Balkans Hiking: Durmitor, the Prokletije and the Peaks of Theth and Valbona

1. Jour 1 : Podgorica to Zabljak

   Podgorica airport to Zabljak, via Niksic and Savnik

   • Environ 2.5 h de route
   • Repas du soir
   • Nuit : Zabljak
   Détail du jour 1

   Fly into Podgorica airport (TGD), about 12 km south of the capital, where your See Sight Tours guide and driver meet you in arrivals. Plan to land by about 1 pm; the exact meeting time comes with your final itinerary. We drive north through Niksic and then up the winding road past Savnik onto the Durmitor plateau, about 135 km and two and a half hours, with a coffee stop on the way. Zabljak sits at about 1,450 m, one of the highest towns in the Balkans, at the edge of Durmitor National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980. We check in to a central hotel for three nights, so you unpack once. In the early evening your guide goes through the week: boots and layers, how your bags travel on the pass days, the border permits for day 6, and the easy and active choices on each walking day. Then a welcome dinner of mountain dishes such as kacamak, lamb and local cheese.

   Compris

   • Pick-up at Podgorica airport (TGD)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Welcome dinner in Zabljak

   Temps libre : Late afternoon free in Zabljak

   Activité : A travel day; a short walk in Zabljak if you arrive early.

2. Jour 2 : Durmitor: the Black Lake, the Ice Cave or Bobotov Kuk

   Zabljak to the Black Lake and the Ice Cave, or to Sedlo and Bobotov Kuk

   • Environ 30 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Zabljak
   Détail du jour 2

   The big Durmitor day, with a choice. Everyone starts early enough to reach the Black Lake, about 3 km from town, before 9:30 am, when the light is on the water and the day visitors have not yet arrived. From there the main group walks with your guide and a local mountain guide up through spruce forest and the meadows of Lokvice to the Ice Cave, a cave below the peaks where ice lies all summer: about 12 to 14 km return with about 800 m of climb, 6 to 7 hours. The active option starts from the Sedlo pass, a short drive away, and climbs Bobotov Kuk at 2,523 m, the highest peak in Durmitor, with a local mountain guide: about 10 km return and about 650 m up, 6 to 7 hours, with views on a clear day across much of Montenegro. Packed lunches for both groups. The evening is free in Zabljak.

   Compris

   • Durmitor National Park ticket
   • The Black Lake in the early morning
   • Guided walk to the Ice Cave with your guide and a local mountain guide
   • Packed lunch

   Option plus facile : The Black Lake loop, about 4 km on a flat path round the lake, then a lakeside café and the afternoon free in Zabljak.

   Option plus active : Bobotov Kuk (2,523 m) from the Sedlo pass with a local mountain guide, about 10 km return and about 650 m up, with a short scramble near the top.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Zabljak

   Activité : 6 to 7 hours on foot on both main options; the summit option needs a head for heights on the final ridge.

   

3. Jour 3 : The rim of the Tara canyon

   Zabljak to the Curevac viewpoint and back

   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Zabljak
   Détail du jour 3

   A gentler day after the high peaks. With a local guide we walk east from the edge of Zabljak through pine woods and open pasture, past shepherds' huts, to Curevac, a viewpoint at about 1,625 m on the rim of the Tara canyon. The river runs far below; the canyon is among the deepest in Europe, about 1,300 m at its deepest point. We go in the morning, when the light comes up the canyon from the east, and eat a packed lunch on the rim. The walk is about 4 to 5 hours return on paths and farm tracks with a few hundred metres of up and down, and the vehicle can meet anyone who wants to ride back. The afternoon is free: swim in the Black Lake, rent a bike, or rest. In the evening the group eats together at a family restaurant serving Durmitor food.

   Compris

   • Guided walk to the Curevac viewpoint over the Tara canyon
   • Packed lunch on the canyon rim
   • Dinner of Durmitor food in Zabljak

   Option plus facile : Ride to the trail near Curevac and walk the last stretch to the viewpoint, about 1 hour on foot in all.

   Option plus active : Walk out and back on the longer rim path with the local guide, about 6 hours.

   Temps libre : Afternoon free in Zabljak

   Activité : About 4 to 5 hours on foot, with a few hundred metres of up and down.

4. Jour 4 : The Tara bridge and Biogradska Gora to Plav

   Zabljak to the Durdevica Tara bridge, Biogradska Gora, then Plav

   • Environ 3.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Plav
   Détail du jour 4

   We leave Zabljak after breakfast and stop at the Durdevica Tara bridge, a concrete arch built in 1940 that crosses the canyon about 170 m above the river. Walk out on it for the view. Then we drive down to Mojkovac and into Biogradska Gora National Park, one of the last stands of old-growth forest in Europe, where beech, fir and maple trees several centuries old surround Biogradsko Lake. With a local guide we walk round the lake and up through the forest on a marked trail, about 4 hours, and eat a sit-down lunch by the lake. In the afternoon we drive on through Berane and Andrijevica to Plav, below the Prokletije. The day's driving is about three and a half hours, split into three parts by the bridge stop and the walk, and we reach Plav at about 6 pm. Dinner in Plav, two nights.

   Compris

   • Stop at the Durdevica Tara bridge
   • Biogradska Gora National Park ticket
   • Guided forest walk at Biogradsko Lake
   • Sit-down lunch by Biogradsko Lake
   • Dinner in Plav

   Activités en option

   • Zipline across the Tara canyon at the bridge, price shown when you book

   Option plus facile : The lake loop only, about 1 hour on a flat path, then a slow lunch by the water.

   Activité : About 4 hours on forest paths with moderate climbing; 3.5 hours of driving in three parts.

5. Jour 5 : Hridsko Lake and Gusinje

   Plav to Hridsko Lake, then Gusinje and the Ali Pasha springs

   • Environ 1 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Plav
   Détail du jour 5

   A short drive takes us to the trailhead below Hrid, and with a local mountain guide we climb through beech forest and then open pasture to Hridsko Lake, a glacial lake at about 1,970 m ringed by pines and limestone, among the highest lakes in the Prokletije. Allow about 4 to 5 hours return with about 600 m of climb. We eat a packed lunch by the water, where you can swim if you do not mind the cold. In the afternoon we drive to Gusinje, a small town of old stone houses and mosques below the peaks, and walk to the Ali Pasha springs, where cold water rises from the foot of the mountain into clear pools under the trees. Back in Plav, the evening is free: walk the shore of Plav Lake or find the old Redzepagic tower in town.

   Compris

   • Guided walk to Hridsko Lake with a local mountain guide
   • Packed lunch
   • Gusinje and the Ali Pasha springs with your guide

   Option plus facile : Walk the first hour of the trail with the group, then a slower afternoon by Plav Lake before Gusinje.

   Option plus active : With the local guide, carry on above the lake to the ridge of Hrid for the view over the border peaks.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Plav

   Activité : About 4 to 5 hours on foot with about 600 m of climb on a good path.

   

6. Jour 6 : On foot into Albania: Vusanje to Theth

   Plav to Gusinje and Vusanje, on foot over the Peja Pass to Theth

   • Environ 30 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Theth
   Détail du jour 6

   The first crossing. We drive through Gusinje to Vusanje, about half an hour, leave at about 8 am with a local mountain guide, and walk up the Ropojana valley, a wide glacial valley between grey walls of limestone. From the valley head we climb to the Peja Pass at about 1,700 m, where the path crosses the border into Albania; the border permits are arranged in advance and you carry your passport. Then we drop steeply through beech forest into the Theth valley. It is about 17 to 20 km, with about 900 m up and 1,000 m down, 7 to 8 hours with stops and a packed lunch. Your main bag goes round by road with the vehicle. Theth is a village of stone houses and fields under the peaks, and dinner is at our family guesthouse.

   Compris

   • Guided walk from Vusanje to Theth over the Peja Pass with a local mountain guide
   • Border-crossing permits for Montenegro and Albania
   • Main bags carried by road to Theth
   • Packed lunch
   • Dinner at the guesthouse in Theth

   Option plus facile : Walk into the Ropojana valley for an hour or two and back to Vusanje, then ride round to Theth with the bags through Podgorica and Shkoder: about 300 km and 7 to 8 hours, one of the two exceptions to our driving cap. Choosing this means most of the day in the vehicle; you meet the group for dinner.

   Activité : One of the two hardest days: about 17 to 20 km, about 900 m up and 1,000 m down, 7 to 8 hours. Walking poles help on the descent.

   

7. Jour 7 : Over the Valbona Pass to Valbona

   Theth on foot over the Valbona Pass to Rragam, then Valbona

   • Environ 15 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Valbona
   Détail du jour 7

   The second crossing, the best-known walk in the Albanian Alps. There is no road between Theth and Valbona. We leave at about 8 am to be over the top before the afternoon thunderstorms that build on summer days. With a local mountain guide the path climbs from Theth at about 750 m through beech forest, then zigzags up open, stony ground to the Valbona Pass at about 1,800 m, with views back over the Theth valley and ahead down Valbona. The descent is long and rocky to the road end at Rragam, where our vehicle waits to take us the last 6 km to Valbona. Allow 6 to 8 hours with about 1,050 m up and 1,000 m down, with a packed lunch near the pass. Your bags go separately. Dinner is cooked by the family at our guesthouse.

   Compris

   • Guided crossing of the Valbona Pass with your guide and a local mountain guide
   • Main bags carried separately to Valbona
   • Packed lunch
   • Dinner at the guesthouse in Valbona

   Option plus facile : Walk up from Theth towards the pass for the view and back down, then ride round to Valbona through Shkoder and Kukes: about 300 km and 7 to 8 hours, the second exception to our driving cap. Choosing this means most of the day in the vehicle; you meet the group for dinner.

   Temps libre : Evening in Valbona

   Activité : One of the two hardest days: about 1,050 m up and 1,000 m down on a rocky path, 6 to 8 hours.

8. Jour 8 : The Koman lake ferry to Shkoder

   Valbona to Fierze, by ferry to Koman, then Shkoder

   • Environ 2.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Shkoder
   Détail du jour 8

   A slow morning in Valbona after two big days: walk along the white stone bed of the Valbona river or sit in the guesthouse garden, then an early lunch at the guesthouse. At about 11:30 am we drive about an hour past Bajram Curri to the landing at Fierze for the 1 pm car ferry on Lake Koman, a reservoir that fills a deep, narrow gorge; we confirm the sailing time when we book the boat. Limestone walls rise straight from green water, the channel narrows to a few dozen metres in places, and the boat stops at landings for farmers from villages with no road. The crossing takes about two and a half hours, reaching the Koman dam at about 3:30 pm. From there we drive about an hour and a half down the Drin valley to Shkoder, arriving at about 5 pm, check in to a central hotel, and have time to rest before we walk to a farewell dinner in the old centre at about 7:30 pm.

   Compris

   • Koman lake ferry from Fierze to Koman
   • Lunch at the guesthouse in Valbona
   • Farewell dinner in Shkoder

   Temps libre : Morning free in Valbona

   Activité : Bring a warm layer for the ferry deck. Little walking today.

9. Jour 9 : Shkoder and out from Tirana

   Shkoder to Rozafa Castle, then Tirana International Airport

   • Environ 1.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner
   Détail du jour 9

   After breakfast your guide takes the group up to Rozafa Castle on its rock above Shkoder, where the Drin and Buna rivers meet and Lake Shkoder stretches north towards Montenegro, the country where the trip began. Back in town, the Marubi National Museum of Photography on the pedestrian Kole Idromeno street holds more than a century of portraits and street scenes taken by one family of Shkoder photographers. Then we drive about 90 km south to Tirana International Airport (TIA) at Rinas, about an hour and a half, or into central Tirana if you are staying on. Book a flight leaving after about 3 pm; you should be at the airport two hours before departure. For more of Albania, the southern Albania trip to Berat, Gjirokaster and the Riviera starts from Tirana.

   Compris

   • Rozafa Castle with your guide
   • Marubi National Museum of Photography, Shkoder
   • Drop-off at Tirana International Airport (TIA) or central Tirana

   Activité : A short steep walk on stone paths at Rozafa Castle. Book a flight after about 3 pm.

Faune et météo : June to September is the walking season. Snow can lie on Bobotov Kuk and the high passes into June; July and August are warm in the valleys with afternoon thunderstorms in the mountains, which is why the pass days start early; September brings clearer air and fewer walkers. Zabljak sits at about 1,450 m, so evenings are cool even in summer. Wildflowers are at their best in the Durmitor meadows in late June and July.

• Zabljak3 nuits
• Plav2 nuits
• Theth1 nuit
• Valbona1 nuit
• Shkoder1 nuit