“Trails through World Heritage - Improving the tourist offer of Kotor and encouraging the active life of citizens through promoting the walking and hiking trails of the Kotor Region” is a new project of Expeditio. The project was approved at the Public competition for the distribution of the budget intended for financing of non-governmental organizations in the Kotor municipality for 2017, based on the Decision of the Commission for the distribution of funds adopted on 14 December 2017.

The Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1979 owing to its Outstanding Universal Value which is embodied “in the quality of the architecture in its fortified and open cities, settlements, palaces and monastic ensembles, and their harmonious integration to the cultivated terraced landscape on the slopes of high rocky hills”. Located in the Boka Kotorska Bay and being part of the territory of Kotor municipality, the Region of Kotor comprises the bays of Kotor and Risan, while its buffer zone, which was defined in 2011, encompasses the whole bay.

Although the Region of Kotora has been on UNESCO’s List for almost four decades unfortunately there is a serious lack of promotional and educational material about the Region as a whole and the values of its cultural landscape. This is especially evident when it comes to information about zones situated outside urban areas, particularly those at higher points of the Bay (villages, mountainous areas) which are an important part of the protected region and offer very attractive views of the whole Bay of Boka Kotorska. The walking and hiking trails found within Kotor Region are only scarcely used, although they represent a valuable resource both for local residents and tourists. Some hiking trails have been cleared and marked and they are used by hiking clubs and tourists, while many of them are not fully usable (being overgrown with vegetation, unkempt or unmarked). Besides, some very attractive hiking trails have been completely neglected and untended.

The aims of the project “Trails through World Heritage” are to:

• Raise awareness among local population and tourists about the values of Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor as part of the World Heritage, through promoting the overall cultural landscape as one of the main elements of the Region’s Outstanding Universal Value
• Examine the state and potentials for use of walking and hiking trails within Kotor Region, as an important segment of the overall cultural landscape that should be valorized, preserved and improved
• Improve the tourist offer of Kotor and encourage the active life of citizens through introducing alternative ways of eco/ active and cultural tourism  (outdoor, hiking, rural,...) in Kotor Region, through analyzing, mapping and producing informational and promotional material about the walking and hiking trails

The project will focus on two types of trails: hiking trails – that can be used by hikers and persons with experience and necessary equipment and walking trails – that can be used by all people with basic equipment.

The key results of the project will be:

• Identifying all walking and hiking trails within Kotor Region and preparing a detailed report containing description of trails and their state, a detailed documentation, as well as recommendation of further activities related to valorization, use and promotion of trails
• Clearing and re-marking sections of the most attractive hiking and walking trails within Kotor Region
• A collective map of all walking and hiking trails within Kotor Region, which will promote the World Heritage values and richness and impotence of walking trails, produced in Montenegrin and English language, printed in 10.000 copies and also prepared in pdf format
• Three detailed informative maps for selected zones with detailed data about the trails determined, based on field work and consultations with the key stakeholders, to be the most important for detailed promotions; the maps will be produced in Montenegrin and English language, printed in 30.000 copies and also prepared in pdf format

The project will last for seven months, until July 2018. 

The Municipality of Kotor provided EUR 17,367.00 for the implementation of the project “Trails through World Heritage “, which is 70% of the total project budget of EUR 24,810.00.

Partners in the project are the Tourist Board of Kotor and the Hiking Club Vjeverica.

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