Maja e Cukalit

When it is getting hot in summer, you want to look for shorter hikes that can be combined with interesting approaches and still offer a great outdoor experience. Cukalit is one these destination. 

Mali i Cukalit is the major mountain to the East of Shkodra and north of the Vau i Dejës lake and dam. It has two summits. Maja e Cukalit is the summit seen from almost Shkodra and the coastal plains. Maja e Muleqithit is more to the west, not directly visible, but 14 Meter higher. This puts the summit-collecting hiker into a dilemma, as you do not want to leave the mountain without having been on top of both.

The two summits are separated by a high altitude grassy valley called Fusha e Liqenit - indicating that it used to be a place of a lake. It is about 400 meter elevation gain from the Fushe to either of the summits.

Our strategy was to drive to the Fushe arriving in the afternoon, climbing Maja e Cukalit in the evening, camping in the fresh mountain air, and climbing Maja e Muleqithit in the morning of the next day. In July, the sheep had not yet moved in, and the meadows were strewn with flowers. A major hazard was the abundance of strawberries, that made you forgetting the time.

We parked and camped along a disused forest road (see GPS track for the approach). If you are worried about the paintwork of your car, park somewhere on the grassy plain and walk from there.

We initially tried a rather direct route, to cut short some of the switchbacks of the old timber road. We recommend to stick to the road, per our GPS coordinates, as the otherwise resulting bushwhack is rather painful, owing to the ubiquitous thistles and nettles.

The views from Cukalit are great especially to the Adriatic Sea, with Rumija Mountain beyond Shkodra Lake. The summit is also a good opportunity to survey the next day route to the summit of Maja e Muleqithit.