Zla Kolata

Zla Kolata (Albanian: Kollata e Keqe, "the bad Kolata") is the highest point of Montenegro at 2,534 m, standing on the Montenegro–Albania frontier in the Prokletije — the Accursed Mountains — at the southern end of the Dinaric Alps.

The Kolata massif has two summits: Dobra Kolata (2,528 m, "the good Kolata") and Zla Kolata a few metres higher. Both sit right on the border ridge, and because the two are so close in height there has long been debate over which is the country's true high point — the standard advice from country highpointers is simply to climb both on the same day. A 2018 GPS survey with a Trimble Geo 7x put Zla Kolata at 8,285.4 ft (about 2,525 m).

The normal route starts from Vusanje (1,060 m) in the Ropojana valley above Gusinje: up past Zarunica and the Grlata shepherds' huts to the Preslopit pass (2,130 m), on through the Dvojni Prevoj double pass at 2,430 m, over Dobra Kolata and along the connecting ridge to Zla Kolata. It is a marked trail with about 1,474 m of ascent over roughly 12 km and takes about six and a half hours up — walking and easy scrambling rather than climbing, but rough limestone terrain the whole way.

Snow lies high into spring and a small glacier hangs under the north face, so early-season parties want traction and axe; midsummer to early autumn is the straightforward hiking season. The summit view takes in Maja Jezerce (2,693 m), the Karanfili towers and the whole 13 km sweep of the Majet e Zabores group.