I had the privilege of hiking the Peaks of the Balkans trail last September, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. This 114-mile loop includes stages in three countries — Albania, Montenegro, and Kosovo — and can be backpacked or done as a hut-to-hut hike. Truly, there’s no better way to experience the Albanian Alps (more memorably known as the Accursed Mountains) than on foot.
Quick Navigation
Basic Stats
Why Hike It
Highlights
Permits and Visas
Getting to the Trail
Camping and Water
Towns and Resupply
What To Pack
Is the Peaks of the Balkans Safe?
Itinerary/Pacing
Peaks of the Balkans At a Glance
- Distance: 114 mi (183 km)
- Total elevation gain/loss: 33,630 ft (10,250 m)
- Time to complete: 7 – 10 days
- Terrain: Moderate difficulty
- Location: Albania, Montenegro, and Kosovo
- Trail type: Loop
- Best time of year to hike: June – September (I hiked in mid-September and the weather was already starting to turn — lots of rain and some snow toward the end of the trek)
- Scenery: High mountains, including some time above treeline, sheep pastures, and a mixture of permanent towns and remote summer villages used by shepherds
- Navigation: The trail is well marked and sees plenty of traffic during the summer months, making navigation simple. There are no cross-country segments. I navigated with a digital version of the Cicerone guidebook* paired with the GPX points that come with the book loaded into Gaia GPS. Many hikers I met along the way were using mapy.cz and seemed happy with it.
- Best direction to hike: Both directions are possible, but counter-clockwise is most popular. Most people start/end in Theth, Rekë e Allages, or Plav.
*I’m linking the second edition of the guidebook, which will be coming out on April 25th, 2025. If you’re reading this in spring 2025, it’s worth waiting for the most up-to-date information in the new edition.
Red and white markers in various shapes typically indicate the trail, as demonstrated by the sign on the right outside Ariu Guesthouse in Rekë e Allages.
Why Hike It?
Logistical Ease
Between the affordable guesthouses, easy navigation, and the fact that it’s a loop, I’ve never hiked anything this logistically straightforward. It only cost about €30 – €35 per night to stay in the huts — including three meals per day — so I used them every night and didn’t carry a tent or any of my normal overnight gear. I figured I might never get another chance to experience a classic European hut-to-hut hike on such an agreeable budget. I must say I have no regrets; it was very luxurious.
Cultural Experience
Moreso than most hikes I’ve done, I felt like this trail gave me a window into locals’ daily lives. This region has a rich — though painful — history. The Kosovo War ended just 26 years ago, and you’ll meet many people who fought in and lost people to that conflict.
On a happier note, everyone I met was super welcoming. Also, the food in this region is amazing, hearty, and perfect for hungry hikers. Instead of eating ramen and pop-tarts, I enjoyed fresh produce, hot meals, bread straight from the oven, and freshly brewed Turkish coffee every day.
This is a popular hike on which you will meet people from all over the world. I met hikers from Malaysia, Ukraine, Turkey, Spain, France, Germany, and the UK in my eight days on trail.
The Mountains
I can’t talk about the Peaks of the Balkans without mentioning the actual peaks of the Balkans. As you’ve probably inferred, I love a good mountain range, and the Albanian Alps are as glorious as any I have seen. They also feel more wild and untrammeled than the mountains of western Europe.
If you’re just looking for a good jaunt among some beautiful landscapes, you won’t be disappointed.
Highlights of the Peaks of the Balkans Trail
Sweeping views from Valbona Pass.
Valbona Pass
If you start hiking counter-clockwise from Theth, this will be the first big pass you tackle, and it’s lovely. Be warned, though: the beauty of the stage between Theth and Valbona is an open secret. Many people come to the mountains to hike just this one section of trail, so expect crowds here.
Prosllopit Pass
Leaving Valbona counter-clockwise, the crowds immediately drop off and you’ll likely have a peaceful (but strenuous) climb to the remote and rugged Prosllopit Pass. Be sure to check out the super cool mystery caves on either side of the pass. When I say “super cool,” I mean it figuratively, but also literally for the one on the far side of the pass coming from Valbona; the air inside the cave is freezing.
If you need to save time and/or energy, there is a low route to Çerem that sticks to the valley instead of going over the pass, but you’d miss out on some very cool views and karst landscapes.
Triborder Peak (and really all of stage 4)
7,760 ft / 2366 m Tromedja, or the Triborder Peak, is a mountain that stands at the three-way border between Albania, Montenegro, and Kosovo. And it’s just a short side quest from the main route. Even if you’re not normally a blue-blaze enthusiast, I recommend visiting Tromedja. Of all the highlights of this trail, this peak was my favorite. The 360-degree views are spectacular, and it’s really something to stand on a summit and look into three countries at the same time.
Really, everything between Dobdërdoll and Milishevc (including Dobdërdoll and Milishevc themselves) is lovely. It is the highest stage overall and the landscape feels wild and adventurous, with rewards around every corner.
Kosovo
We’ll talk more about this option later, but some people choose to skip the Kosovo section because a big chunk of it is just road walking. This could make sense if you’re in a time crunch and need to make the route shorter anyway. But if you have time, I really recommend hiking Kosovo.
Most of the tour groups skip this section, making it more peaceful than the rest of the trail. Also, the mountains of Kosovo have a wilder character than in the other two countries.
There are also some really fun guesthouses in this section. I loved staying at Ariu Guesthouse in Rekë e Allages and Shqiponja Guesthouse in Drelaj. The food was amazing throughout the trek, but some of the best meals I had were in Kosovo. And speaking of food, I encountered some ginormous blueberry patches around here that were perfectly ripe in mid-September.
There is just one major road walk remaining in this section (between Drelaj and Te Liqeni), which is easy to miss via a jeep transfer that can be arranged at Shqiponja Guesthouse for about €15.
Grunas Waterfall and the Blue Eye of Theth
While not an official part of the trek, many people stay an extra day in Theth so they can explore nearby day hikes. Not to be confused with the considerably more famous Blue Eye in southern Albania, this intensely blue pool in Theth is no less beautiful (and a lot less touristy).
A short detour along the way will take you to Grunas Waterfall, which is roughly 100 ft / 30m tall. The round-trip from Theth is about 19km, so this is a full day on its own.
Coffee at the Shepherds’ Huts
The whole route is dotted with makeshift signs directing hikers toward the nearest shepherd’s hut for coffee and snacks. Even if you’re not a coffee drinker, this is a quintessential part of the Peaks of the Balkans experience.
This is not just any coffee, mind you. It’s Turkish coffee, which is very strong, very thick, and definitely an acquired taste. Against all odds, I learned to like it on this hike. Trailside coffee is such a perfect excuse to take a break, and it’s a nice way to help shepherds supplement their income.
Permits and Visas for the Peaks of the Balkans
You will be crossing international borders multiple times on this hike. Because of that, you’ll need a border crossing permit to do this hike. Fortunately, inexpensive online services make this process easy.
Border Crossings
The permit will detail the estimated date and location for each crossing you’ll make. If you follow the guidebook, your crossings would be Dobërdoll, Albania to Milishevc, Kosovo; Liqenat, Kosovo to Babino Polje, Montenegro; and Vusanje, Montenegro to Theth, Albania. If you follow the guidebook, you just have to know your start date to determine when you’ll be making each crossing.
Guide Services
I recommend using a guide service to handle the permit application process, as it’s complicated to do yourself. The agency I went through, Zbulo, only charged me €5 on top of the permit fees levied by the Montenegrin police.
You can also use Zbulo to book all your accommodations for your trek if you want. Booking in advance could be a good idea in peak hiking season in August. When I went in September, there were always guesthouses with same-day availability.
Permit Cost
My total permit cost was about €31: 5 euros to Zbulo plus 13 euros x 2 to Montenegro for each of the two crossings I made that involved the Montenegro border.
How far in advance should you apply?
I applied about a week in advance and got my approved permit back within days. A week should be enough lead time, but it’s always best to apply sooner to be on the safe side.
Enforcement
I didn’t get my permit checked during my hike, but evidently border police do patrols, especially near the (still disputed) Montenegro/Kosovo border. They might ask to see your permit at any time if you look like a hiker.
Do you need a visa to hike this trail?
It depends on where you’re from. If you’re an EU, US, or UK citizen, you can stay visa-free in any of the three countries for 90 days out of any 180. Americans can stay even longer in Albania.
Getting to the Peaks of the Balkans Trail
Since it’s a loop, you can start anywhere, but most people will start/end either in Theth, Albania; Plav, Montenegro; or Rekë e Allages, Kosovo. I started in Theth and would guess that that’s the most popular access point.
Theth is quite easy to access from both Tirana, Albania and Podgorica, Montenegro (both served by international airports). Starting in Albania also means you can get your permit emailed to you with no in-person steps. In contrast, Montenegro requires you to visit a police station to get your permit if you’re starting the hike there.
How I Got There
1. Flew into Tirana, Albania.
2. Caught a bus directly from the airport to the northern Albanian city of Shköder (less than €10, no need to book in advance, frequent departures, I can’t overemphasize how easy this was).
3. My host in Shköder booked me a seat on the daily minibus to Theth. The bus picked me up outside the lodging. Theth/Valbona tourism is a huge part of Shköder’s economy, so everyone will know what you’re talking about if you ask. Just make sure you’re booked for Theth rather than Valbona, which is a more scenic but also more complicated journey from the city.
It’s a 2-3 hour ride from Tirana to Shköder and the same length again from Shköder to Theth. I recommend breaking it up with at least one night in Shköder before starting the trail.
Alternatives
Podgorica: You can also fly into Podgorica, Montenegro and then catch a bus to Shköder from there and then onward to Theth by the same method described above. Or you can take a bus from Podgorica to Plav, Montenegro. Plav is a small town but big by Peaks of the Balkans standards, and the trail goes right through it.
Pristina: You can fly into Pristina, Kosovo and then catch a bus to the town of Pejë, and then get a bus or taxi from Pejë to Rekë e Allages in the Rugova Valley to access the trail. Of all the options, this one evidently has the shortest transit time from airport to trailhead, but it also seems to involve a bit more hassle. Pristina is also a somewhat smaller airport with fewer flight options.
Camping and Water Sources
Guesthouses: I love the American thru-hiking model and generally prefer to sleep outside when I’m hiking, but the guesthouses on this trail are a huge part of the culture. I recommend staying in at least a few of them. It’s generally possible to find a bed on the day of, but in peak hiking season you might want to book in advance.
The guesthouses cost between €25 and €40 per night for a shared room plus all meals (except in Theth and Valbona, where it’s more like €50). They have wifi in most cases, flush toilets, and hot showers.
Water: Since I didn’t have camping gear, I felt like I could carry more water weight than normal, meaning I never had to fill up at a stream on the whole hike (although I brought a filter just in case). Streams and springs are abundant throughout the trail with no notable dry stretches.
Food: Make sure to specify that you want full board (all meals) when you book each lodging. You’ll get a hearty home-cooked dinner and breakfast at most guesthouses. During breakfast, the host puts out a spread of meat, cheese, vegetables, bread, and boiled eggs so you can make yourself a packed lunch.
Camping: All this being said, it’s possible to camp the whole Peaks of the Balkans if you want to. There are wild camping opportunities throughout the range (though not in national parks or nature reserves, which, as the guidebook points out, rules out pretty much all of Montenegro). Many guesthouses allow tenting outside.
Might not look like much, but this sandwich I packed out from the guesthouse was absolutely enormous.
Towns and Resupply
Most of the “towns” you will encounter are just remote summer outposts for the shepherds and are only accessible by jeep roads. The only towns that have stores for resupply are Plav (a proper grocery) and Theth (a small convenience store where you can mostly get snacks). Plan your food bag carefully if you’ll be cooking for yourself. This is another logistical issue that evaporates if you just stay at the guesthouses.
The amount of food I got from the guesthouses was more than sufficient for me. But if you need to supplement your diet, you can buy extra snacks at many guesthouses (assuming there’s someone there to take payment during the day). There’s often some bread or other snacks to be had alongside your coffee at the shepherds’ huts, too.
Gear Recommendations
If you stay at the guesthouses you’re basically just day hiking from one hut to the next and can get by with just a day pack. They will provide bedding and, in most cases, towels. Here’s everything I brought or recommend bringing:
Wearables
Spare clothes: I just had flip-flops and base layers for sleeping; in retrospect, I easily could have brought a spare set of hiking clothes since I was carrying so little weight to begin with. Most other people on the trail were a lot cleaner than me, and it was kind of awkward.
Rain gear: Mandatory. It rained at least half the days I was on trail, and it was cold rain too. Be prepared.
Puffy, gloves, hat, etc.: These are high mountains, and the weather can get cold on a dime. Bring warm layers, same as any high mountain hike.
Cash (IMPORTANT)
Bring plenty of cash on this hike. You’ll need it to pay for guesthouses, plus more for any taxis/jeep transfers, spontaneous trailside coffees and snacks, etc. I got Albanian leks, plus some euros for use in Montenegro and Kosovo, in Shköder before starting the trail. There is an ATM in Plav, but that came so late in the hike (for me) that I preferred to just carry as much cash as I thought I would need for the whole trek.
Electronic Stuff
European plug adapter: If you’re coming from the US, this kind is nice and lightweight.
Satellite communicator: Most (but not all) guesthouses have wifi, so it’s pretty easy to stay in touch with people back home. But I only rarely had cell service on the trail between towns and was grateful for my Zoleo.
Optional SIM/eSIM for Your Phone: Honestly, there’s so little cell service on this trek anyway that having a local phone plan doesn’t matter much. You’ll mostly be relying on the guesthouse wifi and your satellite device for communication. But if you plan to spend any time in the region before or after the hike, it’s nice to have cellular data.
If you have a recent phone model, you can easily get an eSIM through a company like Airalo. If your phone requires a physical SIM, you can buy one from a kiosk at the airport. Note that some plans don’t cover Kosovo — but again, you won’t have signal most of the time anyway.
Miscellaneous
Headlamp: Many guesthouses won’t have much or any lighting at night, and you will probably be sharing a bunkroom with other people, so it’s helpful to have a headlamp.
Sleeping bag liner and pack towel: I brought a pack towel but no liner. Both are optional as far as I’m concerned. Most guesthouses provide linens and towels, but there are a few more basic ones (looking at you, Dobërdoll) where you’ll need your own stuff. If you don’t bring these items, you’ll just have a few slightly more rustic nights.
Trekking Poles: I never leave home without mine, and there are some steep, rocky ascents and descents where you’ll be grateful for them.
Water Purification: There are plenty of livestock grazing these mountains, so if you do need to collect water backcountry, you’ll definitely want to purify it — but the guesthouses are so frequent that you really only need a purification method as a backup. I had a Sawyer Squeeze, but this was overkill and I didn’t end up using it once. Next time I would just bring Aquatabs or similar.
Is the Peaks of the Balkans Trail Safe?
Yes. I hiked it alone and never felt uncomfortable; other people were very respectful. Meanwhile, the trail itself is easy to follow and well-trafficked. The risk of getting lost or running afoul of the weather always exists on a high-elevation hike, but it’s no higher than any other trail.
Technically there are bears, lynx, and wolves in these mountains, but their populations are very small, and you are extremely unlikely to encounter them. There are a couple species of vipers, as well as ticks.
Landmines? Nope. According to the guidebook, the whole route is free of landmines, but there are still areas in these mountains with unexploded ordnance from the Kosovo War further off the route. In general, it’s best practice in this part of the world to stick to the established route.
Peaks of the Balkans Itinerary
The Cicerone guidebook divides the trail into 10 stages ranging from 6 to 17 miles (10 to 27 kilometers) in length. The book estimates that most stages should take between six and eight hiking hours without breaks.
These time estimates seemed generous to me. I finished most stages ~30% faster than the book predicted, even counting breaks. (I consider myself reasonably but not remarkably fit.) You’ll develop your own sense of how your pace relates to the guidebook’s estimates after your first few days.
My stages (I followed the guidebook):
1: Theth – Valbona (bussed to Theth and started hiking the same morning)
2: Valbona – Çerem
3: Çerem – Dobërdoll
4: Dobërdoll – Milishevc (Albania/Kosovo border crossing)
5: Milishevc – Rekë e Allages
6: Rekë e Allages – Drelaj (took a jeep transfer in the morning to Restaurant Te Liqeni to skip a big road walk)
7: Drelaj/Te Liqeni – Babino Polje (Kosovo/Montenegro border crossing; no wifi in any guesthouse I checked in Babino)
8: Babino Polje – Plav (proper town with grocery store, restaurants, etc.)
9: Plav – Vusanje
10: Vusanje – Theth (Montenegro/Albania border crossing)
Pacing/Shortcuts
If you have time, I encourage you to hike the whole route. Every day is unique, and it would be a shame to miss any of it. That being said, if you don’t have time for the full trail, you have options.
If you’re skipping Kosovo, turn west on a side trail at Zavoj Pass (Stage 5) instead of continuing toward Milishevc. This detour will take you to Babino Polje, Montenegro, eliminating stages 6, 7, and 8 (Babino Polje is the endpoint of stage 7).
You could also just hike faster and skip nothing (except possibly the longest road walks). Many of my hiking days ended up being very short, although I was by no means rushing. Fit hikers could probably do this trek in half the allotted time, assuming you’re OK with pushing longer days.
In particular, it would be very easy to combine stages 5 and 6 as stage 6 is quite short. The first half of stage 7 is a paved road walk that most people skip, saving additional time.
Camping and cooking for yourself will make it easier to hike fast. Guesthouse mealtimes will constrain your hiking hours otherwise. I think breakfast was usually at 7 or 7:30 a.m., while dinner was normally on the table at 6 or 7 p.m.
Closing Thoughts
Last thing I’ll mention: Peaks of the Balkans is popular with guided tour groups. You’re likely to encounter several professionally guided hiking groups along the way. This isn’t inherently a good thing or a bad thing — but it’s definitely A Thing, so just be aware.
Ultimately, the mountain vistas, guesthouse culture, and welcoming community make this trek unforgettable. Go hike it!
Featured image: Graphic design by Chris Helm.
