Maja e Velivarit

Maja e Velivarit or Velivar as shown on most maps, is the highest summit of the range known as Deshat by the people of Macedonia. Deshat is the southern part of ridge that separates Albania from Macedonia between Diber and Kukes; the northern part is the Korab Massif, with Maja e Korabit being the highpoint of both countries.

Velivar is locally known as Hinoska, though the name seems to refer more to the commune than a specific mountain or summit. We did not find any significant reference to Hinoska on the web.

Velivar and other summits along the ridge seem to be mainly climbed from Macedonia, where mountain tourism has a longer history and relevant infrastructure is more advanced. Given the beauty of the area also in Albania, it is only a question of time before more outdoor enthusiasts will visit the area.

The hike is relatively easy. But while Velivar may be considerably lower than Korab (which attracts many more tourists), it must be counted among the big Albania mountains. Velivar provides some unusual views of other peaks which are typically admired from the opposite side, such as Korab (now seen from the south) or Mali i Dejes and Kurore e Lures (from the east).

The first two kilometers of the hike are on a forest road. It is possible to go there by car - provided you managed to cross the barrier in Ilnice - but we decided to walk for the sake of the exercise. At waypoint 2 we took a shortcut towards the mountain. The road itself circles around some more corners before ending at a Stan.

We hiked a balloon and either direction might be fine.