The materials below provide details how to to access and enjoy some of the major rock and mountain climbing areas in Albania. It works geographically out from the capital region of Tirana and its nearby mountain town Kruje northwards and eastwards into the 'Albanide' or Albanian 'alps.' These are perhaps most properly the southern portion of the Montenegrin limestone plateau of the Dinaric Range of jagged limestone mountains which from Albania reach north into Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the other new nations of the former Yugoslavia.

The table of contents to the right indicates the various chapters of the text according to the region or district of Albania covered. Some of the areas are associated with annotated maps, and the relevant photographs have asterisks and italics to indicate the annotatations on the associated numbered maps. Thus, italics followed by a number and asterisk indicate that this image or area is marked thusly on the relevant numbered topo. Many of the photographs, especially those introducing areas or gorges or mountain basins, indicate their locations via the Google Maps tele-atlas associated with Summit Post.

Introduction to Climbing in Albania

Geography and Geology

Albania is a small mountainous coastal republic lying on the Adriatic Sea. It is bordered in the south by Greece and in the north by the countries of former Yugoslavia -- by Montenegro in the northwest, by Kosovo in the northeast, and by Macedonia in the east. Seventy percent of the country is mountainous, frequently rugged and inaccessible, and most of this is Dinaric or Hellenide limestone that constitutes the essence of the climbing environment, though through much of the central uplands in from the coast, a serpentine base to the geology is predominate; and this is then often mixed sharp limestone and sandstone outcroppings which rise out of the dull green, spotted and rounded appearence of serpentine based formations. However, insofar as the limestone mountains of the Balkan peninsula constitute the central aspect of Balkan highlands, whether 'Dinaric' or 'Hellenide', this character stretches right through Albania, with the highland and mountainous border with Macedonia down its Western side and into Greece constituting one continuous mountain formation, broken only by the cut path of the Black Drin river, and thus forming the central backbone of the range in this part of the Peninsula.

Though its main mountains are limestone extensions of the Montenegrin Plateau, Albania's northern mountains are more folded and rugged than most of that plateau. The rivers have deep valleys with steep sides and arable valley floors. Thus, though the successive north-south ranges of uplifted carst and limestone rarely reach over 2500 meters, the steeply ridged and steep sided nature of these mountains, combined with the precipitous gullies carved through the underlayers of flysch, provide an unusual geological environment unique in Europe. Some of these places where streams have carved through the limestone backbones of the country are so smooth and vertical, they appear cut as if by a gigantic jigsaw.

Albania owes its involved structure and intricate features partly to the complicated folding of its rocks, but chiefly to its copious rain and snowfall. The accompanying drainage patterns have given rise to a remarkable river system, combining long trough valleys eroded in the softer beds, with precipitous gorges cut through the harder rocks between them. It is in the superfluity of such gorges and in the dolomite-style limestone ridges and faces carved geologically by the same forces that Albania provides good rock climbing possibilities.

Style of Rock Climbing

Nearly all the rock climbing is on the steep limestone faces and ridgelines carved out by this geography. Long but steep broken backbones of rock and accompanying cracks or gullies cut across the limestone faces, providing the typical lines of first interest in the formations. Between these, the limestone frequently drops in vertical faces of varying quality, with the overhanging portions generally visible by the extremely abrasive limestone covering caused by water drainage and leaving such portions of stone a distinctive dark reddish or dark brown. Long fourth and easy fifth class lines can, depending on the rock character, be broken by short overhang steps forcing detours or sometimes exciting traverses where the broken crack-ledge systems disappear into steeper rock or cross harrowingly above it. Probably the most 'cragging' fun can be had moving swiftly up the long limestone ridge lines, especially when they disappear over the horizon or end up in some broken partial summit with awkward or confusing descents. Though of varying solidity in places, there is much rock dropping right down to road beds which is steep and offers muscular liebacking and crack climbing of a much more committing sort.

Protection is sometimes sparse, and much of the face climbing is unprotected. Vegetation and crack systems, as well as horns and spikes of limestone on the ridgelines provide more options when following the more obvious lines. A crag hammer or some other kind of substantive gardening implement is quite useful, together with many slings and some common sense. In the summer an ice ax is rarely essential in most places, but even a little bit of snow, if it sticks for any length of time and freezes, can make the steep crumbling limestone hillsides positively terrifying, especially the rather common sorts with long steady fall lines.

The main advantage of climbing in Albania is the rugged and completely isolated nature of the environment, combined with the fact that almost none of these rocks have had their potential developed or their lines ascended. During its first two decades of existence as an independent state, Albania fell within the Italian sphere of influence; and this is reflected in the large numbers of neo-classical government buildings in the capital and the role of Italian mountaineers who scoped out and ascended the more inaccesible of the northern 'Accursed Mountains.' Later, during World War II, there are, amusingly, various reports from H.W. Tilman�s colleagues in the guerrilla liaison �Special Operations Executive� or SOE operating in the Balkans. Tilman, more famous for his exploits on Mt. Kenya, Nanda Devi and Everest before World War II, was one of the operatives travelling in 1943 through the mountain areas of Albania on donkeys laden with radios and bags of Napoleonic era gold sovereigns. His main job helped organize partisan opposition to the Italians and the Germans. SOE, though legendary, had mixed success in Albania in contrast to Tito�s Yugoslavia due to the growing and radically Stalinistic xenophobia of the Enver-Hoxha led partisans together with the greater influence of Tory-sympathizing operatives in the SOE groups that were operating in the north sections of Albania and Kosovo out of Greece. But Tilman, who seemed less than interested in guerrilla war and most sympathetic to the scattered Vlach nomadic herders of the Southern Albanian mountain ranges, did manage to maintain a regular weekend exercise regime in his spare time from being a guerrilla band organizer -- by bagging Albanian peaks on his own.

Once the British left, however, the historical record of mountaineering and especially rock climbing, is sparse. The previous regime did little in terms of developing real rock climbing potential through there was an Alpinists� Club which did some ascents in the Tirana area and in the �Accursed Mountains� around Theth (Theti) and the Valbona gorge. In nearly two years of cragging about in Albania, I have come across one rusty fixed piton on a short steep pinnacle near the new Lake Bovilla dam and reservoir project, evidently put there by someone from the Albanian Special Forces base lying below on the Zall-Herr road. Otherwise Albania is almost completely unexplored and undeveloped as a rock climbing area.

The steep hillsides, fracturing limestone ridges, and lack of climbing traffic means that much of the terrain is extremely exposed, with copious precarious rock - from pebbles to giant blocks - perched about in the most spectacular places. Particular care on steep talus and scree fields of the carst hillsides is merited. Only a few small stones can start spontaneous rockslides loosening large blocks and falling hundreds of meters upon goat paths or mountain roads below. If proper care and appreciation of the rugged conditions is taken into account, the possibilities for exploring and developing new lines of many lengths and in all degrees of difficulty are manifold. In particular, long half-day or all day fourth and fifth class ridgelines rise up the sides of the steep limestone peaks are a characteristic option for this region. Many prospects require long and sometimes harrowing approaches up steep hillsides and even steeper shoulders of crumbling carst. Some such areas appear as scree fields but turn out to be solid bands of rock whose surface is composed of sluffing off sheets of sharp edged limestone pebbles. Where proper care on approach or descent is taken, inspiring, sometimes easy but frequently devious, long and meandering lines of ascent can be found.

The entirety of highland Albania is criss-crossed with goat and livestock trails. While the roads are still remarkably and nearly universally in the most terrible conditions, the manner in which they � whether unused mining track or main thoroughfare � cut through and across steep escarpments and precipitous gorges guarantees many places throughout the country with spectacular routes up unclimbed limestone straight off the road-bed. Through most of highland Albania covered in the pages below, cragging, bouldering, and scrambling is readily available in every shape and variety.

II. Traveling and Staying in Albania

Touring Albania: The Last True Adventure in Continental Europe

Much of the experience in Albania results from the rugged natural and social surroundings. After fifty years of ultra-totalitarian rule, Albania has emerged from revolution, upheaval, economic collapse, ethnic warfare, banditry, black marketeering, and refugee crises to become an increasingly stable and economically viable, while nonetheless continually interesting and uniquely adventurous, part of Europe. Its mountains are sparsely but thoroughly populated due to the policies of the old regime, which privileged the wierd idea of an industrial-military mountain redoubt; as a result terraces of underproductive agricultural land are ubiquitious, shepherds can be found at work around nearly every precipice and gorge cut, and there are many aquaducts and other industrial cuttings that break up the climbing environment. At the same time, there is no one else much to bother the car-camping visitor who comes prepared for rough conditions, brings a four-wheel drive vehicle, and takes the necessary precautions against theft. (One possible hazard are wild dogs, which can be found roaming in packs from just outside the capital city to the highlands and ridges of some of the most inaccessible peaks. In most cases, simply circumnavigating their locations at a very safe and prudent distance seems to solve the problem, though I must admit that while doing so on occasion, I was happy to be carrying my ice ax just in case.)

The roads are treacherous and winding, and in nearly all cases strongly imply 4-wheel drive. In many places, arrangements should be made to park cars during the day and at night. In some, a local guide or informant is still quite recommended. Generally, an expense of ca. 100-250 New Lek or a few Euros per night for �protection� of vehicle or more for �camping fees� can be expected. Since property relations are still not clarified and since there is a tradition of xenophobia as well as a highly developed host-guest culture in the Albanian highlands, it is best to exercise caution. When in doubt, having local connections via a guide or a property owner with �bed & breakfast� arrangements or the like is recommended. Many towns have such helpful people, and they can frequently help manage a situation with family or friends in other parts of the mountains. Such arrangements grant one the nearly sacrosanct �guest� status protecting one from the otherwise usual forms of banditry and highway robbery that are a well-known part of Albania highland history.

Albania must be seen as the last true adventure left in continental Europe. The second poorest European state, it is terraced with tiny dirt roads, obscure and isolated mountain villages. It still contains active bands with assault rifles and purloined Daimlers from the EU countries. (Indeed, nearly all the vehicles in Albania in the years after the end of the old regime were Daimler sedans - providing Albania with a private automobile fleet subsidized by the German Automobile Insurance Fees. My favorite example was a Daimler mini-bus which still proudly and informatively retained the bumpersticker of a 'Snow Shoe Club' from a small township in German Lower Saxony.) Old tribal-influenced ways of life continue, especially in rural areas, amidst a largely Muslim population - though especially in the North-West spreading out from Shkodra, in the area Edith Durham documented, there is still a significant Catholic population reaching up into the highlands.

In some areas of the north, the tradition of the �blood feud� is still quite active, and most of the inhabitants get by via subsistence farming, herding and remittances from family members working abroad. Albania politically and culturally is somewhat the opposite of Italy; its north is more conservative and poorer while the south, with historical ties to Greece, is where key early nationalist intellectuals came from, where the Communist Party developed most strongly, and from where the institutions of modernization, including the predominance of Tosk elements in the dialects, were most strongly felt and influential across the country. The diverse religious and cultural traditions, indeed the mix of the unique Albanian language with its obscure phonetic system and the proliferation of traditions from Roman law and Latinate/Romanian words of a very old character mixing in the Kanun of Lek through to a variety of 'Albanianized' Turkish and Slavic expressions provides a polyverse linguistic and cultural background. Most of this adds color and spice to a vacation without involving any serious dangers or hassles. Serious crime is hardly a problem, as long as precautions are taken to protect vehicle and camping gear. With proper graces on the part of the traveler, Albanians in the mountains are typically as polite to visitors as they are proud of their own local and national traditions.

Maps are frequently unreliable, signposts poor to non-existent, and thoroughfare turns-offs or lack thereof obscure or disingenuously uninviting. The geography is distinctive enough, however, that one is usually well oriented after a day or two in any one locale; a short question of the many pedestrians using the roads or watching passers-by is usually enough to sort out a confusion.

In many respects one is reminded of Latin America. In Albania, the state is frequently weak or ineffective in rural and remote areas; but as long as care and courteous arrangements with the local inhabitants are maintained, the ranges and wild alpine terrain in such areas are in their totality available to the visitor. Compared with the rest of Europe, Albania is a region free of rules and regulations. With regard to the Northern mountains, criminality and smuggling were a problem recently only in the Bajram Curri area (Tropoje District), a part of Albania which for this reason perhaps still requires particular precautions if it is to be made part of a planned itinerary.

Hotels are sparse and frequently unattractive dilapidations leftover from the totalitarian era, but are improving rapidly from the period 1996-1999, and tolerable accommodation is available in most areas with short drives of major crags. A 4x4 vehicle � rented or driven in � is preferable, but transport is also possible in the cheap, efficient and regular system of minibuses that criss-crosses the country, even on the most obscure and deserted mountain roads. Most of the main climbing destinations could infact be reached by a sturdy VW or Renault with relatively high clearance, but such means will certainly slow down progress to and from trailheads and crag approaches. Many remote villages and destinations have farmers with extra buildings or primitive �bed & breakfast� like accommodations. These are typically comfortable, interesting, and �authentic�, particular if one is served lamb together with the potent local form of rakjia or fruit brandy around the tin wood stove on a floor covered with sheepskins.

Probably the best option is to arrange for long-term use of a legal four-wheel drive vehicle that could be driven into Albania via the ferry from Bari to Durres. Alternately, one could travel via by highway via Zagreb-Belgrade-Pristina or Podgorica in Montenegro. Vehicles could be rented either in Montenegro or Kosovo, Macedonia or Greece, as long as arrangements were made to cross the border.

One can fly into the capital of Tirana, or drive in through Montenegro to Shkodra, or through Macedonia or Kosovo into the North East to find the best rock climbing areas. Alternatively one could fly into Podgorica in Montenegro or Prishtina in Kosovo and rent a four-wheel drive for the short trip into Albania. It is also possible to drive easily in through Greece via from Thessoloniki via Lake Prespa and/or Korce, but as most of the climbing is in the Northern part of the country, this is probably less convienent unless one is already in Greece.

Most of the excellent rock climbing is within a day trip of the towns of Tirana, Shkodra, or Kukes, with the exception of the Cem Gorge and Vermosh area, and the Theth-Valbona region. But be warned: distances do not appear great on maps, but become so over rutted, winding, unpaved mountain roads. If your headed to these regions and do not have prior arrangements for overnighting, be sure to bring your camping gear and sufficient food supplies, as there is no convienent 'Aldi' at the end of these long dirt road canyons. Bed & breakfast arrangements can, however, be made in these areas.

For more detailed information on Albania, the �Blue Guide� written by James Pettifer is strongly recommended. Though Pettifer is not a particular devotee of high mountain environments and alpinism so much as Albanian culture and traditions, he is one of the best English language historians of the country, and his guide is well written and provides a wealth of detail and generally reliable information. Road maps are readily available, and excellent topographical maps can be purchased from the Albanian Armed Services and the Geographic Institute for ca. 1500 Lek a piece (more for on-line versions) in varying sizes for all of the country; and they are recommended navigation tools. Free older topos of the entire country in 1:50,000 are available from the Univ. of Calif. at Berkeley, as long as one can read Russian; these must be combined, however, with very good road maps as there are now many more roads, not to mention artificial bodies of water, than was the case during the 1940s-1970s. These latter, however, are in the Russian tradition of military cartography, which includes many civilian uses and thus provides much more detail than NATO variants on vegetation and other issues of interest to trekkers and climbers.

III. Tirana-Kruje Area Central Coastal Range

A. Kruje Town

kruje minaret

Kruje is a mountain town located at the northern end of the Kruje-Daiti Range of mountains on the western slope facing the Adriatic, complete with a famous castle and excellent views. Kruje Mountain (1150m) to the north is followed looking southwards successively by Mt. Gamtit (1268m), Mt. Bastarit (Berarit)(1403m), and Mt. Daiti (1612m), with steep limestone gorges cut into the ridgelines of the range between each peak, and limestone escarpments running along especially the seaward or western slopes of the range.

Mt. Kruje - The line up to the top on the right is a scramble with a 3rd class section at the top. Steps down from Kruje mountain are found to the left.

At Kruje, there is a gorge as well at the north end of town can be reached by the lower of the two roads that lead inland from the town; it is notable for its vertical keyhole shape cut into the limestone cliffs; and the characteristic long limestone ridge which climbs to the summit of the mountain north of Kruje Mountain. The lower Kruje road, the Rruga Burreli, can be followed to Burrel (though the main road to Burrel and Peshkopi is via the coast road and Mat river).

Kruje Gorge below the Burrell Road - a typical stream cut through limestone

On the Burrell Road just out of Kruje Town - These bluffs await a sport climber.

Just out of town, the road transverses several steep limestone faces just after leaving Kruje. The Kiktafe stream below, north of Kruje town, disappears here into a cavern in the limestone, and there is much carst surface with dolines. The upper road leads to the top of Kruje Mountain, and cuts through three successive limestone buttresses on the way up the mountain. A third road leads along the base of Kruje Mountain�s western side past a series of overhanging limestone bluffs and pinnacle formations to a new prison complex some three km South of Kruje Town. The formations along the road fine face climbing but would be difficult to protect, and difficult, steep and hard-to-protect limestone faces constitute the best part of the other climbable terrain around Kruje.

Mt. Skenderbeg (935m) northwards across the Kiktafe stream cut from Kruje and seen from the backside of Kruje Mountain on the Burrel Road - a peak runner's option to the top

B. Mt. Bastarit (Berarit) and Bovilla Gorge

Entrance Area
Bovilla Gorge between Tirana and Kruje contains the best rock climbing available in the greater Tirana area. It can be reached via a twenty minute trip down the road to Zall-Herr that turns right at the Bathore intersection one kilometer south of the town of Kamez (pronounced 'kam-ze') on the Lezhe-Shkodra Road. The badly rutted dirt road follows the Herr I Bastarit River past the Albanian Army Commando Base and a gravel pit. The road rises as the road cuts through the gorge on the north side after crossing a bridge at the entrance to the gorge and then rises, passing the Bovilla Dam. This dam holds the drinking water for the city of Tirana in the reservoir.

The entrance to the gorge is marked on the south side a pair of distinctive limestone pinnacles in the front of a set of steep limestone crags. These rise in a series of archlike ridges up the front face of Mt. Bastarit (1403m) on the right and Mt. Gamtit (1268m) on the left.

Mt. Gamtit's Western Side

The Entrance to Bovilla Gorge from near the Albanian Commando Base. The three crags of Gamlit�s south shoulder appear on the left, the vertical faces of Bastarit�s north shoulder on the right, and the back ridge of Bastarit rising from Bovilla Dam visible in the center of the picture.

The northern shoulder of Mt. Bastarit runs up and south, viewed from the Western entrance to Bovilla Gorge.

On the north side of the entrance, three crags rise up east side of Mt. Gamtit. The first crag � marked a large orange face rising above the road -- contains an easy fifth class ridge route that can be reached by vegetated fourth class ledges at the base of the large orange face.

A third class ledge rises on the face to the left, dividing broken lower sections from the steep face capped with overhangs above. The second crag is to its left and can be reached through the gully on its right, which also provides descent from all three crags. Two major fifth class cracks, the left hand in a large north-facing corner, provide the most obvious of several lines. The third crag is the largest and can be reached by following the olive terraces stretching down towards the road. It offers steep free routes leading up the steep buttresses lying between overhanging sections; and three-four pitches of fourth and easy fifth class take one up the right hand ridgeline.

The first crag on Mt. Gamtit viewed from the Bovilla gorge entrance

The third or left most of the Lower Gamtit Crags has the most interesting possibilities - hard lines starting left of the round cave area, and easier routes on the ridges to the left.

Bovilla Gorge � Dam Area

The entire interior of the gorge is mottled with ridge systems and crags reaching down to the streambed. A couple of faces along the road can be top roped, while closer to the dam, longer problems rise up to the left, including a capstone crag about twenty minutes walk uphill from the road. A number of crags, including a fifteen meter pinnacle, are formed down southern sides of the gorge from broken carst formations ending in the area of the dam runoff.

Bovilla Gorge Upper Cliffs - A long walk gets you away from the crowds.

Pinnacle Below Bovilla Dam

Mt. Bastarit drops in two distinct ridges down directly onto the reservoir Dam. Both ridges offer good multi-pitch afternoons; the second can be reached by following the goat trail along the reservoir shore that begins just beyond the tunnel leading to the reservoir intake units.

The lower and upper ridge rising on the back side of Mt. Bastarit over the Bovilla Reservoir

Mt. Gamtit � Backside or Eastfaces
Beyond Bovilla Dam, the road turns left in a series of switchbacks up over the reservoir and along the backside of Mt. Gamtit, which contains three separate distinctive rock formations.

(1) Gamtit Slabs: a small karst ridge rising from the dam breaks off eventually into a series of steep limestone slabs, and eventually a series of high corners formed by the drainage funnels in the cliffs rising above the slabs.

Beyond the dam above the road limestone slabs appear, with some 5th class corners in the formations above them.

Gamtit Back Side Slabs - with a Fine Corner to Climb

(2) Gamtit Back Crag: A limestone crag rises some 350 meters high to two points on the same ridge line 1.5 km further up the road above a parking lot formed by an abandoned factory, providing several multi-pitch fifth class lines.

Beyond the slab area, the east side of Mt. Gamtit contains a main crag, broken in the center by a 4th class fissure, but with harder lines, especially on its northern face.

(3) Gamtit Back Ridge: A large and broken ridge of limestone reaches down from Mt. Gamtit towards the east three km north of the reservoir.

Beyond the main crag on the east side of Mt. Gamtit is a northern, more ridge-like formation

Gamtit Back Side Northern or Ridge Crag - beyond the Bovilla Dam on the left

C. Mount Daiti and Babru Gorge

Mt. Daiti (1612m) rises directly east of the Tirana metropolitan area. A road leads to a National Park on the summit, from which a number of crags can be reached. Others can be found by turning left of the road up Mt. Daiti on the Rruga Dibres that passes the hamlet of Babru before entering a limestone gorge separating Daiti from Bastarit.

Mt. Daiti Upper Cliffs - down and right several hundred meters from the Summit Restaurants - Lamb and Raki after some very steep rocks

A series of ridges run from the entrance of this gorge up the side of Mt. Daiti, in which a pair of easy fifth class ridge routes can be followed. Alternately, approaches by foot are available to the steep palisades of vertical and overhanging limestone ringing the northwest sides of Mt. Daiti. The central buttresses - lower angle in character - that lie underneath the summit can be reached from an access road a few hundred meters beyond the Chateau Linze complex on the Mt. Daiti road.

D. Erzenit Gorge

Erzenit River Gorge and Cave
South of Tirana on the Rruga Elbasanit, a left hand turn at a large white stone adjacent to a long concrete aquaduct some 15km from the city center leads uphill along the southern bank of the Erzenit River. The large escarpments to the right forming into the Erzenit North and South Cliffs in the gorge formed by the river are visible from the Elbasan Road. Follow the road up to the village of Pellumbas, on the south hillside of the Erzenit Gorge, where one can park.

Follow the distinctive goat trail up to the large limestone cave and 60-150 meter cliffs on the south side; or alternatively walk down and follow the aquaduct - including through the tunnels of running water - on the other, northern side of the gorge up through it to the reservoir at its mouth - a striking view of the dolines and river below.

Inside the Erzenit Gorge - following the Aquaduct, carefully not to fall into the dolines below

Erzenit Gorge Entrance. The picture illustrates the line of cliffs rising on both the North and South Side of the Erzenit Gorge, with dam and reservoir behind the last set of visible cliffs � the North Cliffs -- rising to the left. ellumbas Butte is formed by the ridge rising to the right.

The river flows through a series of deeply cut waterfalls that provide climbing opportunities, as does the large limestone cliffs that rise from the gorge cut up the mountain to the north and south.

Erzenit River Lower North Cliffs

These bluffs on the upper north side - a long rising 50 meter double layer cake - may not be worth the walk.

South of the Erzenit River cut, a series of steeper and overhanging cliffs rise to a long rocky capstone of a large butte of limestone rising for a kilometre above the hamlet of Pellumbas and dropping down to the south into the town of Krrabe and the path of the Murdhardit River. Accessible either directly up the path from Pellumbas or up the steep scree pile from the Erzenit gorge cut just below the dam, one can see the entrance to a large, 100m deep limestone cave with striking stalagtites and stalagmites, and some steep and difficult climbing lines on these Erzenit South Cliffs in the limestone faces just uphill from the cave entrance.

Erzenit - Upper South Bluffs - the cave entrance is in the lower left of the central band of cliffs.

in this picture the Cave entrance is visible.

Just before the turnoff to the village of Pellumbas, the road turns right and south up to this headland, cutting after a few switchbacks through the southern escarpments of Pellumbas Butte overlooking Krabbe. This series of the Krabbe Escarpments offer some climbing possibilities, though much of this portion along the road cut is of broken and uneven quality. The main set of cliffs leads below the road where the road itself cuts across the escarpments near the top of the Pellumbas Headland.

E. Ulez Reservoir Rocks and Mat River Gorge

About 13 kilometers up the Mat River from the point where the Mat flows into the Fan, a large hydroelectric dam contains the smaller and lower of two Ulez Reservoirs - at the point where the Mat River gorge is cut into two rocks, North and South Ulez Rocks. The area is roughly 1.5 hr. drive from downtown Tirana, and 20 minutes down the road from Burrel.

Ulez Dam - Ulez Reservoir on Mat River - Left (North) and Right (South) Rocks

Ulez Dam - North Rock

Ulez South Rock on the other side of the Dam drops into the water

Below the Ulez rocks in the gorge canyon of the Mat are a series of crack-lined cliffs, while rising above this complex to the north rise the Dervent Ridges and to the south the Mount Mallezit (1113m). Especially the Dam Cracks in the reservoir canyon and the North and South Ulez Rocks offer spectacular and completely unexplored climbing possibilities.

Ulez Dam - Cracks in Reservoir Sluice Area

IV. Mirdita Highlands

Mirdita

Mirdita is a famous area in Albania due to its historical role in clan dominance and blood feuds, and serves as the locus for Nobel Prize winning author Ismail Kadare's most famous book, Broken April. It is now a real backwater, rapidly loosing its population to the urbanizing areas on the coast, filled with endless forests, and traversed by the Fan River. A few crags in the middle of nowhere and an adventurous camping trip are what is to be found, not a plethora of opportunities.

The series of crags in the Mirdita area can be accessed via the main road between Tirana/Lezhe and Fierza/Kukes. After driving past a series of broken composite crags ca. 10 km after leaving the town of Rreshen, a road turns right down into the Fan (I Vogel) River valley at Blinisht just beyond the police station perched on the scenic overlook.

As one descends this �improved road� leading to an abandoned copper mine at Reps visible in the distance, the river valley below and the crags in the area can both be clearly viewed as long as the sky is not overcast.

Shenjtit Highlands - Above the Reps abandoned copper mine runs the Shenjtit Highlands road past the two visible ridge formations of Mt. Cikut and Mt. Gurit te Kuq. Down to the left runs the Fan i Vogel valley.

Two secondary dirt roads traverse Mirdita:

i) one north-east along the Fan i Vogel from Reps through the village of Klos and ending eventually on the primary Puke-Kukes road near the village of Kalimash, and
ii) another parallel north-eastern path through the Orosh highlands, past the hamlet of Bulshar and up the sides of Mt. Gurit te Cikut (1413m) and Mt. Gurit te Kuq (1511m) along the Shenjtit moutain ridgeline.

The pine forested mountain terrain is highlighted by the reddish color of the earth, giving this area of Mirdita in the Fan River drainage its characteristic aspect. A large scree field scoring the mountainsides directly behind a large complex of abandoned copper mines indicates a gorge cut in the Fan revealing excellent crags rising out of the riverbed.

A large pillar of limestone cuts through the southern side of the Fan i Vogel river 3 km upstream from the village of Klos.

Just downstream along the Fan i Vogel riverbed is this stack. The back side is third class.

Looking up and to the right, a series of limestone cliffs rise on the plateau above. The former can be access by driving up the Fan River past the abandoned copper mine in the direction of the village of Klos. The latter are accessed on the more difficult but spectacular mountain road that leads right up two km upstream from the abandoned copper mine.

Limestone crags on the high road south of the Fan river valley through forested and isolated Mirdita. A row of such crags forms the pedestal terraces of the Mt. Gurit de Cikut rising above the Fan river beyond the villages of Gryke-Orosh and Bulshar. This crag are part of a long escarpment visible from the main road to Kukes which are serviced along their entirety by a logging road.

Beyond the pedestal crags of Mt. Cikut, the Shenjtit highland road passes this limestone cockscomb of Mt. Cikut - average 35 m high and rising as one travels the Orosh logging road north past Male Gurit de Cikut.

Following on the southern side of a steep streambed opposite the village of Gryke-Orosh, the road continues past logging operations upwards, eventually running along the base of a long terrace of limestone crags forming the Mal e Gurit de Cikut area.

After the series of ca. 40-60 meter crags uplifting in a series of jagged rows above the road, a long cockscomb crag rising above a couple of farmhouses offers additional cragging in this upper area. Both areas provide local camping opportunities and are ca. 4 hours by vehicle from central Tirana.

For a trip report (in Italian) kayaking the Fan i Vogel River in this area, seen Anna Ferrari at 'architetura di pietra':

http://www.architetturadipietra.it/wp/index.php?s=Albania

Beyond the Cikut formations, a left turn down the mountain brings one to Klos in the Fan River valley. A complex 52 km road leads to the main road to Kukes along the base of Mt. Zebe (1987) and then east over a pass just south of Mt. Kacinarit in the depths of a forested region, albeit with limestone ridge lines and escarpments running of the sides of Mt. Zebe.

Mt. Zebe Escarpments - Orosh Mirdita

Escarpments of forested Mt. Zebe - Mirdita

V. Kukes to Peshkopi Area - North East Albania

Sketch of the Kukes Area/NorthEast Albania

Kukes became famous during the 1999 Kosovo refugee crisis as one of the two main border crossings out of Kosovo over which the Serbian military forces pushed their campaign of �ethnic cleansing.� (Indeed, it is still the only town to have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for it efforts in accepting refugees during the Kosovo crisis.) Besides a beautiful alpine environment, the town of Kukes has little to recommend for itself. But it is located within a short drive of several large masses of limestone in sharp gorges, as well as the alpine peaks of the western frontier range separating Albania from Kosovo and Macedonia.

This range runs from Mt. Kornitik (2394 m) on the border with Kosovo and neighboring Mt. Gjallica (2486 m) � both strikingly visible from Kukes Town � south to Mt. Kolosjan and Mt. Kasllabkut (2173m), where the highlands, in the Shishtavec plateau, meet the border with Macedonia. The peaks then run due south along this border to the Mt. Korabi group. This divide includes a row of high summits and false summits bi-secting the border, running through the Mt. Korabi group(2751 m) - whose main peak tip also bisects the countries and is the highest in both Albania and Macedonia - due south to Mt. Velivaret (2374m), with the town of Peshkopi nestled in its foothills. The Korabi group lies on the frontiers of Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia, with the the Palaeozoic rocks of the Macedonian Sar Planina mountains and highlands (themselves rising to 2500 m) dividing Kosovo from Macedonia also running north and east from the same highland point. The Sar Planina range -- massive, strongly folded and independent of the Drin Valley structures -- likewise offers few technical opportunities, though fabulously beautiful highlands for treking and traveling.

The Goran Village of Shishtavec in Winter - an highland town just in the Northern border of Albania at the edge of the extensive Sar Planina alpine meadowlands

The peaks south of Korabi located in Diber District around Peshkopi offer less in the way of technical climbing, with the exception of a small but interesting gorge near the trout farm of Arrez between Peshkopi and Kukes. Korabi itself, located at end of a canyon leading upwards from the village of Radomir, is a striking setting, and offers much rock climbing potential on its Albanian side. The Black Drin Canyon south of Kukes on the road to Peshkopi, however, is wild and interesting for those with four-wheel drive. Those portions of this canyon in Kukes District offer more rock climbing possibilities. From the villages of Skavice, Resk, Kolosjan, and Bushtrice, spectacular mountain scenery of the bare rocky uplands and numerous limestone crags characterize the landscape. Beyond this area, the main climbing is in two gorges draping the sides of Mt. Gjallica formed by the Lumes River on its northern and the Tershanes Creek on its southern shoulder.

For scenic views, the small hillside mountain villages on the eastern sides of Mt. Gjallica and Mt. Koritnik and the highland regions beyond are worth a visit - villages such as Brekje on the eastern side of Gjallica, Orjost on the eastern side of Mt. Koritnik near the border with Kosovo, and the mountain hamlets of Strez, composed of Lumes Albanians, or Shishtavec and Borje, composed of slavic speaking Muslims known as Gorans. Some nine villages on the Albanian and twenty-two villages on the Kosovo side of the border are entirely or in majority constituted such ethnic Gorans. While there is some question as to whether this slav heritage is Macedonian or Serbian, since the dialect of Goran is an evident mixture of both language variations, the Gorans are in socio-political terms, like the Muslim slavs or Bosniaks in Bosnia, or the Muslim inhabitants of the Serbian �Sandzak� between Montenegro and Kosovo, ethnically and linguistically Slavic and thus �nationally� different from Albanians; and yet as Muslims frequently under stood to be radically different from orthodox slavs like the Serbs or Catholic slavs like the Croats.

The Village of Cernelev (* topo 3) is visible on the hillsides east of the eastern side of Mt. Koritnik. Terraced agricultural land lies below down to the Lumes river, and grazing meadows reach above the village.

There is at present no great social or political divisions or tensions which characterize Goran-Luman or Goran-Albanian relations (as in contrast for instance is the case south in Himare among Greek speaking minorities), but in the various conflicts over identity and ethnicity, the Muslim slav enclaves like those of the Gorans or in the Sandzak or in Bosnia proper frequently have divided and mixed loyalties depending on the historic circumstances of rule and subjecthood.

Mt. Koritnik - eastern side looking from the village of Kollovoz - the Albanian side is to the left; on its right side the shoulder descends into Kosovo (Photo - Jonaz Kola)

School children stop for a conversation on the way home from the Cernelev Village school with Koritnik rising in the background.

Mt. Gjallica
Mt. Gjallica itself makes a spectacular exercise. The sharp gradient from the summit into the town of Kukes constitutes the largest single visible geological formation in this part of Albania. Its steep, relentlessly uniform, and seemingly endless northwest slopes drop right into Shtiqen and Nange, the satellite villages of Kukes.

Gjallica can be ascended up a spectacular but secure third class ridge line reached by following the hillside directly behind the 250 meter stack of the abandoned copper mine just before the entrance to the Lumes River gorge. Or one can climb directly up one of the gullies or approaches from the village of Shtiqen just to the south.

Mt. Gjallica from Kukes (*topo3)

Mt. Gjallica - Western or Kukes side in Winter

A simple and shorter walk-up leads from the village of Topojan/Brekje high on the northeast shoulder, and after driving through the gorge and turning right along the less steep eastern slopes.

Mt. Gjallica Eastern Side - viewed from Kollovoz Village (photo: Jonaz Kola)

Mt. Gjallica East Side - Early Spring

Alternatively, one can follow the mountain road south of Bicaj left up the sides of Mt. Kolosjan past the village of that name, making sure at ca. 1600 m to keep left around the village of Tershane in the gorge below to stay on the sides of Gjallica. This road, when taken to the top of the col above, is the best way into the alpine meadows of the Albanian portions of the Sar Planina.

Note on Explosive Mines in the Mt. Koritnik and Mt. Korabi Areas

Mt. Koritnik at the northern end of this range borders Kosovo and Albania, and was mined and showered with rocket propelled explosive cluster munitions during the Serbian conflict over Kosovo.

The Mine Situation on the Kosovo-Albania border circa 2002 - illustration by Bethany Sanders

Indeed, there are mines located in much of the border region (particularly in Has District where it borders Kosovo between the Tropoje and Kukes Districts); and though progress was being made, a serious recent accident killing several deminers slowed down the clean up considerably. Mined areas can be viewed on maps and reports available from the United Nations 'Relief Web', and do not affect climbing interests in this area - with three exceptions:

1) One must be careful to approach Koritnik from the Kukes side and avoid the actual summit - a rolling hillside - as well as the area below on the Kosovo-Albania border, and the entire meadow highlands stretching from the villages below the peak on the border, Orjost in Albania, and Orcusa and Globovica in Kosovo, southwards to Borje, Novosei and Shishtavec (see map to left for orientation).

2) The Has mountainlands require up-to-date information before treking into them. There was a cluster mine problem below the village of Myc-Has and a dangerous but localized mined area on the road to Cahen vilage from Krume town. Anywhere within a couple kilometers of the border between Has and Kosovo must be checked out before making plans (again see the map on left for a preliminary orientation.)

3) During the brief out break of fighting during 2001 in Macedonia and Southern Serbia around the Presevo Valley, highland traffic over the historic herding trails around the Korabi led to mines being placed in specific zones on the Macedonian sides of that mountain which are still there. These mines do not effect climbing Mt. Korabi from the Albanian side, but ascent from the Macedonian side involves entering the Macedonian-Albanian boundary area, for which a special permit is required from the Macedonian Ministry of internal affairs.

A. The Gryka e Vanave or Lumes River Gorge

The Lumes River gorge divides Mt. Gjallica from Mt. Koritnik, and may offer some of the best overall rock climbing in all of Albania.

Topo 3 - Kukes - Mt. Gjallica - Mt. Koritnik Area

It has a road following the Lumes River running west to east, beginning just north of Kukes on the road to Kosovo right after the reservoir bridge. This road cuts along the northern bank of the gorge. After a preliminary set of broken carst hillsides, two tunnels through limestone formations reaching down the south face across the roadway mark the most distinctive landmarks in the gorge. The first tunnel is .75 Km from the bridge, the second is 2 Km past the first; and two subsequent markings are constituted by the only Hoxha-bunker along the road 1 Km from the second tunnel (with the number 39 painted on it in red), and the visible serpentine formations at the base of the South-East Buttress one kilometer further at the west entrance to the gorge.

Lumes Gorge - The West Entrance View of Koritnikut Shoulder arriving from Kukes (*topo 3) The road is visible on the north side, with a typical Hoxha-bunker on the left. Koritnikut Peak on the shoulder of Mt. Koritnik, and the main ridgeline of the peak are visible in the sunlight. It is the vast and repeated serrations of ridgelines reaching down in places into the riverbed that offer a cornucopia of routes of all sorts and abilities. The Tower Area rises on the ridge immediately in front of Koritnikut Ridge just above the small sunlit rock in the middle of the lower third of this photograph.

This gorge offers a tremendous amount of rock climbing in all classes of difficulty and in all grades between I & IV. The climbing possibilities arise from the multiple ridges of limestone and faces formed between and on the sides of these ridges, rising in fins, pinnacles, and crags. The single largest formation is the ridge of Koritnik, running 1000 meters up to a 1352 meter subsidiary peak called Koritnik (or, on some maps, 'Koritnikut') Peak.

Mt. Koritnik view from Kukes - a clear view of the summit of Mt. Korinik, and the lower Koritnikut Peak and its long limestone ridge lines

1. The Gorge South Side

Tower Pinnacles Area
Following the second tunnel, several limestone ridges run down the south face of the gorge to the roadside � available after a short by dizzying approach up the steep carst scree fields beneath and separating each of the ridge formations. Along each of these ridges, a series of faces are available for route development, averaging one to three pitches, and with, in many cases, roadside belay stations. These Tunnel Buttresses are steep, and partially broken in places, offering some easier fifth class routes, but consisting mostly of shallow cracks in broken corners and steep faces.

Lumes Gorge - North Side - Towers Area

Lumes Gorge Tunnel Buttress - The road through the Gorge travels on the north side of the stream and is cut by on large butress. Here it is viewed looking west from the eastern side along the road.

Lumes Gorge Tunnel Buttress - The road through the Gorge travels on the north side of the stream and is cut by on large buttress just past the Towers area.

There are several limestone ridges directly before this tunnel, all of which offer moderate 4th and 5th class ascents, while the steeper faces of these ridges offer progressively hardly free climbing possibilities. All of these ridges lead to two large (�tower�) pinnacles of limestone some 350 meters over the road on the ridge just in front of Koritnikut Peak ridge.

The two towers in the sunlight viewed from the road.

A wider shot of the towers area viewed from the Gjallica side of the Lumes Gorge. The two towers in the photo left adjacent are the 4th and 5th knobs on the skyline in this picture. The others are less distinct from the roadbed below.

At least one easy fifth class and several more difficult crack systems break each face. Descent is found to the north -- down a steep cow pasture past a pumphouse, which can also serve as approach to upper routes on Koritnikut Ridge.

The rock stretch below the pumphouse can be seen distinctly from the road as three �beehive� like formation containing a small pinnacle. This small crag - 'pumphouse rock' - makes an obvious and accessible teaching location. Each of these beehives is separated by a fissure - by a crack with a 5.9 move on the left, and with by an easier alternative up one of the two cracks on the right. A 3rd/4th class ridgeline on the right leading up right past a pinnacle.

Pumphouse Rock - in the Lumes Gorge just before the Towers area. Short and safe learning area.

The Upper South Face
The upper south face is cut by several ridges which jut out, especially at the north and south entrances of the gorge, in large buttresses. The most distinctive is the north-east ridge of the Koritnikut Peak itself, visible on the way in the gorge, while at the east entrance, the south east buttress or the Quelesh is the most evident feature, as it rises the full height of the rock formations. The largest rock routes, however, are formed by the ridgelines and faces of the northeastern area. This whole formation rises above the towers area described above.

Koritnikut South Face Shoulder - close up of lower portion (*topo 3)

The Koritnikut South Shoulder Ridge Lines (*topo 3) composite photo viewed from Mt Gjallica's shoulder - long 5th class, easier from the center ridge, leads to the peak, and then to the rounded mountain top - a long day. The center upper red portion is overhanging and can be accessed from the right up the 3rd class gully which also runs along the base of 'Cave Rock' below.

Equally broad arrays of ascent possibilities are available on the upper face to the right of the north-east ridge and the faces formed by its eastern side. Several of these can be seen in the second picture of Koritnikut Peak�s upper face directly below. Beyond the overhanging upper parts of the central face, a series of broken limestone areas of varying quality rock and elaborate route finding also allow access to the top of the cliff area. After the 'towers' area in the lower portion of the gorge is a large slab area. To its right, the scary 3rd class gully leads to the overhanging upper portion of Koritnikut South Shoulder; to the left one can see the independent lower formation of 'Cave Rock', which also includes a worthwhile limestone cave for exploration.

'Cave Rock' - Lumes Gorge

Quelesh or the North-East Buttress
The largest single piece of rock in the lower parts of the Lumes Gorge is the North-East Buttress, rising beyond 'Cave Rock' formation, and essentially forming the eastern exit of Lumes Gorge. From below along the road at the eastern gorge entrance, the formation looks like a 'quelesh' (*topo3), that is, the traditional white rounded felt caps of the Albanian mountaineer in the northern Gheg regions. The west face is steep enough that many lines would be artificial as is evident from the brown color of the overhanging rock, while easier fifth class lines can be found on the lower east face leading up to the long 3rd class ridge line. The upper parts of the east face are longer and more broken, and exude many more difficult fifth class possibilities.

The main routes on Quelesh can be approaches most easily from the fields that lead up to the goat paths along its base, leaving from just above the gorge at the suspension bridge by the west entrance. From this approach, the three great dikes of broken limestone rising from left to right across the face and many fourth and fifth class multi-pitch ascent options are readily apparent. The last and largest of the ledge systems at its base, accessed from the right, is roomy enough to contain an entire herd of goats and its keeper. This ledge edges into the middle of the face, with some interesting fifth class ascents leaving from the right had side of through the rim of the main headwall. These routes can be seen in the last picture leaving up to the right from under the right hand brown patch that appears under the right-hand skyline.

Quelesh Rock from below - showing large ledge spiliting the rock and accessible from the right *topo 3)

Quelesh Rock from the Lumes Gorge eastern entrance, show the long rising 3rd class ridge to the top.

2. The Gorge North Side

Entrance Cracks
The northern face of the gorge is broken by a series of uplifted crags with distinctive crack systems at the entrance. Many of these, including the two formations of �Hoxha�s Head� and Split Rock, are continuations of the Tunnel Buttress ridges, but up the northern shoulders of Gjallica rather than the southern shoulder of Koritnik.

The right hand side of Hoxha�s head can be ascended via the obvious corner, including a tricky overhanging portion, which leads to the back ridge of the �head.� On the face further right are easier fifth class alternatives, while on the left side, a blocky corner can be followed leading up to steep layback just left right hand profile.

Split rock contains a grimy and wide chimney up its right hand side dividing it in two, with a more interesting corner that rises to its right. The face left of the chimney and the large chimney in the middle of split rock are moderate 5th class, as is the buttress to the left of the main chimney.

Split Rock formation - Lumes Gorge. A cut ledge divides the upper half of this interesting formation. The lower half contains to ridges that can be climbed directly from the lower aquaduct, all 4th or easy and 5th class. The two chimneys leaving from the upper ledge are flared and more difficult, as is the beautiful corner visible on the upper right. Harrowing moves lead from the ledge onto the upper face between the two chimneys.

Lumes Gorge - Next to Split Rock is the 'Hoxha's Head' formation.

Aquaduct Terraces
Two large ridges of limestone which jut from the top of the gorge down into the Lumes river. Where they come down to the river, they form a series of terraces combining steep and overhanging portions with broken faces. Along this section, several climbing areas are accessible by a goat and miners trail which has been hewn into the carst, and by an aqueduct system which runs along the base of the gorge some 20 M above the river bed. The first or Lower Terrace appears first driving from west to east; and the second or Higher Terrace a few hundred meters further.

The bottom portion of Gjallica's North-East Buttress in the Lumes Gorge is chopped up by two engineered cuts, giving varying access but breaking an already steep but broken formation into one more difficult to climb enjoyably.

North-East Buttress
The last major formation on the south side is the North-East Buttress (*topo 3). This ridgeline runs directly down to the road where some striking steep grooves break the face of the buttress. Above it rises in a long ridgeline that is also broken by a 250 meter face higher on its upper east-facing side.

The long north east buttress of Mt. Gjallica with its clean upper face rise from the Eastern end of the Lumes Gorge (*topop3). The North shoulder of Mt. Gjallica marks the longest ridge formation out of the north side of the Lumes Gorge. The rock is cleaner and the views more spectacular the higher one climbs.

The North-East Buttress of Mt. Gjallica drops into the Lumes Gorge at its eastern end - here viewed from above on the Koritnikut Peak side. This view from the other side of the gorge illustrates the length of the central to sections and the broken fourth and fifth class sections which pass through the final canyon rim headwall. The aqueduct cut through the lower gorge is visible in the lower part of the picture.

Remarks on climbing on the way into the Lumes Gorge
Leaving the town of Kukes, it is possible, before crossing the bridge over the Lumes river, to drive up and right, past the abandoned Copper Smelter, to a longish bluff under some old military storage bunkers which forms visible southern rampart to the Lumes Gorge entrance. Here the bluffs are of a softer and more fractured limestone mixture, but have a series of interesting crack problems rising up the row of 20-40 meter high bluffs. Unless one manages to get a vehicle to the top of the ramparts however, upper belay anchors are lacking.

The north side of the entrance gorge, before the abandoned pumphouse, is a much larger rock formation. The only safe approach is from the left or pumphouse end up the steep 3rd class 'scree', but the upper cliffs offer several 4th class fissures to the top including a main corner formation. 5th class rock of 2-3 pitches can be found inbetween these fissures.

B. Bicaj Gorge

Eight kilometers south of Kukes on the road to Peshkopi, a sharp gorge following the Tershanes creek cuts dramatically through the lower south shoulder of Mt. Gjallica in a 'jigsaw' formation just above the town of Bicaj. Behind the two-story white school building, a road leads a half kilometer to the hamlet of Mustafe.

Annotated Topo 5 - Bicaj - Kolosjan - Tedjrine Area

The Upper North Face of the Bicaj Gorge as viewed from the Mt. Kolosjan Road

Bicaj Gorge Showing Upper Faces (*topo 5). This view of the Bicaj Gorge entrance from Bicaj shows its keyhole cut with amphitheatre behind. The gorge offers some striking and spectacular rock climbing, though rock conditions vary in quality and the approaches are difficult. Offwidth and hand-width cracks and corners shooting up the vertical corners formed by the lower cut, while above overhanging limestone eaves call for elaborate mixes of fifth and sixth class techniques. Further inside the gorge, the jagged shark fins and ridges of rock offer cragging opportunities of a less demanding character.

Very steep lines run up both sides of the sharp keyhole cut in the side of the mountain. Above, longer and steeper lines run 150 meters or more up the limestone ridge behind the keyhole entrance to the gorge and in the amphitheater cut into the side of Gjallica behind.

Bicaj is the old tribal center of the Luma, who were the dominant political force in this area historically; and the area is populated and requires a local guide to avoid irritations from the local children. The gorge can be accessed, always with difficulty, three ways: (1) via the entrance by going down through a few farmers fields from the village of Mustafe, (2) from this village up along the steep goat path over the southern lip of the gorges precipices towards the village of Tershane, or (3) from the Mt. Kolosjan road downwards past Tershane into the gorge. Much of the limestone is extremely steep and broken, and there are for many of the features, questionable and difficult approaches, but the environment of this gorge is as strange and spectacular as any in Albania.
The Kolosjan road, a left turn south of Bicaj on the main dirt road between Kukes and Peshkopi, also provides access to the Albanian portions of the Sar Planina, a vast wide highlands with little in it but goat herds and the remains of Albanian military installations from the Hoxha era. Besides access to Mt. Kolosjan (2050m), virtually a 'drive up' with a 4x4, the area above is essentially a vast highland plain.

From the Mt. Kolosjan Road on the upper north side of Mt. Kolosjan the alpine highlands of the Sar Planina stretch out into Macedonia.

It is unpopulated excepted for masses of old military bunkers, and is beautiful as a base for treking, cross country skiing or mountain biking, either east into the Macedonian Sar Planina in an area free of mines, north towards the Shishtavec highlands, or south along the Albanian/Macedonian border, where the Mt. Korabi massif lies some 20 km to the south.

Bicaj Gorge - Wide View

Bicaj Gorge. This close up view illustrates sharp blades of exposed limestone rising just inside Tershane Gorge on the right hand side. Curved amphitheaters of overhanging limestone with sharp buttresses of rock dividing them rise from her up the south side of Mt. Gjallica, offering many possibilities for those able to manage the complex approach.

C. Kolosjan, Bushtrice and Tejdrine

South the Bicaj Gorge on the road past Bicaj Town, a series of crags rear up in the vicinity of the mountain villages of Kolosjan, Bushtrice, and Tejdrine. Kolosjan lies on the main road to Peshkopi 15 km south of Kukes, and the turn-off left to Lusen and Bushtrice is 2 km further down the road. The three Kolosjan Crags (South-Middle-North or One-Two-Three)appear on the shoulders of Mt. Kolosjan (2050 m) south of the village of that name, and along the road to Bushtrice (* topo 5).

From the Shenjtit highland road, it is possible at several points to look into the Black Drin canyon. This view shows Mt. Kolosjan and the three Kolosjan Crags at its base.

After the third crag, the road turns up the side of a canyon towards Bushtrice. Before this road drops down into Bushtrice Canyon, there are several crags that are visible and can be reached from the tiny hamlet of Lusen on the north side of Bushtrice Canyon. Follow the aqueduct from Lusen in direction of these crags. Several large pillars and corners drop right into the creek of Bushtrice Gorge, and these can be reached by following the road down to Bushtrice, from which the road leads later up to Radomir and Mt. Korabi following the turn off just past the canyon to the right. The left turn leads up past the series of Bushtrice pillars rising above up the Bushtrice canyon on its left hand hillside to Fshat and the Fshat Wall in the other.

Throughout this area, the climbing can be excellent. The vast scars caused by the faces of Kolosjan Crags 1 & 2 offer routes along both sides, as well as overhanging crack and boulder problems of all sizes, while the south side of both crags, as seen in the picture below, offer multi-pitch ascents of varying fifth class difficulty.

Kolosjan Crag 3 drops to the side of the hill where the road turns east to Lusen, where a series of difficult and steep faces rise right from the road cut, with a palisade of varying limestone pillars rising above. The main path of ascent is a striking moderate 5th class route begins at the detached pillars to the right of these slabs by following the main angular cut in the face from right to left. After some five pitches, it finishes with a slightly harrowing traverse over a sluice gully of shattered overhanging limestone at the top of the crag. Left of this, several fourth class options follow right of the shattered gully, and to the right a manifold of moderate and difficult fifth class routes are evident beyond the two pillars at the base of the first scree piles.

The First or Northern and the Second or Middle of the Three Kolojan Crags (photo - Jonaz Kola)

Third Kolosjan Crag (*topo5). Viewed from the south: the main routes leaving near the slabs in the lower left of the picture, and then on the crags rising to the left up between the various scree chutes. The road cut and that caused by the aqueduct are visible on the left; descent is via to the right at the top via the back side down to the aqueduct cut.

Bushtrice Gorge and the Lusen Escarpments

The crags of Bushtrice Gorge (* topo 6) can be reached by scrambling down and left from Lusen, or up through the gorge along the river. The upper crags of the Lusen Wall, which rises just up river from the village of Lusen, are best reached by following the aqueduct from Lusen.

Lusen Upper Crags - rising above the village of Bushtrice

The gorge can be entered by driving 2 km down the road from Lusen on the road to the villages of Bushtrice and Radomir.

Bushtrice Gorge - Entrance (Photo - Jonaz Kola)

Bushtrice Gorge Entrance - Close Up (* topo 6), Photo - Jonaz Kola)

Routes of varying difficulty rise to right and left, with easier cracks and faces to the right and steep blades of limestone along the base of the village of Lusen as the gorge rises towards the Lusen Wall.

Bushtrice Gorge - Cracks

Bushtrice Gorge - More Crack Climbs

About two kilometers up the gorge from its entrance on the Bushtrice-Fshat road, the buttresses of the Lusen Wall rise up to the full height of the cliff. Their best approach of one seeks to climb the entirety is through the gorge, and then up one of the steep vegetated cracks or gullies leading to the upper ramparts. Rock quality is a clear issue in this area, however.

Two of the several Upper Bushtrice Crags are accessible via Lusen. The lower portions of the Bushtrice gorge form the lower part of the same face as these towers; and the entirety is accessible from the gorge entrance 3 km down the road from Lusen. The Lusen Wall abuts the Fshat Wall.

Lusan Escarpments from inside Bushtrice Gorge.

The upstream portions of the Lusen bluffs as they appear from the village of Fshat with the road to Fshat visible on the left hand side of the canyon

Fshat Wall

Up the road from the Bustrice gorge routes, a steep and harrowing mountain passage with massive drops into the gorge below leads, after five kilometers, up to the village of Fshat. The bluffs of the Bustrice gorge rise up on the mountainside directly north, with the same formation developing into the 2-300 meter limestone formations above the mountain hamlet of Fshat. The large upper bluffs can be reached via Lusen, while the lower are approached via the gorge. Lusen and Fshat are connected by a two-hour goat trail leading along the base of the main Fshat wall, and providing a convienent means of descent from the crags all along the 4 kilometer walk up the Bustrice gorge to Fshat. The rock in this gorge is of mixed quality (piles of steep to vertical limestone choss in places), with the most noteworthy feature being the large funnel, chimney and crack systems that make great incisions down the overhanging limestone faces.

A left turn a half a kilometer or so past the entrance to the Bushtrice gorge leads five kilometers up hill to the village of Fshat (* topo 6) , where across Vaut de Cajes stream cutting through the gorge, a set of large but fracture limestone cliffs rises. The goat trail cut left and up across the base leads to the village of Lusen.

Tejdrine Towers

The last and most striking of the limestone formations in this area lies near the town of Tejdrine in a set of towers rising from the Black Drin up to the town. These are reached by turning right 2 km after Kolosjan and remaining on the main road to Peshkopi, following the switchbacks some 6 km more down into the bottom of the Drin Canyon. Tejdrine Towers appears on the other side as one drops into this canyon.

Tejdrine Towers (* topos 5 & 6)

Note on Kayak Access to the Black Drin

The town of Tejdrine, perched on the hillside above the towers dropping down into the river, can be reached by a bridge which crosses the Black Drin from the north. The main road to Peshkopi continues here south along the upper sides of the East side of the Black Drin canyon, but access is also possible at this point along the westside near the river itself. Indeed, south of Kukes, this river crossing is one of the few access points to the lower section of the Black Drin canyon. (Boats could be put into the river here given proper levels, and it is probably a long day or two back down and north to the Kukes reservoir, but in between there are virtually no road heads, and I have no personal knowledge of the passability of this canyon by boat-foot passage!)

Tejdrine Towers - Looking north and downstream from near the bridge crossing the Black Drin in the vicinity of the village of Resk.

Tejdrine viewed from the Kukes-Peshkopi Road, with the usual foot travelers(*topos 5 & 6).

Close Up showing the little school of the village of Tejdrine.

D. Radomir and Mt. Korabi

Mt. Korabi and its range lies right on the border of Kukes and Diber provinces in Albania on one side, and on Macedonia on the other. From the Albanian side, it is most easily accessed from the village of Radomir, the highest of the several villages in the Kale e Dodes basin lying between the Velichces and Grames streams which issue into the Drin below.

Annotated Topo 6 Bicaj - Kolosjan - Bushtrice - Radomir - Korabi

Driving south from Kukes, one reaches the village of Radomir and the Mt. Korabi complex by following the road into the valley beyond that of Bushtrice, in the process crossing the border from Kukes into Diber Districts. The road in this direction is not bad, but distances are typically not marked on Road Maps below Bushtrice. The following intervals are worth keeping in mind: From where the road turns right down the hill at Lusen, it is eight kilometres to the next important intersection at Ploshtan (* topo 6), where the road goes left up the hill around a Caf�-Bar which divides Kukes from Diber district and the Vaut te Cajes basin running from Fshat through Lusen to Resk through the Bushtrice Gorge from the Velishice drainage on the Diber District side; from this intersection it is another eight kilometres to a left hand turn at Cerem which leads up two kilometres to the village of Radomir (* topo 6). From here, the magnificent limestone cliffs of the three Radomir Rocks and the complex formation constituting Mt. Korabi can be easily accessed (* topo 6). They rise in a long ridge line just above the Stonaraki or Radomiri creek which below runs into the Velishice drainage below, with its steep earthen escarpments running along the northern side.

Radomir Village and the trail to Korabi (* topo 6)

Looking from the Korabi Fair at the village of Radomir and the north facing escarpments of the Veleshices drainage into the Drin below

Parking is found on the road just beyond the village mosque, and here the broad livestock trail leads up into valley through the Korabi Fair towards Mt. Korabi. The largest part of the rock climbing in this area can be found on the three Radomir Rocks which rise on the same ridge line as Mt. Korabi itself directly up the valley out of town. Following up beyond the town is the 'Korabi Fair' area, known as such because it is the historic market place for auctioning herds which are kept during the summer on the Korabi plains above and serving as part of the livestock market pathes hi