The Peaks of the Balkans is a ~200km trail through Albania, Kosovo, and Montenegro, traversing the striking and varied Accursed Mountains. I spent twelve days on the trail, hiking for nine due to illness, and had some memorable experiences. Here are my highlights…

Mountain scenery is the obvious place to start, and the Accursed Mountains didn’t disappoint, both in the scale and variety of scenery. They may also be called the Albanian Alps but the landscape is quite different and distinctive from the Alps. The best views were between Valbona and Cerem via the Presllopi Pass, summiting Gjeravica peak from Doberdol, and between Vusanje and Theth.

The meadows and valleys were also rather attractive, particularly in early morning or late afternoon sunlight. The most scenic areas were around Doberdol, and between Kuqishte and Babino Polje.

The guesthouses were usually great, with wonderful local hospitality, good food, and often in scenic locations. My favourites were Guesthouse Kutjim Gocaj in Cerem, Guesthouse Lojza in Milisevc, Guesthouse Kacaku in Drelaj, and Guesthouse Vucetaj in Vusanje.

The wildflowers in June were quite incredible. I’ve never seen so many, of so much variety, and colour.

There were fewer birds around than expected, but otherwise there was quite a variety including insects, geckos, snakes, frogs, horses, and an edible dormouse eating my cheese!

After being in the mountains for a week it was a nice contrast to spend a day in Plav, enjoying the reflections on Lake Plav, and exploring the four mosques in town.

There were twelve days of walks in the itinerary but the weather and body didn’t allow me to do all of them, which I was fine with. It was better to rest and avoid bad weather than push through for the sake of doing everything. I particularly enjoyed a rest day in Drelaj, a small village in Kosovo, sitting on the balcony of Guesthouse Kacaku enjoying the view. I had a similar day at Guesthouse Vucetaj in Vusanje, with an epic vista from outside my room.

The lowlights were the amount of 4WD walking (even using transfers to skip the longest sections), the variable weather (five days with thunderstorms, three while hiking), extreme heat at the start and end of the trip, and somewhat monotonous food (so much bread!).