Ulqin (Ulcinj in Montenegrin) is the southernmost town in Montenegro. It lies from the Cape of Mendra in the north to the point where the river Buna flows to the Adriatic. The town covers 20 kilometers in the north-south direction and 25 kilometers in the east-west direction. Its area is 255 squared kilometers.
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Ulqin (pronounced Oul-chin) is one of the oldest towns of the Adriatic coast. Illyrian tombs (tumuli), found in the village of Zogaj, in the vincity of Ulqin, date back to the Bronze Age. Ulqin is believed to be founded in the 5th century B.C. by Greek colonists from Colchis. The Colchian colonization is mentioned in the 3rd century B.C., in a poem by Apollonius of Rhodos. Illyrians lived in the region in that time, and under Greek influence built immense so-called Cyclopean Walls.
In the vast expanse of the globe this town would cover a tiny spot on the intersection of the stripes between longitudes 19’8 (village of Fraskanjel) and 19’23 (Old Ulqini- island of Kruç) east, and latitudes 41’50 (Ada e vogel) and 42’5 (Kozjaku i vogel) north. This means that the great red ball sends its warm rays to Ulqini under the same angles as it does to Barcelona and Rome.Ulqini lies on the edge of subtropical zone of the European Mediterranean and has the Adriatic variant of the Mediterranean climate and subtropical vegetation. It has a lot of light and warmth, 2,700 hours of sunlight a year. In mild winters the average air temperature in the coldest month, February,is 7.1’C. It snows very rarely , and when it does it is a real adventure for the population. Springs come here early and are warm and luxuriant, autumns long ,warm and rich, and summers blazing and arid.
Ulqini can be reached by land and by sea and indirectly by air. The nearest airports are Tivat (85 km.), Podgorica (95 km.), and Dubrovnic (152 km.). A road (25 km) links it with its closest neighbor, the town and the port of Tivari. The road runs beside the sea, through picturesque countryside, preparing traveller-tourists for a lovely holiday.
Via Tivari railway station, Ulqini has become part of the railway network of Montenegro Yugoslavia and Europe. Its harbor and the sea connect this area with the harbors and towns along the Adriatic Sea and world.
The entrance to the town is somewhat unusual, as if the host had turned his back on his greatest love, the sea, to give his guest an impatient and cardinal welcome. The sea front, sea, Old Town and beaches are left for a new pleasant surprise.