Why the olives matter
The coastal plateau around Ulcinj holds one of the densest concentrations of old olive trees on the Adriatic. Many are centuries old, some documented at well over a thousand years, and the tradition of household-scale pressing is still alive, most village families produce a few dozen litres of their own oil each November. For a small town, this is a serious olive region.
The celebrity tree is the "Stara Maslina" at Mirovica, on the outskirts of Bar. It is officially protected, with an estimated age north of two thousand years, and is widely described as among the oldest living olive trees in Europe. Whatever you believe about the exact number, ages of ancient olives are genuinely hard to verify, the tree itself is huge, hollow, and extraordinary to stand next to.
The Old Olive at Mirovica (Bar)
Roughly 25 km north of Ulcinj, just outside Bar, the Stara Maslina is signposted from the main road through Mirovica. There is a small paid enclosure with a modest entrance fee, a simple visitor path, and usually a local selling oil and olive-wood souvenirs. Ten to fifteen minutes is enough on site, come for the tree itself, not the surroundings.
From Mirovica it's also a short drive to Stari Bar (Old Bar), the ruined medieval town on the hillside above, well worth pairing with the olive stop if you want to stretch the day north.
The groves between Ulcinj and Valdanos
The real experience, though, is driving the back roads through the groves themselves. The stretch between Ulcinj and Valdanos Bay, only about 6 km north-west of town, is thought to hold many tens of thousands of old olive trees, a substantial share of them several centuries old. The road winds through continuous canopy, with occasional clearings, small stone barns, and roadside stalls selling oil in reused bottles in autumn.
Allow an hour to drive slowly with a couple of photo stops. Any standard car is fine on the sealed sections; the rougher side tracks into individual groves are best done on foot or in a high-clearance vehicle.
Why Ulcinj's olives are different
Two things set the Ulcinj olive belt apart from other Adriatic regions. First, sheer density and age: the coastal plateau runs virtually unbroken in olives from Bar through Ulcinj and on to Valdanos, with a high share of the trees many centuries old, large-trunked, hollow, still productive. Second, the local culture of household pressing, which hasn't died out the way it has in most tourist coastal regions. Pressing happens at small village mills (uljare), often cooperative, often running only a few weeks a year in late autumn. The result is that a meaningful portion of the local oil never enters commercial channels at all, it goes into family cellars and is shared, traded, or sold by the bottle to neighbours.
Tasting the oil
Ulcinj's oils are typically strong and grassy when young, mellowing over a few months. Several family producers in the villages around Valdanos sell direct, usually in unlabelled bottles, ask at small roadside stalls, or in town at shops specialising in local produce. In November during harvest, a handful of small mills let visitors watch the pressing.
When to go
Spring (April-May) is lovely, wildflowers, green floor, cool temperatures for walking under the canopy. Autumn harvest (late October into November) is the most atmospheric, with pickers on nets under the trees and the mills running. Summer is fine but the sun on the open groves is harsh at midday.
Practical tips
- Drive: A good afternoon loop is Ulcinj → Valdanos road groves → Valdanos Bay → back via the coast. About 20 km round trip.
- Season: April-May for walking, October-November for harvest.
- Combine: A morning in the Ottoman Old Town, afternoon in the groves, dinner back at the harbour.
- Cash: Roadside sellers and small producers are cash-only.
- Buying oil: Look for cloudy, unfiltered oil in glass, that's the local style, not a defect.
Next up
Continue to Valdanos Bay, the single best swimming cove in the olive belt, reached by a short drive from the groves.
