Ostrog Monastery: A Church Cut Into a Sheer Cliff

Ostrog stands inside a sheer cliff nine hundred metres up — not beside the rock but literally within it: two churches fitted into natural caves, a white façade glued to grey stone, and from below it looks as though the building rests on nothing at all.

It is one of the most visited Orthodox shrines in the Balkans. Not only Orthodox visitors come: Catholics, Muslims and people with no faith at all queue for the relics, and the monks turn nobody away. The coach excursion to Ostrog and Podgorica takes a full day and costs from €39 per person; entry to the monastery is free. It runs in season and is not held from October to May.

Who was St Basil of Ostrog

A 17th-century Metropolitan of Zahumlje, living through the worst period these lands have known. He withdrew into the mountains from Ottoman pressure, settled in a cave on the Ostrog cliff and spent fifteen years there, gathering a monastic community around him. He died in 1671; seven years later his body was found incorrupt, and the relics have lain here ever since.

One story about them gets told to everyone. Every ten years the white knitted socks on the relics are changed. Each time, taking the old ones off, the monks find the soles worn through — as though the saint is still walking.

How the climb works

The monastery has two parts.

Lower Ostrog is where the coaches stop. There is a 19th-century Church of the Holy Trinity, a spring, and the monastery shop.

Upper Ostrog is the one in the cliff. Full-size coaches cannot get up there; the road is too narrow. There are two ways:

• on foot by a forest path, about forty minutes uphill — free;
• by minibus — €1–2 each way.

Pilgrims traditionally walk, and many cover the last stretch to the relics barefoot.

The upper monastery has two churches: the Presentation church, where the relics lie, and the Church of the Holy Cross by the bell tower. Opposite the bell tower a grapevine grows straight out of bare rock, at the spot where St Basil is said to have died. How it survives there without soil, nobody explains convincingly.

Groups spend two to three hours at Ostrog. The queue for the relics can be long — that is a normal part of the visit, not a scheduling failure.

Cetinje monastery

The other great shrine in these mountains. The organiser used to pair it with Ostrog in a single day, but the Ostrog and Cetinje tour is not running in 2026. Cetinje is the country’s old capital, founded in 1482 when the court moved into the mountains away from the Ottomans. The town itself is covered in Cetinje in half a day.

The Cetinje monastery holds two first-rank relics:

• the right hand of John the Baptist — the hand with which, by tradition, Christ was baptised;
• a fragment of the True Cross.

The relics of St Peter of Cetinje rest here too.

The monastery is the seat of the Montenegrin Metropolitanate. Here too you can light candles, leave written prayers and buy brojanice — woven prayer bracelets, customarily blessed on the relics.

What it costs

The Ostrog and Podgorica tour costs from €39 per person for an adult ticket setting off from Budva or Podgorica, and from €49 from Kotor, Tivat and Bar. It runs in season and is not held from October to May. The Ostrog tour from Herceg Novi is not running in 2026.

Included: the coach, a licensed guide and return to your pick-up point.

Separately:

• €1–2 — the minibus up or down between lower and upper Ostrog (walking is free)
• from €10 — lunch at a traditional restaurant, optional

Booking requires no deposit, you settle with the guide on the coach, and cancellation is free. The exact figure and timetable are confirmed by the company running the excursion.

The company that runs the tour works only with Russian-speaking guides, and the same goes for its private tours, such as the four monasteries. If Russian is no use to you, the honest alternative is to drive yourself in a hire car: entry and parking at Ostrog are free.

What to wear

This is one of the few excursions where clothing is a condition of entry rather than a suggestion. Shoulders and knees must be covered: women are best in a long skirt or trousers, and a headscarf is welcome but not required; men should not wear shorts. Wraps are sometimes handed out at the gate, but do not count on it.

Shoes should be comfortable and closed, especially if you walk up: the path is stony. Bring water, a hat, and cash for the shop and lunch. The rest of the local customs, from candles in church to tipping, are in Montenegro etiquette.

Is it worth going if you are not religious

Yes, for three reasons. First, the building itself: a church inside a cliff is rare engineering, not only a shrine. Second, the view from the upper monastery terrace across the Bjelopavlići plain. Third, it is the clearest way to see how this country treats its own history — it has not been turned into a museum, it is still in use.

One thing to remember: this is a working monastery, not an attraction. Photography inside the churches is forbidden, and nobody talks near the relics.

Nearby

The same mountains in a secular version: the Heart of Montenegro — Cetinje, Njeguši with its ham, and the cable car above Kotor. If you want to go further north, there are the Tara and Morača canyons.

All destinations are on the things to do page; group tours with prices are under tours in Montenegro.

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Prices checked in September 2026.