Peaks of the Balkans: the 120-mile trail across the Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo borders

The new Peaks of the Balkans walking trail takes you on a 120-mile hike along the borderlands of three countries. Rudolf Abraham has seen it all

The Peaks of the Balkans takes you on a 120-mile trail through the Balkans (seen here: Dobërdol summer pasture in Albania) (Rudolf Abraham)

I’m hiking along the Ropojana Valley, in Prokletije – the so-called ‘Accursed Mountains’ which make up the rugged borderlands of Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo. It’s an evocative name, but one which fails to do the area justice, since it’s a spectacularly beautiful place – jagged limestone peaks, rolling green pastures, high passes and wonderfully hospitable mountain villages.

The trail I’m following is the Peaks of the Balkans – an epic, 120-mile trek through some of the finest scenery this corner of Europe has to offer. A circular route which almost joins in the middle like a figure-of-eight, it takes around 10 days to walk, with accommodation and meals provided by a scattering of village guesthouses. Few parts of Europe are so little known, or so little visited.

At the head of the valley I pass the bed of an empty lake – fed only by snowmelt, it has a habit of vanishing, phantom-like, without a trace. I leave Montenegro and slip across the unmarked border into Albania, following a path up through forest, to open pasture, then beside a narrow ravine, climbing steadily as the morning cloud gradually dissipates. The trail meanders past a couple of dome-like concrete bunkers – some of the half a million built by Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha across the country between the 1960s and 1980s – long since abandoned and incongruous in the wilderness.

Given that the route hops backwards and forwards over the border between the three countries, and this still being a sensitive border area (a nearby stretch of border between Montenegro and Kosovo remains disputed), you do need a permit to hike the Peaks of the Balkans. However, that’s easily done via a local agency – Zbulo and Zalaz are two excellent local outfits who were both involved in setting up the trail in the first place, and know the area better than anyone else.

Four hours after leaving the Ropojana Valley I reach the 1,707m Pëjë Pass, a notch in the rock above a huge cross, overlooking the Theth Valley. The cliffs on my right plummet in a sheer, dizzying leap from nearby Mt Arapit to the valley floor – a vertical drop of some 800m – but the path is a broad, well-engineered mule track which zigzags left below a towering rock face.

It’s early evening by the time I reach the remote village of Theth, scattered along the valley floor beside the river, and find my way to the friendly Polia Guesthouse.

While there’s something very satisfying about completing a long-distance route like the Peaks of the Balkans, you don’t need to walk the whole thing – some of the more accessible bits can be done as day walks, or since it’s a circular route you can create shorter circuits or various ‘highlights’ itineraries, with transfers provided by local travel agencies like Zbulo and Zalaz.

Crags wreathed in low cloud line the Ropojana valley, Montenegro (Rudolf Abraham)

Peaks of the Balkans: best routes to hike

Seven-day circuit

To reduce the Peaks of the Balkans to a slightly shorter, seven-day circuit, start in Plav (Montenegro) or Theth (Albania) and follow the main route via Theth, Valbona and Dobërdol in Albania, but turn north at the Zavoj Pass and descend to Babino polje and Plav in Montenegro, rather than continuing to Milishevc. This largely misses out on visiting Kosovo, however.

Best for: Views, serious hikers, adventure seekers

Level: Medium/Difficult

Time needed: 7 days

Three passes route

Starting in Vusanje (Montenegro), hike up the Ropojana Valley and over the Pëje Pass, to Theth (Albania). The following day hike over the Valbona Pass to Valbona. Finally from Valbona, follow a steep trail up to the Prosllopit Pass beside Maja Kolata (by a smidgen, the highest peak in Montenegro), then beyond this follow the path down to Vusanje.

Best for: Views, serious hikers, adventure seekers

Level: Medium/Difficult

Time needed: 3 days

Hiking from the Ropojana valley to the Pëjë Pass, Albania (Rudolf Abraham)

Theth waterfall and kula

This is a good way to spend a spare couple of hours or a rest day in Theth. From Polia Guesthouse, by the 19th century church, walk past the well-preserved 17th century stone tower house (kula), then cross the bridge over the stream, and follow a path on the left bank of the River Theth downstream before hiking up to the Gunas waterfall, which plunges 30m over a cliff into an iridescent green pool.

Best for: Views, history, families

Level: Easy

Time needed: 2hrs

Grbaja Valley

Not actually on the POTB but a very worthy detour for a day. The head of the Grbaja Valley, 7km from Gusinje, is surrounded by spiky peaks with evocative names like Ocnjak (‘fang’) and Koplje (‘Spear’). There’s a straightforward trail up to Volušnica, from where there are staggering views of the Karanfili peaks on the opposite side of the valley.

Best for: Views

Level: Medium

Time needed: 4hrs

Travel essentials

Getting there

Ryanair flies direct from Stansted to Podgorica from £58 return, from where there are buses to Plav. Germania fly direct from the UK to Pristina, from where there are regular buses to Pëje, a short bus or taxi ride from the trail.

Staying there

The Polia Guesthouse has doubles from €69, B&B.

More information

The first complete English-language guidebook to the Peaks of the Balkans is published by Cicerone (by the author of this article) later this year. The trail’s official website has brief route descriptions, but some of the information is out of date.