Das Weltkulturerbe war geschlossen, am ersten Januar, also an dem Tag wo die Massen frei haben, um sich ein Kulturerbe anzusehen. Aber die Massen und die Tour Operators waren schlauer als wir, und ferngeblieben. Oder vielleicht waren wir schlauer, denn so zwängten wir uns durch ein Loch im Gitter, und hatten das Kulturerbe...

Die tausend Fenster bekommt der Bergwanderer als Dreingabe. Jeder hikr, der mehr als die Albanischen Alpen erwandern will, kommt an Berat nicht vorbei. Ganz im Gegenteil, hier lässt es sich noch gut logieren und essen, mit Aussicht auf den mächtigen Tomorri, den hoch aufragenden relativ isolierten Klotz, der noch immer recht...

Maja e Lucës (1833 Meter) had long been on our wishlist, from the time we got a glimpse of it from the Kurvelesh valley, and when looking at it from the Sarande-Delvine area. The summit of Maja e Lucës, as one of the high-points in the Kurvelesh-Sarande-Gjirokaster triangle, catches the first and the last daylight for a...

The City Stone (Guri i Qytetit) used to be a landmark of Permet. In modern days, some of the Palati (apartment buildings) of Permet rise above the rock that sits on the bank of the Vjosa River. Many visitors do not know the rock exists, and if they see it, they do not think of climbing it. It took us several years and many...

We call 'Front Range' the chain of mountains that starts with Dajti Mountain east of Tirana, and continues to the north with Brar, Gomnit, Kruja, Rakshanit. All these mountains offer exceptional hiking, which we have described on hikr and elsewhere. Next in the chain is a mountain whose name is given as Maja e Buzes së Gurthit on...

Maja e Rrunjës, with an official altitude of 2047 meters, is one of the top ranking view points in north-east Albania. We had it long on our mind, but the approach - while not particularly difficult - tends to be long and requires an overnight stay. Lukan is a somewhat remote commune, and camping is possible on the fringes of...

Maja e Kulmakes is next to Tomorri (withCuka e Partizanit being the highest, and thesouth summitwith the mausoleum of Abbas Aliu the second highest point). Even though the gaze of the tourist and adventurer is automatically drawn to Tomorri, Kulmakes is almost always in view. With 2177 meters altitude, it is one of the big...

Maja e Mulequithit is the higher of the two summits of Mali i Cukalit (the other being Maja e Cukalit). The hikes to the two summit can be combined from the common starting point, Fusha e Liqenit, which separates the two summits. Fusdha e Liqenit is a good place to camp, but bring your own water. For the access, see Maja e...

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...

Bald Head has been our working title for Shirokë (or Maja e Shirokut) ever since we saw it first from Guri i Zi. Its appearance - at least from Guri i Zi - is very striking. It sits in the middle of a (still) heavily forested area, somehow in the middle of the virtual triangle that connects Librazhd, Gramsh and Pogradec....

Mali i Arithit and Tolla do not just have a name that is easy to remember; a hike to both summits provides indeed for a memorable outing.   With just under the 2000 meters mark, at 1986 and 1976 meters respectively, they may not immediately attract attention. But Arithit (also called Mali i Bardhe, or the white...

Maja e Kreshtës is the second highest point of the Micekut Mountains (the highest being Allamani, about 5 kilometer away as the crow flies). While Allamani is difficult to approach, Maja e Kreshtës is the house-berg of Bulquize. The hike begins in the northern part (Qyteti i Ri) of Bulquize town.   It is here, that...

Mali i Kallabakut is an interesting rocky outcrop in the vast grassy hills of the Shishtavec area. It sits on the border between Albania and Kosovo, quite close to where the borders of Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia meet on a rather inconspicuous hill. Shishtavec, Novosele and Turaj are high altitude villages (between 1400 and...

In May 2014, we went again on the Dajti Crest Trail. The trail markings were slowly fading away, the trail was more overgrown, and the areas destroyed by fire in late 2012 were slowly recovering.   Regardless, it remains a prime hike in Tirana.   This time we concluded the hike with a direct trail to the...

Mali i Nemercke is one of the Albanian ultra-prominent mountains, meaning that - theoretically - you have to descend more than 1500 meter in order to climb a mountain that is higher. In other words, its prominence is more than 1500 meter. The designation of being an Ultra does not necessarily mean that you have to climb 1500 meter...

Mali i Rencit has been on our mind for a while, mainly as a low-altitude bad-weather escape. Rencit is the long ridge stretching along the Adriatic coast between Shengjin in the southeast and Velipoja in the northwest. There are actually two parallel ridges, with Rencit being higher with rather steep cliffs at the seafront, and...

Milë - or Mali i Millëtit, or Maja e Milës - is a little mountain near Butrint. Visitors to Butrint tend to admire the nearby ruins and rarely direct their gaze towards Milë Mountain, which provides the backdrop to the scenery of the Butrint Lake and the Vivari Channel. Milë has a sharp drop towards the west, allowing...

Mali i Trebeshinës (or Trebeshina Mountain) is the big brother of Shendellisë. Trebeshina is more than 100 meters higher. While Shendellisë has a narrow ridgeline, Trebeshinë is rather broad and long. Its mass makes it the ideal home to probably thousands of sheep in summer time (including their dogs), and that is why we...

We had climbed the north summit of Veles a few years ago from Rraboshtë, and its main (southern) summit in 2013 from the village of Veles. The northern and the main summit are separated by an interesting ridge, about one kilometer long. For traversing this ridge, your return hike to from where you started becomes quite long,...

Mali i Gribes is the name of the bulky range that sits at the northwest corner of the southern Albanian mountains. It is in clear view when driving the new highway from Vlora or Fier towards Tepelene. It rises impressively over the Vjosa valley. In summer, its vast expanse is home to countless herds of sheep and their dogs....