Lake Ohrid

High-Scardus Trail (first 10 stages; end september 2025) We (2 persons) made the trek with bagpacks, tents, sleeping bags and cooking equipment to be autonomous. Day 1: We started the journey from Skopje and went by bus to Tetovo (goes every hour for less than 2 € and takes 1 hour). Then we took a shared local minibus (you just need to ask the people around. They will lead you to the good minibus. The minibus takes 1 hour and costs 1,50 € per person and goes directly to Staro Selo, where the trail starts (there is a source to refill your water bottles). We started the trail in the afternoon and followed the official path, which is well indicated and easy to go. It took us about 2 hours to reach Ljuboten. There, the guesthouses were all closed (it was indicated, that one of the guesthouses were open only on weekends and when you reserve before). We just pitched our tent on an almost flat spot and there is water available on the outside of one guesthouse. Day 2: We followed the official path. It was easy to find and with a beautiful view and plenty of blueberries. We didn’t go down to Brezovicë. It looked quite empty, we aren’t sure if you will find a restaurant or a (super)market there. From far away it didn’t look welcoming to us, so we stopped 2 km before Brezovicë. There is a small stream km 10.4, where we took the water to drink. Day 3: We didn’t take the official path. We wanted to stay on the mountain ridge, so we walked through the peaks. We joined the path again at Jazinacko lake. The path to go down to Prevallë took more time for us than shown on the website. At km 11.6 you can reach the road and fill in your bottles, there is a stream (but there is also one more stream in Prevallë). Prevallë is a touristic village. You can find good hotels/restaurants (we had dinner at Krojet, it was really good) as well as a small market to buy food items (pasta, rice, sweets…) and fruits/vegetables. You can find spots to pitch your tent 400m before the end of the path (where some locals are also spending the night in their tent/van). There is a stream at this location. Day 4: We followed the official path until km 5 where we continued our way in the direction of the peak Maja e Zezë. We pitched our tent 1 hour after we left the official path (beautiful view, we saw 4 mountain goats in the morning). There are several streams where you can take water. We don’t know what is available at Lubinjë e Epërme in terms of guesthouses or food. Day 5: We climbed to the top of the Maja e Zezë in the morning and followed the ridge to join back the path at km 8.9 to go down. We didn’t go to the Kobilica Hut so we don’t know if someone was there or not. There are 2 springs on the way down to the hut where you can fill in your bottles. After, we took the path of stage 6 until km 3 where we pitched our tent for the night. There, the path is often well indicated but sometimes a bit confusing so following the direction of the official path is enough. Be careful, the way can take longer than what is shown on the website. Day 6: We continued the official path until the Golemo Ezero lake which is really clear and quite deep. We took a refreshing and cleaning bath there, saw some horses and took water from a stream 500 m before the lake which is not connected to the lake. Then, we took our own way and went to the Lijcen i Bard lake where we pitched our tent for the night. The official time on the website seems quite short to us. We definitely needed more time than indicated. Day 7: We followed the ridge until it joined the official path that goes down to Brod (after km 16.2). It was an easy and nice way, with the view on a new mountain chain. In Brod there are several small super(markets) with vegetables, fruits, pasta, rice, polenta, and sweets. There is the possibility to sleep spontaneously in a bed (we took a room for 15€ per person above the Pizza Market). There was no real restaurant, but the possibility to eat a burger and share a drink. In the morning, the börek shop opened and baklava was available in one place. The village is small, and is going to become more touristic soon, regarding the constructions we saw there. Day 8: We followed the official path until km 11.4. The path was quite easy without a steep way up. After, we took the direction to the North Macedonian Border. We found the best spot of our 10 days trek to pitch our tent. Beautiful landscape but dry streams/lake. Day 9: We went up to the Kosovo-North Macedonian border that we followed for 2 km. After, we took a path to go down and joined again the official path at km 14.2. At this location, the path is following the electric pylon, this path is really bad and difficult to go through. You should follow the road below this path that is much better. There is a spring km 16.3. The last part until Strezimir is quite easy. The overall stage day seems too big to us to be done in one day. At Strezimir you have 3 small houses where you can sleep in if you book or call the person in advance (no one was there for us). There are also 2 shelters with a roof if you want to be protected from rain as well as a spring at the Bee Farm (100 m before Strezimir). Day 10: After a day of rest because of heavy rain, we took the official path to Radomirë. The path is really well indicated and took us 6h30 in total. We didn’t go to the Mount Korab peak because of the weather. In Radomirë we slept at Bujtina Korabi where we took a room for 25€ per person with breakfast included. We also had dinner there that cost us 15€ per person. The guesthouse was super nice and cosy (we didn’t expect it from outside), with a hot shower and good food. There are 2 other hotels where you can sleep and probably eat. Be careful, during the main season Radomirë could be full. Our trek end here. Way to Tirana: There is a daily bus at 8am that goes through the village and reaches Peshkopi (~1h30 & 5€ per person but the price can be negotiated and cheaper with Albanian currency). You just need to inform the guesthouse the night before to be sure that the bus stops to pick you up. At Peshkopi you should walk to the bus station where there is a bus connection to different Albanian cities (Tirana, Dürres…). The bus to Tirana is more or less every hour and takes 1 hour for 6€ per person. In Tirana bus terminal, you can find city buses to reach the city center but you should have the local currency to pay (the ticket is paid inside the bus and costs 40 Leke for one way). General comments: Hiking Sticks recommended A sleeping bag for 0 degrees is highly recommended, as it can be quite cold end of September Time (night at 7pm and quite fast quite cold/dark) Waterfilter Blueberries 🤤 Possibility to pay in euro everywhere but having the local currency can reduce the price (small bills are better because some of them don’t take coins) We highly recommend this trek and are already looking forward to the second part. The landscapes/views are unreal. In the mountains you can feel farther than Europe. Calm, peace, joy and blueberries were our daily routine. If you are looking for a place without tourists, then think about the High-Scardus Trail 😉

I did the route in May, really liked it. Just a little warning that there are 2 pieces where you will need some kind of off-road tires, definitely not suitable for a race bike setup. I was on 45mm gravel tires. The road on the descent from Leskovik is in a really bad shape, The ascent towards Mbjeshove is a hike-a-bike section as it has a lot of loose sand and is very steep. The only chance to make this cycling is on a MTB (which you do not need for the other 1100-ish km where a gravel or road bike will do the job perfectly. I did the tour in 13 days, a couple less is definitely possible for a well trained cyclist. I did 1123km with 15210m of elevation.

Best roads and Albania highlights! I met the Doc in Tirana and was lucky enough to get his advice for cyclotouring through Albania. Offroads here are still a huge part of the country and with my set up I needed asfalted roads mostly. The Vjosa Valley remains one of my favourites overall !!!! gorgeous views! I didn't manage to do the coastal part but from Tirana to Permet I was so glad I received his suggestions!

Great hiking trail! Mostly well marked, people along the trail are super friendly and helpful, most locals speak at least a bit of English (or German). Fascinating landscapes and beautiful nature. The trail seems to not be very popular yet, so you should expect to hardly meet other hikers.