The Peaks of the Balkans is one 192 km (119-mile) loop through three countries in the Accursed Mountains, also known as the Prokletije or the Albanian Alps, and it’s every bit as wild as that name promises. Our hiking tours start and finish in Shkodra, Albania.
Got a week? The Peaks of the Balkans Self-Guided Hiking Tour with Taljanka Peak (7 Days, Moderate) is 5 hiking days in Albania and Montenegro, with the Blue Eye, the Valbona Pass and Taljanka peak, from €710 per person.
Got 11 days? Hike the full loop through Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro, 9 hiking days with Gjeravica, the highest peak in Kosovo at 2656 m (8714 ft). The Peaks of the Balkans Self-Guided Hiking Tour: Full Loop (11 Days) is from €850.
The Peaks of the Balkans Guided Hiking Tour: Full Loop (11 Days) adds a local mountain guide, from €980.
You sleep in a hotel in Shkodra and in family guesthouses in the mountain villages, with shared rooms in the mountains. Your transfers, border permits, GPS tracks or guide, a free custom training plan (valued at €300) and assistance while on your tour are included.
The self-guided tours start any day from June to September 2027, and the guided tour has ten Saturday departures from May 22nd to October 2nd.
Which Peaks of the Balkans Tour Is Right for You? All 3 Tours Compared
Start with how many days you can escape for. With a week, take the 7-day self-guided tour through Albania and Montenegro.
With 11 days, hike the full loop through all three countries, on your own or with a guide.
| Peaks of the Balkans Self-Guided Hiking Tour with Taljanka Peak (7 Days, Moderate) | Peaks of the Balkans Self-Guided Hiking Tour: Full Loop (11 Days) | Peaks of the Balkans Guided Hiking Tour: Full Loop (11 Days) | |
| Pick this if | You have a week and want the big views with gentler days and fewer moves | You have 11 days and like to set your own pace | You have 11 days and want a local guide and a group |
| Tour length | 7 days, 6 nights, 5 hiking days | 11 days, 10 nights, 9 hiking days | 11 days, 10 nights, 9 hiking days |
| Difficulty | Moderate | Challenging | Challenging |
| Navigation | GPS tracks for every hiking day | GPS tracks for every hiking day | A local mountain guide every hiking day |
| Countries | Albania and Montenegro | Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro | Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro |
| Start dates | Any day, June to September 2027 | Any day, June to September 2027 | 10 Saturdays, May 22nd to October 2nd, 2027 |
| Hiking | 75.7 km (47 miles), 4515 m (14,813 ft) of elevation gain | 146.5 km (91 miles), 8766 m (28,760 ft) of elevation gain | 141.6 km (88 miles), 8337 m (27,352 ft) of elevation gain |
| Highest point | 2057 m (6749 ft), Taljanka peak | 2656 m (8714 ft), Gjeravica | 2656 m (8714 ft), Gjeravica |
| Accommodations | A hotel in Shkodra and guesthouses in 3 mountain villages, in shared rooms. Private double or twin rooms for the whole trip, €110 per room, depending on availability | A hotel in Shkodra and guesthouses in 7 mountain villages, in shared rooms. Private double or twin rooms for the whole trip, €150 per room, depending on availability | The same hotel and villages as the self-guided loop, plus a night in the Gacaferi hut in Kosovo, in shared rooms. Ask us about private rooms, depending on availability |
| Signature days | The Blue Eye, the Valbona Pass, Taljanka peak | Gjeravica, the Three-Border peak, Taljanka peak | Gjeravica, the Gacaferi pastures, Taljanka peak |
| Meals | 6 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 4 dinners | 10 breakfasts, 9 lunches, 7 dinners | Three meals a day from day 2 to day 9, plus breakfast and a packed lunch on day 10 |
| Park fees in Montenegro | About €3 to €5 a day, in cash | About €3 to €5 a day, in cash | Included |
| Luggage transfer | Optional, €325 for your group, up to 50 kg (110 lb) in 5 soft bags | Optional, €595 for your group, up to 50 kg (110 lb) in 5 soft bags | Included, 1 soft bag each up to 13 kg (29 lb) |
| Price per person | €710 | €850 | €980 |
| Hiking on your own | Add a €420 solo supplement | Add an €820 solo supplement | €980, no supplement |
| Deposit to book | €213 | €255 | €294 |
| Every tour includes | Hotel and family guesthouse nights, with shared rooms in the mountains. The Valbona Pass and the Vusanje to Theth trail. Transfers from Shkodra and back. Border permits arranged by our local partner. Assistance while you’re on tour. A free custom training plan (valued at €300). | ||
Swipe left to see all three tours →
Highlights of Our Peaks of the Balkans Hiking Tours
- Hike the Valbona Pass, the most famous day hike in Albania and the photo your friends will ask about first, on an ancient mule track that once linked the tribal regions of Shala and Nikaj. It’s on every tour.
- Cross back from Montenegro into Albania on the Vusanje to Theth trail, the rockiest stretch of the Accursed Mountains, past an old military bunker and the border signs of a zone that was forbidden under communism. Also on every tour.
- Every tour: climb Taljanka peak above the Grbaja Valley, once called the most beautiful valley in Tito’s Yugoslavia, and follow the ridge over Popadija.
- 7-day Moderate Route and 11-day tours: hike down from Theth to the Blue Eye and the natural rock pools of the Shala River.
- 11-day tours: take the high route over the Prosllopi Pass to Cerem, with the option to climb Zla Kolata, at 2535 m (8317 ft) the highest peak in Montenegro.
- 11-day tours: stop for a glass of milk with the shepherds in Balqin on the way to Doberdol, a summer village no car can reach, right below the point where Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro meet.
- 11-day tours: summit Gjeravica, at 2656 m (8714 ft) the highest peak in Kosovo, and, on the self-guided loop, stand on the Three-Border peak, where Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro meet.
- Sleep in family guesthouses in villages that only come alive in summer, when the shepherds bring their flocks up to the high pastures, and eat home-cooked dinners made with what they produce.
- Hike your way: at your own pace with GPS tracks, or with a local mountain guide on every hiking day.
Peaks of the Balkans Tours: What Hiking the Accursed Mountains Is Actually Like
Any mountain range called the Accursed Mountains has our attention. The Peaks of the Balkans Trail is a 192 km (119-mile) loop through them, where Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro meet.
You hike through villages once split by some of the most heavily guarded borders in Europe, over high passes and through meadows where the grass is never cut.
Dinner is home-cooked by the family whose house you’re sleeping in, and the shepherd pouring your milk isn’t doing it for Instagram.
We take care of the hard parts, so all you have to think about is the trail in front of you and how you’ll ever describe it to your friends back home.
Short on vacation days? The 7-day Moderate Route takes a direct line from Albania into Montenegro and back, and hikes the two days people come here for: the Valbona Pass and the trail from Vusanje to Theth.
You can see the best of the Accursed Mountains in a week, with time left over to explore other places in Europe.
With 11 days, you get the whole loop and the big one: Kosovo, Gjeravica and the least-visited valleys on the trail. Hike it self-guided, at your own pace, or join a group with a local mountain guide.
Who is it for? Hikers who are happy on rocky mountain paths for 6 to 8 hours a day, several days in a row.
Not sure which tour suits you? Use the comparison above, or ask us.
Chosen by Someone Who’s Hiked the Peaks of the Balkans
I’m Laurel, founder of Monkeys and Mountains. I’ve hiked the Peaks of the Balkans myself, so I can tell you firsthand: the view from the Valbona Pass is worth every step.
Questions before you book? Reach out and our local partner, who knows these mountains inside out, will answer you directly.
Your Free Personalized Peaks of the Balkans Fitness Plan (€300 Value)
Every booking includes a training plan built for this route, your current fitness and where you live, even if it’s flat as a table. Just ask, and we’ll send you the questionnaire to fill out.
It gets you ready for 6 to 8 hours of hiking a day, several days in a row, over high passes and rocky ground, so you spend the trip looking at the mountains instead of your boots.
You bring the legs. We handle the Peaks of the Balkans logistics.
Book your Peaks of the Balkans hiking tour
Choose your tour and your start date and complete our booking form. A 30% deposit holds your dates.
We book every night
Our local partner reserves your hotel in Shkodra and your family guesthouses, and arranges your transfers, your border permits and any luggage transfer you add.
Your route info arrives
GPS tracks for every hiking day on the self-guided tours. Want your free custom training plan (€300 value)? Ask us, and we’ll send you the questionnaire.
You hike
A private transfer takes you from Shkodra up to Theth, then it’s just you, the mountains and the next village’s dinner. You have assistance while on your tour if you need us.
As a small company working with trusted local partners, we actually remember your name and genuinely care about your trip. Just check out our reviews: happy hikers, repeat adventurers, and rewards when you refer friends. That’s the Monkeys and Mountains difference.
Peaks of the Balkans Guided Tour vs. Self-Guided: What’s the Difference on the 11-Day Loop?
The 11-day guided tour and the 11-day self-guided tour hike the same loop and stay in the same villages, except that the guided tour swaps a second night in Doberdol for a night in the Gacaferi hut in Kosovo. Here’s what else changes.
- Your guide: on the guided tour, a local mountain guide is with you every hiking day, in a group of 16 at most, and often smaller. Self-guided, you follow GPS tracks for every hiking day.
- Your dates: the guided tour leaves on ten set Saturdays from May 22nd to October 2nd, 2027. Self-guided, you start on any day from June to September 2027.
- Your company: the guided tour is a group, so you share the guesthouse dinners with other hikers. Self-guided, it’s just you and your own group.
- What’s included: the guided tour adds three meals a day from day 2 to day 9, luggage transfer for one bag each, the national park fees in Montenegro and a briefing with your guide in Shkodra on day 1.
- Price: €980 guided, €850 self-guided, per person. Hiking self-guided on your own adds an €820 solo supplement; the guided price is the same for everyone.
Peaks of the Balkans Hiking Tour With Us vs. Planning It Yourself
You can hike the Peaks of the Balkans on your own. Here’s what that means you organize before you go, and what we take off your plate.
| Peaks of the Balkans hiking tour | Planning it yourself | |
| Border crossing permits | Arranged by our local partner. Send us a copy of your passport and the permits arrive with your trip documents. | Your job, and the biggest headache. You apply for a permit for each border you cross on the trail, in advance, before you leave home. Without them, you can’t legally cross the mountain borders. |
| Where you sleep | Every night booked before you arrive: a hotel in Shkodra and family guesthouses in the mountains | You contact each guesthouse yourself, often by phone or message, in villages that are only open in summer |
| Transfers | Arranged: Shkodra to Theth and back, plus the shortcuts in your itinerary, private for your group | You find your own drivers and 4x4s in the mountains |
| Luggage | Luggage transfer included on the guided tour, or added for your group on the self-guided tours | You carry everything, or find your own horse or vehicle between villages |
| Navigation | A local mountain guide, or GPS tracks for every hiking day | Your own research and route finding |
| Help on the trail | Assistance while you’re on tour | You’re on your own |
| Free custom training plan | Yes, valued at €300 | No |
Swipe left to see the full comparison →
7-DAY PEAKS OF THE BALKANS SELF-GUIDED HIKING TOUR INFO
Best for hikers with a week of vacation, or a bigger trip around Europe to fit in. You get the Blue Eye, the Valbona Pass and Taljanka peak, with gentler days and fewer moves.
Welcome to Albania! Shkodra is a lively lakeside city at the foot of the mountains and one of the oldest in the country.
Check into your hotel, explore at your own pace and enjoy sitting down. Tomorrow, your legs go to work.
If you arrive early in the day, a transfer straight up to Theth can be arranged instead, so you start hiking the next morning after breakfast. An airport pickup can be added when you book.
- Accommodation: hotel in Shkodra
An early transfer climbs into the mountains to Theth, a village of stone houses at the end of a long valley that still looks much as it did in the Middle Ages. Your phone will be out before your boots are on.
You hike past the Lock Tower, a three-story stone tower with no windows where men caught up in the old blood feuds of the Kanun once shut themselves away. Suddenly your inbox doesn’t seem so bad.
Then it’s down the valley to the waterfalls and natural rock pools of the Shala River, and the Blue Eye, a pool so turquoise it looks edited. Bring a swimsuit, because you’ll want to say you got in.
It’s a long day with only gentle climbs, so you get to spend it looking up. For a shorter day, you can take a transfer from Nderlyse back to Theth.
- Hiking today: 19.8 km (12.3 miles), 520 m (1706 ft) ascent, 630 m (2067 ft) descent
- Transfers: included, from Shkodra to Theth
- Accommodation: guesthouse in Theth
This is the one, the day people cross oceans for. You climb out of Theth through forest and alpine terrain on an ancient mule track that once linked the tribal regions of Shala and Nikaj.
At the Valbona Pass, 1759 m (5771 ft), both valleys open out below you at once. That’s your new phone background, right there.
Then it’s a steady descent on a well-defined path into Valbona, at 995 m (3264 ft), a village at the heart of its own national park. The climb is hard work, the view pays you back with interest, and dinner tastes like you earned it. Because you did.
- Hiking today: 16.6 km (10.3 miles), 1175 m (3855 ft) ascent, 940 m (3084 ft) descent, highest point 1854 m (6083 ft)
- Accommodation: guesthouse in Valbona
A transfer takes you from Valbona to Cerem, and from there you hike across the border into Montenegro on one of the quietest trails in the Accursed Mountains. You’ll see very few other hikers, so the mountains are pretty much all yours.
You come down to Vusanje, a village whose families are related to those in Cerem, for two nights. Two nights in the same bed! Unpack like royalty.
- Hiking today: 11.9 km (7.4 miles), 685 m (2247 ft) ascent, 870 m (2854 ft) descent, highest point 1864 m (6115 ft)
- Transfers: included, from Valbona to Cerem
- Accommodation: guesthouse in Vusanje
A transfer takes you to the Grbaja Valley, once called the most beautiful valley in Tito’s Yugoslavia, which had plenty of competition. Many hikers say the climb from here gives the best view in the Accursed Mountains.
You climb to Taljanka peak, a green summit facing the rough rock wall of Karanfil, and follow the ridge over Popadija at 2030 m (6660 ft) with bare stone peaks all around you. Clear some space on your phone first. A transfer takes you back to Vusanje for the night.
- Hiking today: 9.6 km (6 miles), 995 m (3264 ft) ascent, 1100 m (3609 ft) descent, highest point 2057 m (6749 ft)
- Transfers: included, from Vusanje to the Grbaja Valley and back
- Accommodation: guesthouse in Vusanje
Your last big day takes you back into Albania through one of the most rugged parts of the Accursed Mountains, a restricted zone under communism. Today, the only thing that’ll stop you is the view.
A short transfer skips the first 6.5 km (4 miles) of 4WD track up the Ropojana Valley, so your hike starts where the scenery does, between steep rock walls near Ropojana Lake, which can be dry depending on the winter’s snow.
From there you climb past a military bunker and Cold War border signs, then down through meadows to Theth to close the loop.
It’s the rockiest stage of the trip and one of the most varied, and hiking back into Theth feels like a victory lap. A private transfer then takes you to Shkodra for your last night. Order the big dinner.
- Hiking today: 17.8 km (11.1 miles), 1140 m (3740 ft) ascent, 1400 m (4593 ft) descent, highest point 1740 m (5709 ft)
- Transfers: included, from Vusanje up the Ropojana Valley, and from Theth to Shkodra
- Accommodation: hotel in Shkodra
You did it. In five hiking days you crossed the Valbona Pass, dipped at least a toe in the Blue Eye, stood on Taljanka peak and hiked between two countries. Not bad for one week of vacation.
Enjoy a slow breakfast and a last stroll through Shkodra before you head home or on to your next adventure, with a camera full of limestone walls and a story for every village. An airport drop-off can be added when you book.
Congratulations! You’ve just hiked 75.7 km (47 miles) through two countries, with 4515 m (14,813 ft) of elevation gain. Not bad for one week of vacation.
BOOK YOUR PEAKS OF THE BALKANS HIKING TOUR NOW
COST OF THE 7-DAY PEAKS OF THE BALKANS SELF-GUIDED HIKING TOUR
| 7-DAY PEAKS OF THE BALKANS SELF-GUIDED HIKING TOUR DETAILS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 7 days |  | Any day, June to September 2027 |  | Starts and finishes in Shkodra, Albania | |
 | €710 per person Pay €213 today (30% deposit), balance due 40 days before you hike | |||||
| Optional Extras | – Solo supplement if you hike on your own: €420 – Private double or twin room for the whole trip: €110 per room, depending on availability – Luggage transfer: €325 for your group, up to 50 kg (110 lb) in 5 soft bags – Transfer to Shkodra: €70 from Tirana Airport, €85 from Tirana city, €60 from Podgorica | |||||
Book with confidence
A 30% deposit holds your dates, balance due 40 days before you hike
Every night of your trip is booked for you, and if your accommodation can’t be secured, you get a full refund
Assistance while you’re on tour
Rated 4.9/5 from 187 hiker reviews
BOOK YOUR PEAKS OF THE BALKANS HIKING TOUR NOW
7-DAY TOUR INCLUSIONS
WHAT’S INCLUDED
✔ 6 nights: a hotel in Shkodra and family guesthouses in the mountains, with shared rooms in the mountains
✔ 6 breakfasts, 4 lunches and 4 dinners
✔ The transfers in your itinerary, private for your group, by car or 4×4
✔ Border permits, arranged by our local partner
✔ GPS tracks for every hiking day
✔ Assistance while you’re on tour
✔ Free custom training plan (valued at €300), when you ask for it
OPTIONAL EXTRAS
- Solo supplement: €420 if you hike on your own.
- Private double or twin room: €110 per room for the whole trip, depending on availability.
- Luggage transfer: €325 for your group, for up to 50 kg (110 lb) in up to 5 soft bags. Your bags travel by vehicle or by horse, so no suitcases or hard plastic or metal parts.
- Transfer to Shkodra: €70 from Tirana Airport, €85 from Tirana city, €60 from Podgorica city or airport.
EXCLUSIONS
- Travel insurance that covers you for this tour and includes emergency evacuation and hospital care in the unlikely event that you get injured. We recommend our free Adventure Travel Insurance Finder, which finds the best policy based on your needs.
- Flights.
- National park entrance fees in Montenegro, about €3 to €5 a day, paid in cash.
- Meals not listed above, and drinks.
- Personal expenses.
- Accommodations the night before your tour starts and after it finishes.
- Anything not indicated above.
11-DAY PEAKS OF THE BALKANS SELF-GUIDED HIKING TOUR INFO
Best for hikers who want the whole loop through all three countries and like to set their own pace. It’s graded Challenging: nine hiking days, with your GPS tracks showing the way.
Welcome to Albania! Shkodra is a lively lakeside city at the foot of the mountains and one of the oldest in the country.
Check into your hotel, explore at your own pace and enjoy sitting down. Tomorrow, your legs go to work.
If you arrive early in the day, a transfer straight up to Theth can be arranged instead, so you start hiking the next morning after breakfast. An airport pickup can be added when you book.
- Accommodation: hotel in Shkodra
An early transfer climbs into the mountains to Theth, a village of stone houses at the end of a long valley that still looks much as it did in the Middle Ages. Your phone will be out before your boots are on.
You hike past the Lock Tower, a three-story stone tower with no windows where men caught up in the old blood feuds of the Kanun once shut themselves away. Suddenly your inbox doesn’t seem so bad.
Then it’s down the valley to the waterfalls and natural rock pools of the Shala River, and the Blue Eye, a pool so turquoise it looks edited. Bring a swimsuit, because you’ll want to say you got in.
It’s a long day with only gentle climbs, so you get to spend it looking up. For a shorter day, you can take a transfer from Nderlyse back to Theth.
- Hiking today: 19.8 km (12.3 miles), 520 m (1706 ft) ascent, 630 m (2067 ft) descent
- Transfers: included, from Shkodra to Theth
- Accommodation: guesthouse in Theth
This is the one, the day people cross oceans for. You climb out of Theth through forest and alpine terrain on an ancient mule track that once linked the tribal regions of Shala and Nikaj.
At the Valbona Pass, 1759 m (5771 ft), both valleys open out below you at once. That’s your new phone background, right there.
Then it’s a steady descent on a well-defined path into Valbona, at 995 m (3264 ft), a village at the heart of its own national park. The climb is hard work, the view pays you back with interest, and dinner tastes like you earned it. Because you did.
- Hiking today: 16.6 km (10.3 miles), 1175 m (3855 ft) ascent, 940 m (3084 ft) descent, highest point 1854 m (6083 ft)
- Accommodation: guesthouse in Valbona
There are two ways from Valbona to Cerem: the official route, which mostly follows a tractor track down the valley, and the high route over the Prosllopi Pass. Nobody crosses an ocean for a tractor track, so you take the high one.
It’s one of the steepest climbs on the whole Peaks of the Balkans, and the payoff is the best view of the bare limestone peaks of the Accursed Mountains.
Feeling strong? From the pass you can climb Zla Kolata, at 2535 m (8317 ft) the highest peak in Montenegro, and collect a country’s high point before dinner.
You come down to Cerem, a shepherds’ village that’s only lived in during the summer. Tonight, your neighbors may well have four legs.
- Hiking today: 16.3 km (10.1 miles), 1215 m (3986 ft) ascent, 1005 m (3297 ft) descent, highest point 2039 m (6690 ft)
- Accommodation: guesthouse in Cerem
Today you hike across the high pastures between two summer shepherds’ villages, the kind of day when you stop checking the time because there’s nothing to be late for.
Stop in Balqin for a glass of milk from the shepherds. It’s the shortest supply chain you’ll ever drink from.
These mountains are part of the Gashi valley, home of the Gashi tribe and on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 2017, and they shelter the glacial lakes of the Sulbica plateau.
Doberdol sits right below the point where Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro meet, connected to the world only by small tracks. No ordinary car can reach it. You just did, on your own two feet, and that feels pretty great.
- Hiking today: 16.8 km (10.4 miles), 1020 m (3346 ft) ascent, 520 m (1706 ft) descent, highest point 1920 m (6299 ft)
- Accommodation: guesthouse in Doberdol
Today you go for the big one: Gjeravica, at 2656 m (8714 ft) the highest mountain in Kosovo and the second highest in the Accursed Mountains. The route to the summit is straightforward, and the bragging rights last for years.
The border you cross today is barely marked now. Under communism it divided Albania from Yugoslavia and was one of the most heavily guarded borders in the world.
If your legs ask for a day off, you can stay in Doberdol instead. No judgment from the sheep.
- Hiking today: 18.8 km (11.7 miles), 1134 m (3720 ft) ascent, 1130 m (3707 ft) descent, highest point 2656 m (8714 ft)
- Accommodation: guesthouse in Doberdol
Today you hike between two shepherds’ villages in two different countries that share one culture and one language. From the narrow pass on the border with Montenegro, you climb the Three-Border peak at 2366 m (7762 ft). Three countries, two feet: plan your photo.
You come down to Milisevc in Kosovo, where the hosts of your guesthouse make sure the evening is as good as the hike.
- Hiking today: 17.9 km (11.1 miles), 970 m (3182 ft) ascent, 1075 m (3527 ft) descent, highest point 2250 m (7382 ft)
- Accommodation: guesthouse in Milisevc
Today leaves the classic route for some of the least trodden trails on the Kosovo side of the Accursed Mountains, skipping a less interesting stretch and a car transfer. Fewer roads, more mountains. Good trade.
You join the trail again between Kuqishte and Babino Polje, partly through Zavoj and Ravno Selo, the least visited section of the whole Peaks of the Balkans, where the mountains are all yours.
Babino Polje is a shepherds’ village famous for its dairy products and its cooking, so arrive hungry.
- Hiking today: 12.9 km (8 miles), 597 m (1959 ft) ascent, 747 m (2451 ft) descent, highest point 2155 m (7070 ft)
- Accommodation: guesthouse in Babino Polje
A transfer takes you to the Grbaja Valley, once called the most beautiful valley in Tito’s Yugoslavia and one of the most panoramic places on the whole trail.
You climb Taljanka peak, a green summit facing the rough rock wall of Karanfil, and follow the ridge over Popadija at 2030 m (6660 ft). A transfer takes you to Vusanje for the night.
- Hiking today: 9.6 km (6 miles), 995 m (3264 ft) ascent, 1100 m (3609 ft) descent, highest point 2057 m (6749 ft)
- Transfers: included, from Babino Polje to the Grbaja Valley, then on to Vusanje
- Accommodation: guesthouse in Vusanje
Your last big day takes you back into Albania through one of the most rugged parts of the Accursed Mountains, a restricted zone under communism. Today, the only thing that’ll stop you is the view.
A short transfer skips the first 6.5 km (4 miles) of 4WD track up the Ropojana Valley, so your hike starts where the scenery does, between steep rock walls near Ropojana Lake, which can be dry depending on the winter’s snow.
From there you climb past a military bunker and Cold War border signs, then down through meadows to Theth to close the loop.
It’s the rockiest stage of the trip and one of the most varied, and hiking back into Theth feels like a victory lap. A private transfer then takes you to Shkodra for your last night. Order the big dinner.
- Hiking today: 17.8 km (11.1 miles), 1140 m (3740 ft) ascent, 1400 m (4593 ft) descent, highest point 1740 m (5709 ft)
- Transfers: included, from Vusanje up the Ropojana Valley, and from Theth to Shkodra
- Accommodation: hotel in Shkodra
You did it: the full Peaks of the Balkans loop, through Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro, with Gjeravica, the Three-Border peak and Taljanka peak along the way.
Three countries, nine hiking days and more shepherds’ breakfasts than you can count. Enjoy a last stroll through Shkodra before you head home. An airport drop-off can be added when you book.
Congratulations! You’ve just hiked 146.5 km (91 miles) through three countries, with 8766 m (28,760 ft) of elevation gain. You’ve earned your bragging rights.
BOOK YOUR PEAKS OF THE BALKANS HIKING TOUR NOW
COST OF THE 11-DAY PEAKS OF THE BALKANS SELF-GUIDED HIKING TOUR
| 11-DAY PEAKS OF THE BALKANS SELF-GUIDED HIKING TOUR DETAILS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 days | | Any day, June to September 2027 | | Starts and finishes in Shkodra, Albania | |
| €850 per person Pay €255 today (30% deposit), balance due 40 days before you hike | |||||
| Optional Extras | – Solo supplement if you hike on your own: €820 – Private double or twin room for the whole trip: €150 per room, depending on availability – Luggage transfer: €595 for your group, up to 50 kg (110 lb) in 5 soft bags – Transfer to Shkodra: €70 from Tirana Airport, €85 from Tirana city, €60 from Podgorica | |||||
Book with confidence
A 30% deposit holds your dates, balance due 40 days before you hike
Every night of your trip is booked for you, and if your accommodation can’t be secured, you get a full refund
Assistance while you’re on tour
Rated 4.9/5 from 187 hiker reviews
BOOK YOUR PEAKS OF THE BALKANS HIKING TOUR NOW
11-DAY SELF-GUIDED TOUR INCLUSIONS
WHAT’S INCLUDED
✔ 10 nights: a hotel in Shkodra and family guesthouses in the mountains, with shared rooms in the mountains
✔ 10 breakfasts, 9 lunches and 7 dinners
✔ The transfers in your itinerary, private for your group, by car or 4×4
✔ Border permits, arranged by our local partner
✔ GPS tracks for every hiking day
✔ Assistance while you’re on tour
✔ Free custom training plan (valued at €300), when you ask for it
OPTIONAL EXTRAS
- Solo supplement: €820 if you hike on your own.
- Private double or twin room: €150 per room for the whole trip, depending on availability.
- Luggage transfer: €595 for your group, for up to 50 kg (110 lb) in up to 5 soft bags. Your bags travel by vehicle or by horse, so no suitcases or hard plastic or metal parts.
- Transfer to Shkodra: €70 from Tirana Airport, €85 from Tirana city, €60 from Podgorica city or airport.
EXCLUSIONS
- Travel insurance that covers you for this tour and includes emergency evacuation and hospital care in the unlikely event that you get injured. We recommend our free Adventure Travel Insurance Finder, which finds the best policy based on your needs.
- Flights.
- National park entrance fees in Montenegro, about €3 to €5 a day, paid in cash.
- Meals not listed above, and drinks.
- Personal expenses.
- Accommodations the night before your tour starts and after it finishes.
- Anything not indicated above.
11-DAY PEAKS OF THE BALKANS GUIDED HIKING TOUR INFO
Best for hikers who want a local mountain guide, a group to share the stories with and nothing to navigate. You also get a night in the wild Gacaferi hut in Kosovo.
Welcome to Albania! Shkodra is a lively lakeside city at the foot of the mountains and one of the oldest in the country.
Check into your hotel, explore at your own pace and enjoy sitting down. Tomorrow, your legs go to work.
You meet your guide and the group at the hotel from 8pm to 9pm for a briefing on the days ahead.
- Accommodation: hotel in Shkodra
An early transfer climbs into the mountains to Theth, a village of stone houses at the end of a long valley that still looks much as it did in the Middle Ages. Your phone will be out before your boots are on.
You hike past the Lock Tower, a three-story stone tower with no windows where men caught up in the old blood feuds of the Kanun once shut themselves away. Suddenly your inbox doesn’t seem so bad.
Then it’s down the valley to the waterfalls and natural rock pools of the Shala River, and the Blue Eye, a pool so turquoise it looks edited. Bring a swimsuit, because you’ll want to say you got in.
It’s a long day with only gentle climbs, so you get to spend it looking up. For a shorter day, you can take a transfer from Nderlyse back to Theth.
- Hiking today: 19.8 km (12.3 miles), 520 m (1706 ft) ascent, 630 m (2067 ft) descent
- Transfers: included, from Shkodra to Theth
- Accommodation: guesthouse in Theth
This is the one, the day people cross oceans for. You climb out of Theth through forest and alpine terrain on an ancient mule track that once linked the tribal regions of Shala and Nikaj.
At the Valbona Pass, 1759 m (5771 ft), both valleys open out below you at once. That’s your new phone background, right there.
Then it’s a steady descent on a well-defined path into Valbona, at 995 m (3264 ft), a village at the heart of its own national park. The climb is hard work, the view pays you back with interest, and dinner tastes like you earned it. Because you did.
- Hiking today: 16.4 km (10.2 miles), 1175 m (3855 ft) ascent, 940 m (3084 ft) descent, highest point 1854 m (6083 ft)
- Accommodation: guesthouse in Valbona
There are two ways from Valbona to Cerem: the official route, which mostly follows a tractor track down the valley, and the high route over the Prosllopi Pass. Nobody crosses an ocean for a tractor track, so you take the high one.
It’s one of the steepest climbs on the whole Peaks of the Balkans, and the payoff is the best view of the bare limestone peaks of the Accursed Mountains.
Feeling strong? From the pass you can climb Zla Kolata, at 2535 m (8317 ft) the highest peak in Montenegro, and collect a country’s high point before dinner.
You come down to Cerem, a shepherds’ village that’s only lived in during the summer. Tonight, your neighbors may well have four legs.
- Hiking today: 15.5 km (9.6 miles), 1215 m (3986 ft) ascent, 1005 m (3297 ft) descent, highest point 2039 m (6690 ft)
- Accommodation: guesthouse in Cerem
Today you hike across the high pastures between two summer shepherds’ villages, the kind of day when you stop checking the time because there’s nothing to be late for.
Stop in Balqin for a glass of milk from the shepherds. It’s the shortest supply chain you’ll ever drink from.
These mountains are part of the Gashi valley, home of the Gashi tribe and on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 2017, and they shelter the glacial lakes of the Sulbica plateau.
Doberdol sits right below the point where Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro meet, connected to the world only by small tracks. No ordinary car can reach it. You just did, on your own two feet, and that feels pretty great.
- Hiking today: 16.8 km (10.4 miles), 1100 m (3609 ft) ascent, 520 m (1706 ft) descent, highest point 1920 m (6299 ft)
- Accommodation: guesthouse in Doberdol
Today you go for the big one: Gjeravica, at 2656 m (8714 ft) the highest mountain in Kosovo and the second highest in the Accursed Mountains. The route to the summit is straightforward, and the bragging rights last for years.
The border you cross today is barely marked now. Under communism it divided Albania from Yugoslavia and was one of the most heavily guarded borders in the world.
From the summit you hike down into Kosovo and spend the night in the Gacaferi hut, in a wild corner with no cars, no people and no phone signal. Your inbox will never find you.
- Hiking today: 18.4 km (11.4 miles), 1293 m (4242 ft) ascent, 776 m (2546 ft) descent, highest point 2656 m (8714 ft)
- Accommodation: Gacaferi hut, Kosovo
Today you hike between two shepherds’ settlements, following the border between Kosovo and Montenegro for a stretch before you drop back into Kosovo.
You come down to Milisevc, where the hosts of your guesthouse make sure the evening is as good as the hike.
- Hiking today: 15.2 km (9.4 miles), 402 m (1319 ft) ascent, 833 m (2733 ft) descent, highest point 2300 m (7546 ft)
- Accommodation: guesthouse in Milisevc
Today leaves the classic route for some of the least trodden trails on the Kosovo side of the Accursed Mountains, skipping a less interesting stretch and a car transfer. Fewer roads, more mountains. Good trade.
You join the trail again between Kuqishte and Babino Polje, partly through Zavoj and Ravno Selo, the least visited section of the whole Peaks of the Balkans, where the mountains are all yours.
Babino Polje is a shepherds’ village famous for its dairy products and its cooking, so arrive hungry.
- Hiking today: 12.5 km (7.8 miles), 610 m (2001 ft) ascent, 775 m (2543 ft) descent, highest point 2155 m (7070 ft)
- Accommodation: guesthouse in Babino Polje
A transfer takes you to the Grbaja Valley, once called the most beautiful valley in Tito’s Yugoslavia and one of the most panoramic places on the whole trail.
You climb Taljanka peak, a green summit facing the rough rock wall of Karanfil, and follow the ridge over Popadija at 2030 m (6660 ft). A transfer takes you to Vusanje for the night.
- Hiking today: 9.2 km (5.7 miles), 1100 m (3609 ft) ascent, 995 m (3264 ft) descent, highest point 2057 m (6749 ft)
- Transfers: included, from Babino Polje to the Grbaja Valley, then on to Vusanje
- Accommodation: guesthouse in Vusanje
Your last big day takes you back into Albania through one of the most rugged parts of the Accursed Mountains, a restricted zone under communism. Today, the only thing that’ll stop you is the view.
A short transfer skips the first 6.5 km (4 miles) of 4WD track up the Ropojana Valley, so your hike starts where the scenery does, between steep rock walls near Ropojana Lake, which can be dry depending on the winter’s snow.
From there you climb past a military bunker and Cold War border signs, then down through meadows to Theth to close the loop.
It’s the rockiest stage of the trip and one of the most varied, and hiking back into Theth feels like a victory lap. A private transfer then takes you to Shkodra for your last night. Order the big dinner.
- Hiking today: 17.8 km (11.1 miles), 922 m (3025 ft) ascent, 1323 m (4341 ft) descent, highest point 1740 m (5709 ft)
- Transfers: included, from Vusanje up the Ropojana Valley, and from Theth to Shkodra
- Accommodation: hotel in Shkodra
You did it: the full Peaks of the Balkans loop, through Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro, with Gjeravica, a night in the Gacaferi hut and Taljanka peak along the way.
Three countries, nine hiking days and more shepherds’ breakfasts than you can count. Say your goodbyes, enjoy a last stroll through Shkodra and head home with some very good stories.
Congratulations! You’ve just hiked 141.6 km (88 miles) through three countries, with 8337 m (27,352 ft) of elevation gain. You’ve earned your bragging rights.
BOOK YOUR PEAKS OF THE BALKANS HIKING TOUR NOW
COST OF THE 11-DAY PEAKS OF THE BALKANS GUIDED HIKING TOUR
| 11-DAY PEAKS OF THE BALKANS GUIDED HIKING TOUR DETAILS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 days | | 10 Saturdays, May 22nd to October 2nd, 2027 | | Starts and finishes in Shkodra, Albania | |
| €980 per person Pay €294 today (30% deposit), balance due 40 days before you hike | |||||
| Optional Extras | – Private room: ask us, depending on availability – Transfer to Shkodra: ask us | |||||
| Departure | Dates |
|---|---|
| 1 | May 22nd to June 1st, 2027 |
| 2 | June 12th to 22nd, 2027 |
| 3 | June 26th to July 6th, 2027 |
| 4 | July 3rd to 13th, 2027 |
| 5 | July 17th to 27th, 2027 |
| 6 | August 7th to 17th, 2027 |
| 7 | August 21st to 31st, 2027 |
| 8 | September 4th to 14th, 2027 |
| 9 | September 18th to 28th, 2027 |
| 10 | October 2nd to 12th, 2027 |
Book with confidence
A 30% deposit holds your dates, balance due 40 days before you hike
Every night of your trip is booked for you, and if your accommodation can’t be secured, you get a full refund
Assistance while you’re on tour
Rated 4.9/5 from 187 hiker reviews
BOOK YOUR PEAKS OF THE BALKANS HIKING TOUR NOW
11-DAY GUIDED TOUR INCLUSIONS
WHAT’S INCLUDED
✔ 10 nights: a hotel in Shkodra, family guesthouses in the mountains and the Gacaferi hut, with shared rooms in the mountains
✔ A local mountain guide on every hiking day, in a group of 16 at most, and often smaller
✔ Breakfast, lunch and dinner from day 2 to day 9, and breakfast and a packed lunch on day 10
✔ The transfers in your itinerary, by car or 4×4
✔ Luggage transfer for one soft bag per person, up to 13 kg (29 lb)
✔ National park entrance fees
✔ Border permits, arranged by our local partner
✔ A group briefing with your guide in Shkodra on day 1
✔ Free custom training plan (valued at €300), when you ask for it
OPTIONAL EXTRAS
- Private room: ask us, depending on availability.
- Transfer to Shkodra: ask us.
EXCLUSIONS
- Travel insurance that covers you for this tour and includes emergency evacuation and hospital care in the unlikely event that you get injured. We recommend our free Adventure Travel Insurance Finder, which finds the best policy based on your needs.
- Flights.
- Meals not listed above, and drinks.
- Gratuities for your guide.
- Personal expenses.
- Accommodations the night before your tour starts and after it finishes.
- Anything not indicated above.
Best Time to Hike the Peaks of the Balkans
The best time to hike the Peaks of the Balkans is June to September, when the shepherds are up in their summer villages and the mountain guesthouses are open.
That’s when the self-guided tours run, and you can start on any day. The guided tour runs a little longer, with departures from May 22nd to October 2nd.
Summer days in the valleys can be hot, and the high passes can be cool and wet, even in August. Pack layers, a waterproof, sun protection and boots that are already broken in, and bring extra warm layers in June and September.
Where You Stay on the Peaks of the Balkans: Family Guesthouses in the Mountains
You stay in a hotel in Shkodra and in family-run guesthouses in the mountain villages along your route, and on the 11-day loop one night may be in a mountain lodge or hut.
The mountain guesthouses are simple and full of character. Rooms are shared, usually by 2 to 5 people, and men and women may share a room.
Sheets, blankets, towels, shampoo and warm water are provided. A travel towel and a sleeping bag liner are still worth packing.
Want your own room? On the self-guided tours you can add a private double or twin room for the whole trip: €110 per room on the 7-day tour and €150 on the 11-day loop, shared by two.
Private rooms are on request, and they’re confirmed once the guesthouses confirm them.
Hiking as a group of 3? Ask us about a private triple room. A group of 5 who’d like privacy can usually be given a room together, at no extra cost.
The Food
Dinner is often the best part of the day. The food is home-cooked in the traditional way, a mix of Balkan, Turkish and European cooking: soups, meat dishes, vegetables and pies, much of it made with what the family produces.
Breakfast is bread with local vegetables, dairy and eggs. Your packed lunch for the trail is usually a sandwich you make at breakfast, with local cheese and eggs, plus a piece of fruit. Bring a reusable lunch box if you like.
Vegetarians are easy to cater for, although the choice is simple. Tell us about any dietary needs when you book.
NOTE:
Accommodations may vary between dates, and the route may change if conditions in the mountains require it.
Peaks of the Balkans Tour Info: Difficulty, Guides and GPS Tracks, Border Permits, Luggage and Getting There
We grade the 7-day Moderate Route Moderate, and both 11-day tours Challenging. Expect 6 to 8 hours on the trail on most hiking days, several days in a row, over mountain passes, through high pastures and forest, and on rocky paths.
Most hiking days are 13 to 20 km (8 to 12 miles), and the biggest climbs are 1000 to 1215 m (3281 to 3986 ft) in a day.
The steepest climb is the high route over the Prosllopi Pass to Cerem, and the rockiest day is the last one, from Vusanje back to Theth.
Some previous mountain hiking experience is needed.
Not sure whether you’re ready? Ask us. We’ll tell you honestly, and your free custom training plan (€300 value) is built to get you there.
On the 11-day guided tour, a local mountain guide leads every hiking day. The maximum group size is 16, and it’s often smaller.
On the self-guided tours there’s no guide with you on the trail. You get GPS tracks for every hiking day.
You have assistance while you’re on tour, and if weather or trail conditions mean a day needs to change, our local partner will help you adapt your itinerary.
The Peaks of the Balkans Trail crosses borders on remote mountain passes, far from any official border post, so hikers need border crossing permits.
On every tour they’re arranged by our local partner in advance. We just need a copy of your passport before your trip, and the permits arrive with your other trip documents.
Carry your passport on every hiking day, because the border police sometimes check it on the trail. It needs to be valid for at least 6 months from your travel dates.
Residents of the US, Canada, the UK and the EU generally don’t need a visa for Albania, Montenegro or Kosovo. Other travelers usually do, so check the rules for your passport well before you go.
Optional: luggage transfer, €325 for your group on the 7-day tour and €595 on the 11-day self-guided loop.
Your main bag travels between guesthouses by vehicle or by horse, so it has to be a soft bag or backpack with no hard plastic or metal parts, up to 50 kg (110 lb) in total and up to 5 bags for your group. You hike with just a daypack.
On the 11-day guided tour, luggage transfer is included for one soft bag per person, up to 13 kg (29 lb).
Without it, you carry your own bag from village to village, so pack light.
Bring hiking clothes in thin layers, a fleece, a waterproof, sun and warm hats, light gloves, a 1.5 to 2 liter water bottle, a headlamp, hiking poles, a travel towel, a sleeping bag liner, cash and your passport.
Included: your transfers from Shkodra up to the trail and back to Shkodra at the end, plus the shorter transfers in your itinerary, all private for your group, by car or 4×4.
Optional: a transfer to Shkodra from Tirana Airport (€70), Tirana city (€85) or Podgorica city or airport (€60), added when you book a self-guided tour. On the guided tour, ask us.
The nearest airports to Shkodra are Podgorica in Montenegro and Tirana in Albania, both about 1 hour 30 minutes away. Tivat is about 2 hours 40 minutes, Pristina about 3 hours 40 minutes and Skopje about 4 hours 40 minutes.
Money: Montenegro and Kosovo use the euro. Albania uses the lek, but euros are widely accepted. ATMs are hard to find in the mountains and cards are often not accepted, so carry €50 to €100 in cash for drinks, snacks and small purchases in the guesthouses.
Park fees: on the guided tour they’re included. Self-guided, in Montenegro you pay a national park entrance fee of about €3 to €5 a day, in cash, at Babino Polje, in the Grbaja Valley or to a ranger in the Ropojana Valley.
One ticket covers 24 hours. There’s no park fee in Albania or Kosovo.
Prices: a three-course meal in a restaurant is about €13 to €20, a coffee €1.50 to €2.50 and a bottle of water €1 to €2.
Signal: Cerem, Doberdol, Milisevc and Babino Polje have little or no phone signal or Wi-Fi. It’s part of the charm.
Plugs, language and time: 220V, 50Hz, with two round pins. Albanian is spoken in Albania and Kosovo, and Montenegrin in Montenegro.
Plenty of people speak English in the cities, fewer in the mountain villages, and German is common. All three countries are on Central European Time.
The water in the guesthouses is safe to drink, and on the trail you can often refill from the mountain springs the locals use. The water isn’t chlorinated, so if you have a sensitive stomach, bring purification tablets or a filter.
Broken April by Ismail Kadare is a novel set in these mountains, about the old blood-feud code of the Kanun. Read it before you go, and the Lock Tower in Theth will mean a lot more.
High Albania by Edith Durham is the account of an Englishwoman who traveled through these valleys in the early 1900s. The Accursed Mountains by Robert Carver is a more recent journey through Albania.
Travel insurance isn’t included, and you need it for this tour. Make sure your policy covers mountain hiking, mountain rescue and emergency evacuation in every country on your route, and trip cancellation.
Not sure what to get? Use our free Adventure Travel Insurance Finder and get a tailored recommendation in under 60 seconds.
The Places You Hike on Our Peaks of the Balkans Tours
The Peaks of the Balkans Trail runs through the Accursed Mountains, known as the Prokletije in Montenegrin and the Albanian Alps in English, the southernmost stretch of the Dinaric Alps. The 7-day route links the best of its Albanian and Montenegrin sections, and the 11-day loop adds Kosovo.
| Place | Tours | What it is, and why it’s on the route |
|---|---|---|
| Shkodra, Albania | Every tour | A lakeside city at the foot of the mountains, about 1 hour 30 minutes from Podgorica and Tirana airports. Where your tour starts and finishes. |
| Theth, Albania | Every tour | A village of stone houses at the end of a long valley, with the Lock Tower, a refuge from the old blood feuds of the Kanun. |
| Nderlyse and the Blue Eye | 7-day Moderate, 11-day | A hamlet where the Shala River has carved waterfalls and natural pools into the rock. |
| Valbona Pass and Valbona | Every tour | The pass on the most famous day hike in Albania, at 1759 m (5771 ft), and the village inside Valbona Valley National Park. |
| Prosllopi Pass, Zla Kolata and Cerem | 11-day | The high route below Zla Kolata, the highest peak in Montenegro, and a summer-only shepherds’ village. |
| Balqin and Doberdol | 11-day | Shepherds’ villages on the high pastures, near the protected glacial lakes of the Sulbica plateau. No ordinary car can reach Doberdol. |
| Gjeravica, Kosovo | 11-day | The highest peak in Kosovo, at 2656 m (8714 ft), on a loop from Doberdol. |
| Three-Border peak and Milisevc, Kosovo | 11-day | The 2366 m (7762 ft) peak where Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro meet, then a shepherds’ village above Peja. |
| Babino Polje, Montenegro | 11-day | A village known for its welcome and its homemade dairy food. |
| Vusanje, Montenegro | Every tour | A village below the Ropojana Valley, where the trail back to Albania begins. |
| Grbaja Valley and Taljanka, Montenegro | 7-day Moderate, 11-day | A valley once called the most beautiful in Tito’s Yugoslavia. You climb Taljanka peak above it. |
| The Vusanje to Theth trail | Every tour | The rockiest stretch of the Accursed Mountains, a forbidden zone under communism, with an old bunker and border signs on the way back to Theth. |
Peaks of the Balkans Tour FAQs: Which Tour, Difficulty, Border Permits, When to Go and What It Costs
What Peaks of the Balkans tours does Monkeys and Mountains offer?
Monkeys and Mountains offers three Peaks of the Balkans tours from Shkodra, Albania: a 7-day Moderate self-guided tour (€710), and an 11-day full loop, self-guided (€850) or guided (€980). Only the 11-day tours include Kosovo.
Which Peaks of the Balkans tour should I choose?
Choose your Peaks of the Balkans tour by the days you have. With a week, Monkeys and Mountains suggests the 7-day Moderate tour through Albania and Montenegro. With 11 days, hike the full loop self-guided or with a local guide.
What is the difference between the 7-day and 11-day Peaks of the Balkans tours?
The 7-day Moderate Peaks of the Balkans tour (€710) stays in Albania and Montenegro, with 5 gentler hiking days, the Blue Eye and Taljanka peak. The Monkeys and Mountains 11-day tours add Kosovo, Gjeravica and 9 hiking days on the full loop, self-guided (€850) or guided (€980).
Is the 11-day guided Peaks of the Balkans tour the same route as the self-guided one?
Yes, the Monkeys and Mountains 11-day guided and self-guided tours hike almost the same loop. The guided tour adds a local guide, a night in Kosovo’s Gacaferi hut, more meals, park fees and luggage transfer on ten Saturdays. Self-guided, you start any day from June to September.
Can you hike the Peaks of the Balkans trail self-guided?
Yes, you can hike the Peaks of the Balkans trail self-guided. Monkeys and Mountains has two self-guided tours of 7 and 11 days, with GPS tracks for every hiking day. Your accommodations, transfers and border permits are arranged by our local partner.
How many days do you need to hike the Peaks of the Balkans?
You need about 11 days to hike the whole Peaks of the Balkans loop through Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro, like the Monkeys and Mountains 11-day tours. With only a week, the 7-day tour covers the highlights in Albania and Montenegro, including the Valbona Pass.
How hard is the Peaks of the Balkans?
Monkeys and Mountains grades its 7-day Peaks of the Balkans tour Moderate, and its 11-day tours Challenging. Most days are 13 to 20 km (8 to 12 miles), 6 to 8 hours, with up to 1215 m (3986 ft) of elevation gain.
How far do you hike on the Peaks of the Balkans tours?
On Monkeys and Mountains Peaks of the Balkans tours you hike 75.7 km (47 miles) on the 7-day tour, 146.5 km (91 miles) on the 11-day self-guided loop and 141.6 km (88 miles) on the 11-day guided tour.
Do the Peaks of the Balkans tours go to Kosovo?
The 11-day Peaks of the Balkans tours from Monkeys and Mountains go to Kosovo, with Gjeravica, the highest peak in Kosovo at 2656 m (8714 ft), and a night in Milisevc. The 7-day tour goes straight from Albania into Montenegro and skips Kosovo.
How much does a Peaks of the Balkans tour cost?
A Monkeys and Mountains Peaks of the Balkans tour costs €710 per person on the 7-day Moderate tour, €850 on the 11-day self-guided loop and €980 guided. A 30% deposit books your place, and the balance is due 40 days before you hike.
When does the Peaks of the Balkans guided tour depart in 2027?
The Monkeys and Mountains Peaks of the Balkans guided tour departs on ten Saturdays in 2027: May 22nd, June 12th and 26th, July 3rd and 17th, August 7th and 21st, September 4th and 18th, and October 2nd. The self-guided tours start any day from June to September.
When is the best time to hike the Peaks of the Balkans?
The best time to hike the Peaks of the Balkans is June to September, when the shepherds’ summer villages and guesthouses are open. The Monkeys and Mountains self-guided tours run June to September 2027, and the guided tour from May 22nd to October 2nd.
Do you need a permit to hike the Peaks of the Balkans?
Yes, you need border crossing permits to hike the Peaks of the Balkans, because the trail crosses borders on remote passes. On every Monkeys and Mountains tour our local partner arranges them from a copy of your passport. Carry your passport on every hiking day.
Where do you stay on the Peaks of the Balkans tours?
On the Monkeys and Mountains Peaks of the Balkans tours you stay in a hotel in Shkodra and family guesthouses in the mountain villages. Mountain rooms are shared by 2 to 5 people, or add a private double from €110, depending on availability.
Is luggage transfer included on the Peaks of the Balkans tours?
Luggage transfer is included on the Monkeys and Mountains 11-day guided Peaks of the Balkans tour, one soft bag each up to 13 kg (29 lb). On the self-guided tours you add it for your group: €325 to €595 for up to 50 kg (110 lb) in 5 soft bags.
Which airport is closest to the Peaks of the Balkans?
The closest airports to the Peaks of the Balkans are Podgorica in Montenegro and Tirana in Albania, both about 1 hour 30 minutes from Shkodra, where every Monkeys and Mountains tour starts. A transfer to Shkodra costs €60 from Podgorica or €70 from Tirana Airport.
Do all the Peaks of the Balkans tours include the Valbona Pass?
Yes, every Monkeys and Mountains Peaks of the Balkans tour crosses the Valbona Pass at 1759 m (5771 ft), on an ancient mule track from Theth to Valbona. The day is 16.6 km (10.3 miles) with 1175 m (3855 ft) of elevation gain.
Is the Peaks of the Balkans worth it?
Yes, the Peaks of the Balkans is worth it: a 192 km (119-mile) loop through Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro, over the Valbona Pass and through shepherds’ villages where you sleep in family guesthouses. Laurel, founder of Monkeys and Mountains, has hiked it herself. Tours start from €710.
Is it safe to hike the Peaks of the Balkans?
Hiking the Peaks of the Balkans is safe for prepared hikers who plan for mountain weather and villages with little phone signal, like Cerem. On Monkeys and Mountains tours our local partner arranges your border permits, and you have assistance while on your tour. Carry your passport and rescue insurance.
How much cash do you need on the Peaks of the Balkans?
Bring €50 to €100 in cash on the Peaks of the Balkans for drinks and snacks, because ATMs are rare in the mountain villages. Self-guided hikers also pay Montenegro’s park fee of about €3 to €5 a day, which is included on the Monkeys and Mountains guided tour.
Book Your Peaks of the Balkans Hiking Tour
Book Your Peaks of the Balkans Tour With Us & You’ll Get…
- The tour that fits your vacation: the 7-day Moderate Route or the full 11-day loop through all three countries, guided or self-guided.
- Every night arranged: a hotel in Shkodra and family guesthouses in the mountains, without you phoning villages that are only open in summer.
- Border permits arranged by our local partner, so the paperwork that trips up independent hikers is already done.
- A local mountain guide or GPS tracks for every hiking day, and assistance while you’re on tour.
- Your transfers arranged, from Shkodra up to the trail, the shortcuts in your itinerary and back to the city.
- Most of your meals included, home-cooked in the guesthouses.
- Your own personalized fitness plan for the Peaks of the Balkans, valued at €300, free with your booking.
- A local partner who knows these mountains inside out, ready to answer your questions before you book.
From €710 per person. Pay a 30% deposit today, and the balance 40 days before you hike.
Photos From Our Peaks of the Balkans Hiking Tours
Photos by Ken Spence and Mentor Vokshi.