One of my favourite days hiking the long distance Peaks of the Balkans trail was heading off the official trail for a side trip to the 2,656m Gjeravica, the highest peak in Kosovo, and second highest peak in the Accursed Mountains (which the Peaks basically circuits).

I started heading up the beautiful Doberdol Valley and nearly got taken out by a herd of horses galloping toward me!

I walked past my favourite building in the valley, a beautiful summer home for the cousin of the owners of the guesthouse I stayed at. The neat three story house, with a walled perimeter and entrance looked somewhat out of place among the guesthouses and agricultural buildings in the valley.

It is a lovely valley, particularly on a sunny / cloudy day like this.

I had another near miss with horses, as a herd was standing on the path and got a little skittish when I approached. Instead I gave them a wide berth, climbing up the hillside sooner than required, but rejoining the track without losing altitude.

I was climbing to the 2,275m Ali Peja Pass, which marks the border between Albania and Kosovo though there is no marker. Given how secure the Albanian borders were during communism I was surprised at the lack of remains of fortifications.

There was an increasing amount of snow and ice on this side of the valley.

And decreasing visibility as low cloud came in. A group of three left my guesthouse just after me but turned around here due to the poor visibility, leaving me as seemingly the only person around…

The cloud did clear at times though to offer views.

At 2,290m there is a lovely alpine lake, which offered reflections in the still morning.

The cloud returned for the longest and trickiest section of snow and ice to cross, maybe 150m, requiring care, using my poles and keeping three points of contact to avoid what would be a potentially long slide if I slipped.

Behind me I could better see the heart shape of the alpine lake.

Crossing over a ridge I got my first view of Gjeravica, with the summit just in the cloud, and more alpine lakes.

From here it was a straightforward climb to the summit, marked by a graffitied concrete column, with a records book attached in a secure metal container. I ate my lunch at the summit, enjoying the near lack of any wind, and occasional views below.

On the way down I came across this black lizard, much higher up than I expected to find any.

I also came across my only other human contact for the day, a guided group of ten Brits who had come up from the Kosovo side, were heading to the summit, and then onto Doberdol. Most of the group didn’t have poles which made me worry a little about their crossing of the snow and ice sections.

The sun started to break through the clouds on my return, back past the heart shaped lake.

I loved this unusual rock formation.

Couple of smaller alpine puddles.

Wasn’t sure what was going on here, looks like one gecko is trying to eat the other. Slowly!

It was easier coming back, mostly downhill, and sun brought the landscape to life.

Coming back down from Ali Peja Pass the horses had thankfully moved further up the valley and away from the track, and the Doberdol Valley was lit up lush green.