General tips + packing list + getting there

General tips + Packing list + Getting there+Itinerary

Statistics

8 days of walking

1 day of resting

Total of 140 km.

Total ascend (and of course descend as well): 7000 meters!!
Bags are transferred by cars or horses.



Itinerary Summary
Day 1 - Valbone to Cerem via Maja e kollates, 17 km, 1080 m
Day 2 - Cerem to Dobredol 18 km, 763 m
Day 3 - Dobredol to Millshevc 21 km, 1144 m
Day 4 - Millshevc to Rugova camp 13 km, 600 m
Day 5 - Regal allegro to Drelaj17.27 km, 1059 m
Day 6 - Kuciste to Babino Polje, 17 km, 1040 m
Day 7 - Rest in Plav
Day 8 - Oko Skakavice to Okol, 15.86 km, 742 m
Day 9 - Theth to the blue eye (Syri Kalter) and back to Nderlysaj
A recorded animation of Day 3 from Dobredol To Milishevc
(Thank you Doron!)

Safety

Throughout the Peaks, we felt very secured in all aspects!

We never felt that we were taken advantage of as tourists in any way.

There is almost no "tourists harassment" to try and make you buy something ( there is nothing to buy!) etc.

All drivers, mules etc. showed up on time and respected the agreed terms.

Navigation

There are 3 tools for navigating the peaks: a paper map, a gps (or a phone) with a digital trail , (like wikilocs or Garmin) and the trail itself that is marked with red and white stripes.

The three don't always match each other, so you must be ready to use either or and "juggle" between them as needed (Unless you have a very experienced guide who knows the trail very very well).

Even when there are clear red and white markings on the trail , they don't always mean there is a path that you can follow ( see photo to the right from the climb to Mount Hajla )

Also note that there is still no use in this area of any other colors, so all trails are marked with red and white even if they are not part of them"official" Peaks circle ( like the markings on the road to the zip line and via Ferata from Rugova camp, which is not part of the Peaks)...
Albaniana mark white-red-white
The rest mark red-white-red or just red, or white and red circles...

Food

It's best to stock up in Shkoder or at the latest in Bachram Curi. You can stock again in Plav.

The guest houses serve homemade fresh dinner and breakfast . Some will pack you lunch to go, some will bring the ingredients for you to pack your own lunch.

Tea and coffee are usually included, beers and sodas cost an extra euro each...

Most places don't serve dessert after dinner, so bring your own- if you are used to having it.

Make sure you pack big lunches when you can, and bring lots of extras such as dry cookies, crackers, energy bars, apples etc, as you might walk for ten hours without any food on the way.

Dinner (~7pm) and breakfast(~7am) are usually served to all the guests together ,which makes for a nice opportunity to exchange information about the trek and to just meet trekkers from around the world.

Water

You can drink the water in all the guest houses and once you go into the mountains, you can drink the spring water on the trail as well. No need to purify the water.

Only in Tirana- the tap water were not drinkable.

Toilets and Bath

Not all guest houses supply towels ,so bring your own.

Most places have hot water, but not all.

Toilet in Albany are "hole" in the ground.

In the mountains, there is one or two common bath room/ toilet for each guest house.

Weather

We did the peaks from mid July, we brought thermal shirt and pants, fleece, warm coat, warm hat and gloves- and we used them all. Even during the walking, and definitely during the evening. Some nights it was impossible to even stay outside at all, since it was windy and very cold.

Take some warm cloths and a rain coat with you every day that you are walking, regardless of what the weather looks like in the morning. On the only day I decided not to take my rain coat, we got in a terrible storm and ended up being wet and cold!

Accommodation

Most places in the mountains fill the rooms according to the number of people that come to stay , so don't expect a "double room with a bath"...

We were three couples and we had a chance to try various combinations: boys room/ girls room, two couples on one "terrace" and one couple on the other one (same room) etc.

Language

One of the great advantages of having a guide with you in the Peaks - is that he serves as a translator . Most people in the mountains (including some of the guest house owners), do not speak English. Our guide translated the basics (when do we eat?, where do we sleep?, etc) but he also enabled us to ask many questions and learn a lot more about the local population and of course about him, being a young man who grew up as a child in communist Albania that can appreciate the democracy in a way that we never will...

What to pack

• Thermal shirt and pants
• Warm coat (light weight)
• Gloves and warm hats
• Walking shoes
• Another pair of shoes or sandals
• Flip flops
• Bathing suite
• Light shirts for walking
• Long pants for walking
• (depending on how many days you wear each item and wether or not you plan to wash them along the way)
• Under garments
• Pajamas ( preferably something that you can be seen wearing because you don't know who will end up with you in the same room)

• Coffee kit- very cheap to buy ( around 5 euro including the gas container).
• Lighter/matches

• Sun glasses
• Goggles
• Sun screen
• Mosquito repellent ( we didn't use it)
• Hat
• Tiny towel for wiping perspiration

• Head Light
• Pocket Knife
• Reading book
• Card games
• Souvenir from your country that you can leave where you want
• Lip balm

• Laundry line with clips

• A drone ( optional:)

• Rain cover for your bag
• A special sealed plastic bag for passports etc.

Getting there: Shkoder to Valbone.
Mini buses and ferry - July 15.

In  Shkoder, ask the guest house/hotel owner to make sure a minibus picks you up (6:45 am) to Koman Ferry (5 euro, close to 2 hours).
We took the Berisha Ferry (5 more euro, close to 3 hours) to Fierze.
There are mini buses from Fierze to Valbone.

Don't miss the dried figs "chain" that an old man sells in Koman. Very tasty and a very convenient snack for the trek!