The Peaks of the Balkans Hiking trail

A map of The Peaks of the Balkans Hiking Trail.
The Peaks of the Balkans Hiking trail through 3 countries, Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro.

THE PEAKS OF THE BALKANS HIKING TRAIL

The Peaks of the Balkans Hiking trail was hiked with my sister in August 2019. We started out from Theth, Albania and went in an anti-clockwise direction through Kosovo, Montenegro, returning to Theth.

The hike varies from easy to difficult depending on your level of fitness. There are sections with long ascents that can be tough if you are carrying camping equipment as well.

Prokletije  National Park, Montenegro. The Peaks of the Balkans Hiking Trail. Mountains, trees, meadows.
Prokletije National Park, Montenegro

Our hike was spread over 14 days. 12 days hiking and 2 days off; one day in Doberdol, Albania, and a day in Peje, Kosovo with a side trip to Pristina. The hike can be done quicker and some people we met along the way were trying to do it in 10 days. Others were doing shorter hikes by using cross trails.

CONTENTS

  1. THE HIKING TRAIL
  2. CROSS BORDER PERMITS
  3. GETTING TO THE START
  4. NAVIGATION
  5. ACCOMMODATION
  6. FOOD
  7. WATER
  8. HOW MUCH DID IT COST TO HIKE THE PEAKS OF THE BALKANS?
  9. WHAT DID I THINK OF THE TRAIL?
  10. RESOURCES

THE HIKING TRAIL

The Peaks of the Balkans Hiking trail runs through three countries; Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro. It can be started from a number of locations depending on which country you are in, Theth, Albania, Plav, Montenegro or Peje, Kosovo.

The hiking season begins in May going through until October the warmer months being July and August.

There are many blogs on the web that cover this hike, such as Peaks-of-Balkans-trek-beginners-guide and peaksofthebalkans.com both have extensive information to help you.

CROSS BORDER PERMITS

To legally be able to cross the borders of the 3 countries, you will need to apply for Cross Border Permits. The easiest and the quickest way is to use the services of Zbulo.org . You should allow at least a minimum of one week before embarking on your hike, for approval and issue of the permits. On completing the application, you must provide details as to which border and when you are planning to cross. For Montenegro a time is required. The cost was 45 euros for two people.

Now of course when you are out there crossing the borders, you do wonder as to why you bothered with the permits. There are no border controls at all. No buildings, gates or officials to check.

GETTING TO THE START

We started from Theth, Albania. To travel to Theth from the capital Tirana, we caught a bus from Tirana to Shkoder 300 lek. Approximately 2 hours. Stayed overnight in Shkoder at the Bulldog Hostel and Club . Organized our next days travel, which was the bus to Theth that left at 07:20, 10 Euros. Approximately 4 hours. The bus driver will drop you off at your chosen guesthouse.

There is another option to catch the ferry that sails up Lake Korman. This I did the previous year. Hiking-trails-in-the-Balkans

Looking down the Theth valley on our last day and kilometers. Mountains, rock, forest. The Peaks of the Balkans Hiking Trail.
Looking down the Theth valley on our last day and kilometers.

NAVIGATION

We used a combination of GPS routes and The Peaks of the Balkans map to navigate our way around. The GPS information can be found on a number of different websites. Or you can buy a guidebook or e-book from The-Peaks-of-the-Balkans-trail

Mostly it is an easy trail to follow as an independent hiker with plenty of signs and well worn paths. There were a number of large groups from Western Europe hiking either all or parts of the trail in August.

One of the many signs on the trail. Trails criscross all over the region. Need to  read them closely.  Sign post, grass, mountains. The Peaks of the Balkans Hiking Trail.
One of the many signs on the trail. Trails crisscross all over the region. Need to read them closely.

ACCOMMODATION

We did a mixture of wild camping and overnights in guest houses. Booking.com is a great app to find accommodation.

Camping

Wild camping is acceptable with great camping sites along the trails. You can camp at some of the guesthouses where you can purchase food and use the facilities.

Looking back into Montenegro at 2100 meters altitude.  Campsite, tent, sunset, mountains. The Peaks of the Balkans Hiking Trail
Looking back into Montenegro at 2100 meters altitude. Nemo Hornet
2 person tent

Guesthouses

If you prefer not to carry the extra camping equipment, guesthouses are pretty prolific and can be found every 10 – 15 kilometers along the trail in all three countries in different villages. They will provide breakfast, dinner and a take away lunch as part of the price. Accommodation costs varied from Hostels to Guesthouses 10 – 25 euros per person approximately.

FOOD

Our food was sourced from towns, villages and purchased as meals from guesthouses.

Guesthouse food on The Peaks of the Balkans Hiking Trail.
Guesthouse food on The Peaks of the Balkans Hiking Trail.

Other alternative food sources in August, are blueberries (prolific), raspberries and wild strawberries and also in some areas blackberries and red currants.

WATER

There is plenty of clean ground water available along most of the trails. But ensure that you collect water above grazing animals and treat it with either tablets, filters or boiling. I used a Katadyn Be Free Filter 1 litre.

One of the many water sources on The Peaks of the Balkans Hiking Trail.
Plastic water bottle inserted into a spring outlet.
One of the many water sources on The Peaks of the Balkans Hiking Trail.

HOW MUCH DID IT COST TO HIKE THE PEAKS OF THE BALKANS?

It cost me 296 Euros over 17 days plus an additional 45 Euro fee for the cross border permits for two people. This includes 2 nights in Schoder, 2 nights in Theth and the remaining days on the trail camping and guest house accommodation, food and transport. This will be different for everyone.

WHAT DID I THINK?

It is worth doing. It has some pretty hard ascents. The trails are easy to follow with plenty of signage. The nicest scenery is in Albania and Montenegro. A huge variety of wildflowers in the forests and meadows. Kosovo tends to be more open terrain with not a lot of variation. Comparable to hiking in the Bucegi National Park, or the Fagaras Mountains in Romania Hiking-trails-in-the-Balkans.

If you found this post helpful, how about checking out some of the other hiking destinations covered by The Backpacking Hiker below.

I don’t receive any monetary rewards from any of the links in this post. They are there purely for your benefit.

RESOURCES

  • https://uncorneredmarket.com/peaks-of-balkans-trek-beginners-guide/
  • http://peaksofthebalkans.com/
  • https://www.zbulo.org/services/border-crossing-permits-peaks-of-the-balkans-via-dinarica/
  • Bulldog Hostel and Club
  • https://www.cicerone.co.uk/the-peaks-of-the-balkans-trail
  • The map has been borrowed from: http://peaksofthebalkans.com/
  • Katadyn Be Free Filter 1 litre
  • Booking.com

16 Replies to “The Peaks of the Balkans Hiking trail”

  1. Schöner Bericht! Hattet ihr fürs Campen einen Kocher dabei? Ich habe ein paar Mal gelesen, dass es schwierig ist Schraubkartuschen in Montenegro zu kaufen.

    1. Hi Julia,
      How are you?
      Yes you are correct it is difficult to buy screw on cartridges. You can buy the local stoves which have a canister and cooker connected together. Or the other option is to use a fuel stove like an MSR stove, which is what i am using right now in Bosnia on the Via Dinarica White Trail. It is easier to buy petrol than gas.

  2. Hi!
    Thank you for your descriptions! Me and my boyfriend are hiking the trail this summer. We are wondering how much food to bring vs. buying as we go along. How often is it possible to buy a meal? And is it ok to buy a meal without spending the night? Ideally I would love to just bring lunch and then buy a meal a day from a local lodge but I dont know if that is possible.

    It would be really helpful if you’d let us know your experience.

    Thank you from Denmark!

    1. Hello,
      I don’t remember it being a problem in buying meals without staying in the lodges. You can carry about 3 days worth of food and supplement it with buying meals along the way as the opportunities come up. We camped most of the time and only stayed in a guesthouse in Paje, Kosovo.
      Hopefully that helps.

  3. Hi Shaun
    Great info!!! Im from Canada and looking to go at the end of May. I haven’t checked the weather yet but I assume most of any snow will be gone.
    Thanx for the info!
    Ken

  4. Thanks for posting this detailed post! Because of your post I am also going on a trek with Zbulo this summer. Very excited to do the trail!!!

  5. Ich wollte fragen, wie es mit der Hitze im Juli/August aussieht. Ist es erträglich und etwa wie in den mitteleuropäischen Alpen oder zum Teil wirklich sehr heiss und unerträglich?

    Danke für Ihre Auskunft

  6. Hi
    How cold was it camping in the evenings?
    We are going in end-july/start-august and I am deciding whether a summer sleeping bag with a silk liner will be enought or whether I need a 3-season bag?
    Best,
    Katherina

    1. Hello Katherina,

      How are you? July/August is quite warm so a summer sleeping bag with a silk liner would be enough. Enjoy the hike it is well worth doing.

      Regards

      Shaun Harrison

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