Dajti Mountain - Tirana to the Top

Dajti Mountain with 1665 meters dominates Tirana (at 160 meter elevation). It is visible when one approaches Tirana from any side, and often maintains a snow cap in the colder months. There is a road leading up to a plateau at about 1050 Meter, or one can take the cable car. There are many restaurants and it is nice to simply hang out on the plateau to escape the heat of the summer. However, for all its proximity to Tirana, it took us quite a while to figure out how to climb it from the bottom to the plateau, or from the plateau to the summit. We made several attempts just looking for the trails, and we could not understand that there was no guidebook or other hint where to go.

We have broken up the hike from the bottom to the summit into two parts: The first part is a trail from Tirana through the village of Linze to the asphalt road on the Dajti plateau, a climb of about 800 meter. From here one can return the same way, or get picked up by car, or take the cable car down. The second part is from the plateau to the summit of Tujanit, which is the northern summit of Dajti and generally considered to be the hiker's summit. The main summit of Dajti (south of Tujanit) is usually closed to hikers, due to installation of radio communication equipment. You may negotiate with the employers of the towers, if you see them.

It is possible to even get closer to the mountain by driving up to the hamlet of Shermini, and find the trail from there. This shaves off more than 300 altitude meter from the climb to the Dajti plateau, but misses the point which presumably is to climb Dajti. There are some old signs and paint markings along the trail, which are however difficult to find. The trail itself is well visible.

The secret of hiking from the Dajti Plateau to Tujanit is finding the mountain road that was used to erect the radio tower on Tujanit. Your best bet is to follow the tarmac road north and seek out the old hotel (near the cable car station) on the Dajti plateau. Walk through the backyard of the hotel and follow a moe or less visible path into the saddle between Tujanit and Dajti proper, crossing a mountain road a few times. From the saddle, the mountain road leads straight up to Tujanit. For more details, visit:

http://www.palmtreeproduction.com/Hikes%20and%20Climbs/Albania%20Climbs/DajtiHike/DajtiHike-gallery.html