Zubački kabao
1,894 m
Montenegro
Also known as Veliki kabao, Зубачки кабаоAlso known as
Veliki kabao · Зубачки кабао
- Elevation
- 1,894 m
- Prominence
- 1,030 m
- Difficulty
- 2/10
- Hike
- Best Season
- Jun–Jul
- Routes
- 1
Routes
1Sources differ: T3 (Outdooractive / hikr.org (loop including the Pavlovica do descent))
The historic normal route on Orjen: from the high plateau village of Vrbanj (about 1,010 m) above Herceg Novi, a well-marked path cuts the hairpins of the old gravel road to the Orjen saddle hut (about 1,590 m), then follows the 19th-century Austro-Hungarian path along the south ridge to the summit. About 900 m of ascent; 5–5½ hours for the round trip.
Elevation Profile
- Distance
- 6.5 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +897 m
- start → summit
- High Point
- 1,894 m
- Time Up
- 3h 50m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 2h 39m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
From Herceg Novi take the M-12 towards the Sitnica border crossing with Croatia, turn off for Kruševice and Orjen and continue to Vrbanj on its karst plateau, where there is parking beside the Konak-Vrbanj motel. A road continues a little further to an adventure park, and a 6 km gravel road of the Austro-Hungarian era climbs on to the Orjen saddle; it has a solid stone surface but needs a 4x4. The marked footpath short-cuts the hairpins of this road to the saddle (Orjensko sedlo, about 1,590 m), where an unstaffed hut belonging to the Subra mountaineering club stands (key on request). The pond by the hut is not drinkable; the Studenac spring lies a few hundred metres away on a marked path. From the hut a well-marked path, the oldest mountaineering path in Montenegro, laid out for Crown Prince Rudolf, follows the south ridge north-west to the summit in about 1¼–2 hours, with a few easy rocky steps. There is no water on the ridge. Descend the same way, or make a loop (about 12.7–14.5 km, 900–1,000 m, 5–5½ hours) by descending through the karst valleys of Pavlovica do and Međugorje to Pod Duge and the Vrbanj plateau. That descent involves easy scrambling on sharp limestone (T3) and is overgrown below the beech-forest line, though well marked; at the first junction after a down-climb follow signs for Dobri do (Bosnia and Herzegovina), then for Vrbanj.
Start
Vrbanj1,009 m
- Bus to Herceg Novi; a marked path leads from the bus station towards Vratlo, but there is no bus to Vrbanj
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vrbanj → Zubački kabao | 6.5 | 897 | 12 | 3h 50m |
Waypoints
- Trailhead: Vrbanj1,009 m
- Hut: Orjen Mountain Hut1,592 m
Unstaffed club hut on the Orjen saddle (Orjensko sedlo, 1,588–1,594 m)
- Summit: Zubački kabao1,894 m
Key Passages
- Rocky steps on the south ridge above the Orjen saddle
- Sharp-edged limestone down-climb on the Pavlovica do descent (loop only)
Equipment
0/5 packedDownloads
Route confidence 70%Overview
The 1,894 m high point of Orjen, the karst massif behind Herceg Novi where Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia meet. Only 15 km from the Adriatic, it is one of the wettest places in Europe, yet in summer a dry, rocky T2 walk on Montenegro's oldest mountaineering path.
Orjen is a limestone range about 25 km long, running from the hinterland of Trebinje in Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Bay of Kotor, and Zubački kabao (also called Veliki kabao, 'great cap') is its highest summit and the highest point of the Sub-Adriatic Dinarides. During the Ice Age an ice cap of about 150 km² covered the upper third of the range, leaving cirques, U-shaped valleys, moraines and jagged ridges; today the porous karst holds no lakes and almost no surface water.
The climate is extreme. The weather station at Crkvice, below the massif, records some of the highest precipitation in Europe (around 4,800–5,300 mm a year, with estimates above 6,000 mm on the summit), and snow lies on the top for about 140 days a year. Summers, by contrast, are long, dry and hot. Forests of Bosnian pine (Pinus heldreichii) and beech cover the ridges, and the range has about ten endemic plant species, including Iris orjenii.
The normal route from Vrbanj via the Orjen saddle is an easy, well-marked walk with a few rocky steps; the ridge offers wide views over the surrounding karst. Few people go there, and you may have the mountain to yourself.
Climbing Notes
Basic hiking fitness for 900–1,000 m of ascent is enough for the normal route (T2); the loop descent via Pavlovica do adds easy scrambling on sharp limestone (T3) and some overgrown sections. Carry all your water, especially in summer, as there is none on the ridge.
Most people drive from Herceg Novi to Vrbanj (about 1,010 m) and walk from there; with a 4x4 you can drive the old gravel road to the Orjen saddle and reach the summit in under 2 hours. The saddle hut is unstaffed (key from the Subra club on request); the club's 'Za Vratlom' hut at Vratlo (1,160 m, about 50 bunks) is the base for other Orjen routes. June and July are usually the most pleasant months; August is very hot, and April, the first half of May and November are typically the worst for weather. In winter the saddle is used for ski-touring.
History
The path from the Orjen saddle to the summit is regarded as the oldest mountaineering path in Montenegro. It was laid out by the Austro-Hungarian army, under General Marijan Varešanin, so that Crown Prince Rudolf could climb the mountain (1886 according to most sources; SummitPost gives 1895). The hut on the saddle was built on the remains of an old tax-office building by the Croatian mountaineering club 'Orjen' from Dubrovnik in the early 1930s and now belongs to the Subra mountaineering club of Herceg Novi. Orjen became better known through articles by the ship's captain Đuro Pany in the Croatian magazine Hrvatski planinar in the 1930s. A national park was long planned but abandoned with the break-up of Yugoslavia.
Season
Best Jun–Jul- January: Not advisable
- February: Not advisable
- March: Possible
- April: Not advisable
- May: Possible
- June: Best (best window)
- July: Best (best window)
- August: Good
- September: Best
- October: Good
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Snow and very heavy precipitation; ski-touring from Vrbanj
- Feb
- Snow
- Mar
- Snow on the upper ridge; ski-touring possible
- Apr
- Typically one of the worst months for weather
- May
- First half often wet; better late in the month
- Jun
- Usually fair weather
- Jul
- Usually fair; hot, carry plenty of water
- Aug
- Usually very hot and dry
- Sep
- Pleasant, cooler
- Oct
- Autumn rains begin
- Nov
- Wettest month; typically the worst for activities
- Dec
- Heavy precipitation and snow
Access & Permits
- Hut Booking
- The Orjen saddle hut is unstaffed; ask the Subra mountaineering club (Herceg Novi) for the key. The club also runs the 'Za Vratlom' hut at Vratlo.
- Rules
- Approaches from the Bosnian side (Zubci, Dobri do) cross into Bosnia and Herzegovina, which still has mine-suspected areas in places; keep strictly to marked paths there
- The summit area lies close to the Bosnia and Herzegovina border; carry a passport if continuing north
- Getting There
Herceg Novi
Tivat Airport (TIV); Dubrovnik Airport (DBV)
- By car: from Herceg Novi on the M-12 towards the Sitnica border crossing, turn off for Kruševice/Orjen to Vrbanj; parking beside the Konak-Vrbanj motel
- 4x4 only: 6 km gravel road from Vrbanj to the Orjen saddle
- Bus to Herceg Novi (services from Dubrovnik and Kotor); no bus to Vrbanj
Hazards
- Weather
- Remoteness
Huts & Shelters
1- 1,590 m
Orjen Mountain HutHutUnstaffed