The Latin proverb Nomen est omen (the name is the essence) is very relevant to Igalo: the old word means beach, mourning, but not just any beach or mourning. Igalo is a beach with healing properties! In the book "Boka" from 1913 by Mr. Sava Nakićenović, it is written: "Foreigners come to this village for treatment because the climate is mild and healthy (...). There are 45 homes. The grief is not immediately deep, but after a long time it becomes quite shallow and sandy." If it weren't for one love story, Igalo would have less importance than what it occupies in the history of tourism today. The story is full of history, and it begins with the name of a family from Igalja, the Janković family: When he returned from Trieste, the founder of the "Oceania" steamship company (1917), Špiro Janković founded the "Boka" steamship company in Boka Kotorska (Montenegro) with a fleet of 3 ships. In 1928, on the advice of more well-known residents of Novlja, Spiro built the hotel "Igalo". In that year, tourism started here. The hotel had a tennis court, rowing boats, an engaged tambura club and something on offer that would only become understandable over time: one-day trips to the hinterland.

Before the love point, let's go back to Mr. 1933, the year Hitler came to power in Germany. The corporal from Linz presents dizzying figures in the Reichstag: as much as 90 billion marks were spent on armaments. It became clear that this did not lead to anything good. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia at that time, with support in the League of Nations, in France and England, became closer, especially with Paris - against Hitler - so that in 1936 Mr. built the telegraph line Paris-Belgrade, via Marseille, Gibraltar, Algeria, Tunisia, Malta to - Igalo! The Frenchman Georges Cateno, an engineer in charge of setting up the telegraph, stayed at the "Igalo" hotel and there - not only did he meet his future life partner, his girlfriend Zora Janković, Spiro's daughter - but he spoke to her in fluent French. Žorž Kateno became part of the famous Janković family, whose last name is first associated in Boka with the year 1687. Then, for the merits shown in the fight against the Turks, the Venetian providor Jeronim Korner presented the Gulf land of Omer Hadža Artičić and Rezulaga Galiotović to Fran Janković from Paštrov. Hence the Jankovići in Boka, until today.

Today, Igalo is dominated by the Mediterranean center "Igalo", and something more hidden in the vegetation - the luxurious villa "Galeb", one of the many official residences of the lifelong president of the former SFR Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito. Coincidentally, Tito was in Igalo on April 15, 1979, when the entire Montenegrin coast was hit by a catastrophic earthquake. The epithet of the spa resort Igalo is due to the mild Mediterranean climate with over 200 sunny days a year and lush vegetation, especially mineral water (Igaljanka, Igaljska slatina) and healing, radioactive mud.

The healing properties of Igalje mud have been known since ancient times. In 1910, the Austrian physician Dr. Levi submitted an expert proposal for the construction of a health resort. Later analyzes of the Institute in Vichy (France) confirm the medicinal properties of the local underwater mud. It has been established that the medicinal properties, in addition to natural mild radioactivity, are influenced by the mixing of mineral sediments from the river Sutorina and sea water, along with the medicinal products of the decomposition of murava seaweed. In other words, the healing secret of Igala is in the radioactive component of the biolitic mineral peloid. It doesn't sound understandable, but it is proven to be healing! The advantages of Igal are used today by people from all meridians, the locals above all. Traditional convalescent guests have been coming from the Nordic countries, especially Norway, for decades.

With the expansion of the coastal belt, Igalo eventually merged with Herceg Novi. Duga Njegoševa Street, the city's largest, starts in Igalo and ends at the main square of Herzegnov. Igalo is only a 10-minute drive from the border with Croatia. Igalo abounds in natural sandy-pebble and concrete beaches. The temperature of the sea water is always a degree above average (above 25°C in the zenith of summer), because there is a lagoon-like shallow in front of Igalo.

The coastal promenade could be said to be a real bazaar: in addition to national and fish restaurants, modern cafeterias and clubs for young people, during the season you can see sellers of all kinds of mixed atmospheres on the promenade. Coastal portrait painters, sellers of silverware, shells, ceramics and unique souvenirs made of sea pebbles, are looking for their 5 minutes on the 5 kilometer long promenade. During the summer, Igalo is the busiest promenade in Herzegnov. Full of people, smells, colors and tastes. Tourist boats take guests to all nearby excursion sites: Žanjica, Rosa, Mamule, Blue Cave, and to those in the depths of the Gulf - the artificial island of Our Lady of Škrpjela near Perast, to baroque Perast and Kotor... Ighalo has his fans even in the off-season. Then waves up to 10 m high wash over you. The island of Mamula can be seen in the gray distance, as well as in the summer - in the blue distance. Rain-filled palm trees in winter are just as romantic as they are in summer. Not just palm trees! But also eucalyptus, Mediterranean pines, oleanders, and in February, fragrant mimosas. It is only important to collect the right reasons for visiting Igalo, and use them to the end.