Herceg Novi → Ilinica | Boka Bay entrance from Above

A rewarding e-MTB climb from the Adriatic coast of Herceg Novi to one of the most spectacular viewpoints above the entrance of the Bay of Boka.

Leaving the coast behind, the route begins its main ascent towards Žvinje. One of the highlights of the climb is a spectacular series of tight switchbacks carved into the steep hillside above the Adriatic. Turn after turn, the road rapidly gains altitude, while the sea drops away below and the panorama becomes wider with every metre of the climb.

The route then passes through Žvinje, a small old hillside village overlooking Herceg Novi and the entrance to Boka. Its quiet stone houses, narrow local roads and Mediterranean mountain landscape provide a striking contrast to the busy coastline only a few kilometres below. Žvinje also marks the gateway to Ilinica — from here the route leaves the village behind and continues towards the ridge and its historic hilltop.

At 460 metres above sea level, the final metres reveal why this place is special.

Here, the small stone Church of St. Elijah, dating from around 1600, stands in an extraordinary position high above the Adriatic.

From Ilinica, the landscape opens in almost every direction: Herceg Novi and Tivat across the Bay of Boka below, the Luštica peninsula stretching into the Adriatic, and the mountains of Lovćen and Orjen rising behind them. Turn west and the view continues towards Molunat, Vitaljina and the Konavle coast.

But the peaceful landscape hides a dramatic chapter of European history.

In 1806, during the Napoleonic Wars, the hills around Herceg Novi became part of the struggle between Napoleon's France and allied Russian and Montenegrin forces for control of Boka Kotorska and the southern Adriatic.

French forces under General Auguste de Marmont advanced towards Herceg Novi from the direction of Dubrovnik and Konavle. Russian troops supported by Montenegrin forces under Petar I Petrović-Njegoš opposed the French advance, and fighting around Herceg Novi continued between 30 September and 2 October 1806.

Among the French officers killed was Ney, an aide-de-camp of Marmont, who was buried here at Ilinica.

Today, beside the Church of St. Elijah, a memorial commemorates the French soldiers who lost their lives during those battles.

Standing here also makes the strategic importance of this place easy to understand. From the ridge, the entire entrance to Boka and a wide stretch of the Adriatic coast lie below — the same maritime gateway that France and Russia competed to control during the Napoleonic era.

The Russians retained control of Boka after the fighting. Only in 1807, following the Treaty of Tilsit between Napoleon and Tsar Alexander I, did Russia withdraw and the territory pass into French hands.

What Napoleon's army could not completely secure on the battlefield in 1806, diplomacy delivered a year later.

With 24.3 km and 540 metres of climbing, this is a relatively short e-MTB ride, but one packed with character: a sustained climb from the Adriatic, spectacular switchbacks, the old village of Žvinje, Napoleonic history and one of the finest panoramas above the entrance to Boka.

The climb is the challenge. The view is the reward.