Peaks of the Balkans trail is the best Balkans hiking adventure. Our experts design tours based on your travel date and other preferences. BNA can design an itinerary from 5 to 15 days of hiking. You can start and finish the hike in any of the countries: Albania, Kosovo, or Montenegro. Check our reviews on TripAdvisor.
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The Financial Times has traveled with us. Watch the VIDEO or read the article of the Financial Times, when they visited Peaks of Balkans with Balkan Natural Adventure.
Peaks of the Balkans group dates for 2023:
Dates: May 27 – June 6; June 17 – 27; July 8 – 18; July 22 – August 1; August 12 – 22; August 26 – September 5; September 9 – 19; September 23 – October 3; October 7 – 17;
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Check out our self-guided and private tours offer
ITINERARY SAMPLE
We have designed this itinerary for a 7-day vacation flying to Pristina.
The first day of your trip will begin with a bit of culture. We will introduce you to Peja’s historic sites, including the UNESCO-protected Patriarchate of Pec – a medieval Orthodox monastery. You can always add a Via Ferrata trip to your itinerary before you enter the mountains. After lunch, you will be transferred to the village of Reka e Allages in Rugova Canyon to prepare for your mountain journey. Mustafe Nikqi will greet you upon your arrival, welcoming you to his guesthouse, Ari, your home for the evening. You can also do a small hike and enjoy Archery
Today you begin your Peaks of the Balkans trail with an easy 10.1-kilometer hike to the village of Drelaj. This beautiful stretch will give you further insight into mountain life in Kosovo. You will pass several more villages along the way. This will not be a too long day. Thus you can add climbing Hajla peak to the hike. This decision can be taken while walking in consultation with your guide. Upon our arrival in Drelaj, we will stay with the family of Osman Shala. At guest house Shqiponja. You can also extend your hike and climb Hajla Mountain. This is how you will pocket the first peak in the Balkan hiking adventure.
This day will begin with a car transfer to the village of Kuqishte to avoid asphalt walking. You will begin your first border crossing of the Peaks of the Balkans over into Montenegro. This intense 15.8-kilometer hike offers some of the region’s most breathtaking views, passing several glacial lakes and water sources. Some decide to divide this hike into two parts: a 7.4-kilometer ascent on the first day and 8.4-kilometer descent on the second. There are no villages or accommodation facilities between Guri i Kuq and Babino Polje. However, you can camp. BNA suggests giving a push to the hike and finishing this in one day, as the carrying of tents will make it more difficult for the trip.
If you decide to take the cross-border hike to Babino Polje in one day, you will have another long cross-border trek from Montenegro to Albania. We will provide a transfer by car from Babino Polje to Vuthaj. In Ropojane you will begin the 21-kilometer hike to the historic Albanian village of Theth. The path passes along the craggiest part of the Prokletje/Albanian Alps, which was a forbidden zone during the Communist era. In addition to the dramatic cliffs that form the backdrop for the day’s hike, you will also see a military bunker built during communism. This Peaks of the Balkans trail finishes in the remote village of Theth, which is famous for stone houses. We will stay in one with a local family. When hiking this trail you can also climb Mount Arapi or the Albanian Matterhorn.
Today you can either finish the cross-border hike or spend the entire day in the picturesque village of Theth. We can arrange for small hikes around the village based on demand. Among highlights, there are naturally created ‘bathtubs’ in the river of Shala. Theth is the most beautiful village in the Peaks of the Balkans trail. An additional day will add culture and “chilling” to this Balkan hiking adventure.
Today you will do one of Albania’s most iconic hikes from Theth over the Valbona Pass to the town of Valbona (995 m). This trail runs in the heart of the eponymous national park. This 14-kilometer route follows the path of an ancient mule track linking the tribal regions of Shala and Nikaj. The hike goes through a narrow crest that gives a view of both the valleys and the most southern glacier in the world. After a difficult ascent, you will walk slowly on the track to get to the village of Valbona. (Horses available)
Your Peaks of the Balkans journey will end in Kosovo, where it began. Today, you will tour a few more gems of Western Kosovo: Gjakova’s Hadumi Mosque, which was built in 1594 and boasts state-of-the-art acoustics for the time, as well as the UNESCO Heritage Site, Deçan Monastery. You will have lunch in Peja before being transferred to Prishtina to catch your flight.
