At an altitude of 900 meter Yerevan is dominated by the mighty silhouette of Noah's mountain, Ararat. However, for generations Ararat and the former Armenian land around it has belonged to Turkey. One can sense a certain melancholy or resignation in this stony country that has suffered repeated conquests and earth quakes. Yet...

Having been dismissed by foul weather on Azhdahak, we were recovering our spirits through a grand tour of Armenian Monasteries. Still, we wanted to do some hiking, but were lacking information for alternative lower-altitude hikes suitable for late October. Hiking maps are not yet common in Armenia. Google Earth images of this...

October is not the best time to climb high mountains in Armenia, but I had work to do and so we gave it a try. Our aim was Azhdahak, one of the high (3597 meters), but not difficult mountains near Yerevan, and part of the Geghama range. Azhdahak is not a sharp peak. The slopes of Azhdahak are inhabited in summer by shepherds,...

Papuk Geopark is southeast of Zagreb, and can be easily reached from the highway connecting Zagreb and Belgrade. It covers one of the major ridge lines in the otherwise rather flat plains. To their credit, authorities and hiking clubs did a great job in creating an interesting outdoor destination in varied surroundings.  ...

Dinara (1834 meter) is the highest mountain of Croatia, near the industrial town of Knin. It is already mentioned many times on hikr. Dinara is best climbed from the hut of Brezovac. In late September, the hut was closed, but water was available. It takes about 2.5 hours to reach the summit of Dinara, and the trail is well sign...

When on a working week in Minsk we read up on Belorussian history and visited Mir castle, 90 km southwest of Minsk. We took our information from Bradt's Belarus travel guide by Nigel Roberts, which provides detailed knowledge in an entertaining way.   Mir is one of four UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Belarus, a...

Having two days to see the "interior" of Belarus, we wanted to pay our respect to Brest. Brest Fortress is a moving war memorial, which can't be described within a hiking trail, but the huge Biosphere Reserve can. Highlight of a visit to Belarus: the Byelovezhskaya State National Park and Biosphere Reserve is an hour's drive from...

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...