The Peaks of the Balkans Trail. Rudolf Abraham

Country name Republic of Albania (Albanian: Shqipëri; Gheg dialect: Shqipni) Capital Tirana (alternative spelling: Tiranë) Language Albanian Currency Lek Population 2.8 million (2011 census) Land surface area 28,748km2 Time zone GMT +1 (CET) International telephone code +355 Electricity 220V/50Hz Kosovo Country name Republic of Kosovo (Albanian: Kosova) Capital Pristina (alternative spellings: Prishtina, Priština) Languages Albanian and Serbian Currency Euro Population 1.9 million (estimate) Land surface area 10,908km2 Time zone GMT +1 (CET) International telephone code +382 Electricity 220V/50Hz

Geography and geology

      Krš Bogićevica, viewed from the pass above Dobërdol, on the border between Albania and Montenegro (Stage 4)

      The mountains through which the Peaks of the Balkans route passes form the border between Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo. They occupy an area south of the River Lim and north of the Black Drin, bordered to the west and east by Lake Skadar and the headwaters of the White Drin respectively.

      Collectively, these mountains are known by several names – Prokletije or Bjeshkët e Namuna, meaning the ‘accursed mountains’, in Montenegrin and Albanian respectively, or (the part lying in Albania) the Albanian Alps. In some places, you may see signs referring to them as the ‘blessed mountains’ – a nice attempt to challenge the negative connotations of the ‘accursed’ part of their name (and frankly, when you’re hiking through this astonishingly beautiful part of Europe, this does seem more appropriate). In any case, for convenience, we’ll refer to them as Prokletije here. Prokletije forms the south part of the Dinaric Alps, a chain of mountains stretching some 700km and running in a northwest to southeast direction from the Slovenian border through Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo.

      The Prokletije mountains are characterised by broad, glaciated valleys and steep-sided limestone peaks, particularly in the western half of the range in Albania and Montenegro – in Kosovo, the eastern half of the range has a more gentle profile. They include the highest peak in Montenegro (Maja Kolata, 2528m) and the highest peak in Kosovo (Gjeravica, 2656m), as well as the highest mountain in the Dinaric Alps, Maja Jezerces (2694m) in Albania (the highest mountain in Albania is Korab, 2764m, which lies further southeast on the border with Macedonia). All three of these can be climbed with only slight detours from the Peaks of the Balkans Trail, as can several other prominent peaks.

      The Prokletije mountains were formed some 100 million years ago, during the same period and process as the Alps – through the buckling and uplifting/folding of the Eurasian plate with the African plate, and the uplifting of the what had once been the bed of a shallow, tropical sea, where shells and other marine life had been deposited in layers over millions of years. The area is heavily glaciated (although no glaciers remain here today), and glaciation occurred at a lower altitude than in the Alps further north – Lake Plav is the largest glacial lake in the Balkans, and a glacier in the Plav/Gusinje area is thought to have been around 35km long and up to 200m thick.

      Karst features – distinctive fluting, pans, sinkholes and limestone pavement formed by the gradual dissolving of limestone rock by rainwater – are prominent in Prokletije, particularly in the western half of the range. However, unlike most other popular hiking areas in the karst mountains of Montenegro (and neighbouring Croatia), availability of surface water is good on the Peaks of the Balkans Trail, with fairly abundant springs and mountain streams.

      Rocky trail with karst features near the Prosllopit Pass, Montenegro (Stage 2)

Historical summary

      For a more detailed historical timeline, see Appendix E.

      Early times

      The history of the mountainous borderlands between Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro – along with much of the Balkans – is long, complex and incredibly rich. Unfortunately however, it is little known or understood in western Europe beyond the prism of recent civil war, conflict and political turmoil.

      By the first millennium BC Bronze Age tribes – collectively known as the Illyrians – were established along the eastern Adriatic seaboard (including Montenegro and Albania) and further inland, while Corinthian colonists founded trading cities along the coast and islands. The Romans began their gradual conquest of the Illyrians from the third century BC, leading to the creation of the Roman province of Illyricum (later renamed Dalmatia) which roughly included modern Croatia, Montenegro and Albania, and further inland, the province of Moesia which included modern Serbia and Kosovo. The Romans built roads and cities, developed trade and exploited the area’s wealth of natural resources including minerals (for which eastern Kosovo was particularly important) and wood. Both Albania and Montenegro still have impressive Roman remains, including UNESCO-listed Butrint in Albania.

      The Illyrians didn’t simply vanish – several Roman emperors including Aurelius and Diocletian were actually of Illyrian descent, and a number of Illyrian tribes also left their names in the region, including the words Dalmatia (from the Delmatae tribe) and Adriatic (from the Ardiaei).

      Following the collapse of the Roman Empire in the fourth century AD, and a succession of Hunnish and Gothic invasions, Slavic tribes settled in the Balkans from the sixth century AD. Byzantium remained a dominant influence in the Balkans, albeit waxing and waning with the rise and fall of other powers in the region such as the Bulgars.

      The medieval period

      During the 11th century the Serbian state of Duklja (in what is now Montenegro) gained independence from Byzantium, while the following century in Albania, Arbanon was established as a semi-autonomous principality. Duklja was in turn absorbed into Raška, which grew into medieval Serbia, and by the 14th century Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo were all incorporated into the vast medieval Serbian Empire. The seat of the Serbian Patriarchate (Orthodox Church) was located in Peć (Pejë), in Kosovo, and the medieval architecture of Peć and Deçan – just east of the Peaks of the Balkans Trail, and a very worthy detour – is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

      With the defeat of Serbian and other Christian armies by the Ottomans at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro all fell under Ottoman rule for some 500 years. In Albania in particular, the following centuries saw a widespread conversion to Islam. Meanwhile Venice annexed most of the southern Adriatic coast, including the Albanian and Montenegrin coasts – a hold it would maintain until Napoleon Bonaparte extinguished the Venetian Republic in 1797.

      Wooden