The medieval city of Kotor, squeezed into the magnificent Bay of Kotor, survived many wars and storms.
Now it is facing another kind of attack - huge cruise ships with a large number of tourists are threatening a place that has been described as a "hidden gem" for years, the Croatian news agency Hina reports.
The coast which Lord Byron described as "the most beautiful union of land and sea" is now the site of rampant real estate development.
The old town surrounded by white walls became an alternative for travelers trying to avoid the mass tourism that choked Dubrovnik.
Last year, the extremely popular Dubrovnik, recognizable by its medieval walls and included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list just like Kotor, became synonymous with tourist congestion, which is why it was on some lists of overcrowded destinations that should be avoided.
A similar fate threatens Kotor.
"Kotor used to be recognized for being more authentic than Dubrovnik, but now we have equalized," said Sandra Kapetanović from Expedit, a Kotor group of architects that advocates sustainable development.
"We are turning it into a city of souvenir shops," adds Kapetanović and notes that the rise in real estate prices favors the closing of bookstores, shops...
Last week, a Lonely Planet travel writer tweeted a photo of a giant cruise ship that had docked in Kotor, whose port can accommodate four at a time, contributing to around 10.000 visitors a day in high season.
"Yesterday three hideous giants blocked the bay," wrote Peter Dragicevich.
"They destroyed Venice and Dubrovnik. There remains hope that they will not destroy Kotor as well."
UNESCO, which included Kotor on the list of world heritage sites in 1979, has been warning for years about the construction that threatens the main attraction of Kotor - the harmony of the city and the landscape.
Two years ago, that UN body threatened to remove Kotor from the World Cultural Heritage List, which was a sign of awakening for the Montenegrin authorities, so last year they decided to impose a temporary moratorium on new construction, Hina reminds.
"The question is what to do next," says Ana Nives Radović, head of the local tourist board.
"We are witnessing a time in which we will either make big changes or we will be completely devastated, if we choose only the pursuit of profit," warned Radović.
Montenegro used to be a magnet for elite society, visited by Hollywood stars and members of royal families.
The tourism industry suffered a breakdown during the wars that led to the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 90s.
After the country with only 600.000 inhabitants declared its independence in 2006, it devoted itself to building infrastructure.
Tourism survived the 2008 global financial crisis and accounts for almost a quarter of Montenegro's GDP.
The country is visited annually by two million people, mostly in summer.
During that time, tourists "put pressure on cities and communal infrastructure," said Damir Davidović, Secretary General of the Ministry of Tourism, to AFP.
The key problem lies in the increase in the number of private accommodation, which affects the business of hotels and changes the character of the community, as many locals leave their homes in the summer to rent them to tourists. The rise of online rental platforms like Airbnb have only exacerbated the problem.
Davidović adds that private accommodation renters work in the "grey" zone, that is, they do not register real estate in order to avoid paying taxes.
Rade Ratković, professor of tourism from Budva, another tourist center with excessive construction, says that his city is "attacked by buildings".
Staring at the beach in Ulcinj, local journalist and tourism expert Mustafa Canka shook his head.
"Traffic, parking, electricity... with so many tourists, it's an attack on the infrastructure and it gets on the nerves of the local population," said Canka, adding that "everyone who works in tourism lives for those 45 days."
But Canka is worried about the future.
"We are witnessing the greed and consumerism that is eating away at our area and people, and now our future."
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