain altitude as fast as possible before the sun melts us. It\u2019s early, but you can already feel its rays heating the air around us.<\/p>\n

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Just beyond the hut the path turns right, the gradient eases and the route weaves through low scrub and patches of uneven rock to a nearby clearing called Bora. The trail splits again here; we keep right. Waymarking is excellent \u2014 there are even signposts with destinations and time estimates that clearly point the way to Zla Kolata.<\/p>\n\n

From the Bora clearing only a narrow path continues, climbing back into broken rocky ground. The slope is steep and hard to read from below \u2014 arguably the trickiest section to navigate. Once through, views open into the valley beneath Zla Kolata. You can see the Preslopit Pass (2 039 m) on the Albanian border, our first target, and the broad snowfield below the summit. I start suspecting the climb from the pass will throw up a few more challenges.<\/p>\n\n

An unexpected cool\u2011down<\/h3>\n\n

Before we reach the pass we come to a cave called Ledena Pe\u0107ina (Ice Cave) right beside the path. It\u2019s easy to peek inside. A blast of icy air pours out \u2014 wonderfully refreshing on a hot summer day, and hard to walk away from.<\/p>\n\n

At the Preslopit Pass we meet a fair few small hiking groups. Ibo and I are the only ones who\u2019ve come up from the Montenegrin side. We take a short break and a quick snack. I weigh up whether to continue. We still have roughly 500 vertical metres ahead, and the view makes it clear the terrain will be tougher than so far. Curiosity wins. We\u2019re making good time, so on we go.<\/p>\n\n

Exposed terrain, snow, and carrying the dog like a bag<\/h3>\n\n

The route initially keeps to the right side of the cirque dropping from the summit, then quickly swings across to the left. It sensibly skirts the snowfield that blankets the bowl. We\u2019re lucky \u2014 apart from a few short bits we avoid the snow entirely. We don\u2019t have any winter kit with us, like crampons or an ice axe, so that\u2019s a relief.<\/p>\n\n

From there the trail continues over rock slabs and, in a steep climb, traverses above the snowfield. The ground is slightly exposed. In places I put Ibo on the lead. He seems to grasp the seriousness \u2014 he moves very calmly and stays close most of the time. As we gain height, we hit a few spots where I have to carry him. In those moments his hiking harness is priceless. I can grab it like a handle, lift him over, and set him down safely without too much bending.<\/p>\n\n

The final metres<\/h3>\n\n

After a little adrenaline we reach the Prevoj Kolata pass between Dobra Kolata and Zla Kolata at roughly 2 400 m a.s.l. It\u2019s a broad saddle, much of it still under snow. Fewer than 150 vertical metres remain, so up we go.<\/p>\n

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The last steps are tiring, but the reward is superb views. Ahead is Kolata e Mir\u00eb \/ Dobra Kolata (2 528 m a.s.l.) and Maja e Kollat\u00ebs (2 556 m) over the border in Albania. In the distance, snow\u2011capped Albanian peaks; the landscape feels raw yet incredibly pristine.<\/p>\n\n

I have the summit to myself \u2014 just me and the dog. We take a long break. Just before we leave a group of Croatian hikers arrives. We exchange a few words and then follow the same route back to the car. It\u2019s glorious up here, but it\u2019s time to move \u2014 there\u2019s a long way back.<\/p>\n\n

We tackle the trickier bit by the snowfield again, but from Preslopit we make brisk progress.<\/p>\n\n

A reward at the end: Grlja<\/h3>\n\n

Instead of that chilled beer by the shepherd\u2019s hut, I opt for the local Restoran Grlja on the edge of Vusanje. It\u2019s a popular stop, but a good choice \u2014 quick service, a dog\u2011friendly attitude and big views all around.<\/p>\n\n

The cherry on top is the nearby Vodopad Grlja waterfall. If you decide to visit, keep your dog on a lead. A fall into the waterfall would almost certainly be fatal.<\/p>\n\n

With that post\u2011hike glow \u2014 and full stomachs \u2014 we get back in the car and head for our base in the little town of Andrijevica. What a day we\u2019ve had!<\/p>\n\n

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Facts about Zla Kolata and the ascent<\/h2>\n\n
    \n
  • Summit:<\/strong> Zla Kolata<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Elevation:<\/strong> 2 534 m a.s.l. (Montenegro\u2019s highest point)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Range:<\/strong> Prokletije<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Starting point:<\/strong> the village of Vusanje<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Total ascent:<\/strong> approx. 1 500 \u2013 1 600 m (depending on where you park)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Distance:<\/strong> approx. 14 \u2013 16 km (out and back)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Time:<\/strong> 6 \u2013 8 hours (without long breaks)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Difficulty:<\/strong> demanding mountain hike, sections of exposed terrain; with a dog only if fit and experienced<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Another day on our Montenegro road trip. At first light in the village of Vusanje, I set off for the country\u2019s highest peak \u2014 Zla Kolata. Iva isn\u2019t feeling well today, so she stays at the hotel. It\u2019s just me … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2231,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Zla Kolata from Vusanje: Hiking Montenegro\u2019s Highest Peak with a Dog \u2022 IBO GUIDE","_seopress_titles_desc":"Hike Zla Kolata from Vusanje with a dog: a demanding Prokletije route via Preslopit Pass and the Ice Cave, with exposed sections, parking tips, and key stats.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[106,105,88,120,134],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-albania","category-europe","category-hiking","category-montenegro","category-through-forests-and-mountains","latest_post"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2230"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3089,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2230\/revisions\/3089"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibo.guide\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}