HIKING IN MOUNTAIN
Mountain hiking is one of the most popular activities in the western region of Kosovo, while Peja stands out for this with a very early tradition starting from 1928 with the organization of the first society in Kosovo named “Gjeravica”. At the same time, Peja is the gateway to the Accursed Mountains (Alb. Bjeshkët e Nemuna) national park and is known also as the city of mountaineering in Kosovo. Being the gateway to this park, many hikers, climbers and nature lovers pass through the city of Peja, who visits these mountainous parts not only to spend the weekend but also to carry out hiking expeditions and the conquest of mountain peaks in the national park Accursed Mountains or as are known to the citizens as the Albanian Alps and Bjeshkët e Bekuara (Eng. Holy mountains).
Rugova, which is the largest mountain area in Accursed Mountains, belongs to the municipality of Peja and offers many attractive opportunities for hiking activities. Now in this mountainous area, have been developed different levels of hiking trails that offer daily, weekly and even longer experiences that last up to 12 days and crossing state borders, while these trails are designed in a very suitable way for all ages and genders and offering experiences for beginners to professionals.
What sets Peja apart is the close access to its mountains, and many tourists who visit Peja start hiking right from the city and access to the mountains to continue on the trail they have chosen to experience. In this direction, all hiking lovers and other visitors to Peja can experience the local trails that last up to 1 day and the length reaches up to 20 km, then the regional ones that can last up to 1 week and connect the municipalities of the western region between ones that have a length of up to 110 km or cross-border ones such as the Peaks of the Balkan trail or Via Dinarica trail that connect the state of Kosovo with Montenegro and Albania and reach a length of up to 192 km. Fans of this activity in Peja are active during the 4 seasons (spring, summer, autumn and winter) experiencing the many natural beauties and also experiences from meetings with local community.
CONQUEST OF THE MOUNTAIN PEAKS
The highest peak in the municipality of Peja is Guri i Kuq (Eng. Red Stone), which reaches a height of 2522m, but Peja is an access to many other peaks that are located in other municipalities and are part of the Accursed Mountains national park. Therefore, the conquest of the peaks must start from Peja.
The conquest of mountain peaks or alpine activity is quite developed in Peja and this dates back to 1928 with the establishment of the first mountain climbing association in Kosovo known as “Gjeravica”. All this is thanks to the easy access to the Rugova Mountains and the Accursed Mountains from the city of Peja, suitable mountain terrains for access to the deeper mountain areas, and the willingness of the local citizens to deal with mountain climbing. There are several peaks that exceed the altitude level of over 2000m, but the most attractive ones are Guri e Kuq 2522m, Çfërla 2461m, Hajla 2403m, Vjellaku 2014m, Rusolia 2381m, Maja Hasanit 1900m, etc.
What made Peja stand out is that some of the peaks such as Çfërla, Vjellaku, Hasani peak, Kopranik peak can be reached starting from the city center without the need of transport, while for other peaks you have to travel to the Rugova mountain which is not far away and the road to the points where you will start your ascent is very attractive and with many natural beauties such as waterfalls, rivers, gorges, caves, etc.
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