How to get there:
Locate the main road SH6 from Tirana to Maqellare. Shortly after the small town of Bulqize, turn left at location
N41.51180, E20.25111. Drive directly uphill, paved except the last few meter, to location
N41.52126, E20.24527, elevation near 865 meter. There is a nice house behind a black gate there. Walk to this
house and ask permission to park.
The people living there are very friendly
and may possibly offer to drive you
to a high 4WD trailhead at 1530 meter with their landcruiser. Route description:
From the "low trailhead", continue up the road. A bit higher there is a choice, one may cross
the small creek (right) and follow a rough trail more or less directly uphill. The alternative is
to continue along the road. The road has a few big switchbacks, so the trail will save a little
distance, while the road will be somewhat easier to walk. In the end, I think the difference
will be small. Higher up, the route will rejoin the 4WD road. This road are ok for good 4WD vehicles
like a Toyota Landcruiser or similar. One may drive to location N41.53982, E20.23028, elevation 1530 meter.
There is a small building from past mining
located nearby. From here, just continue to follow
the road, now so rough that it cannot be driven. The road ends with a pretty clear ridge that
continues uphill. Follow this ridge, then do an ascending traverse, climbers left to enter a nice
little basin. You can avoid most, but not all rocks and do an ascending traverse at the end of
this basin, following most gentle slope. This
will put you on the ridge that ascends from here
to the summit. Mostly, stay on the top, a short stretch is perhaps easier slightly right of
the ridge top.
Here is a quick summary of peaks climbed on this trip to Balkan.
A track is posted on Peakbagger. Comments:
We had moved from upscale Sveti Stefan to Burrel in Albania, staying at a nice hotel named Hotel Vila Bruçi.
I left shortly after 0730 and drove to the lower trailhead without any issues. I parked my car and
went through the gate to the local house, since I wanted to ask permission to park and if possible,
that they could keep an eye on my car while I was gone. They immediately greeted me very friendly.
The man insisted that he should drive me higher using his Landcruiser.
This worked very well, he
stopped at the 4WD trailhead next to an old building from the time there was some mine activity.
I tried to pay him a little for this great service, but he flatly refused.
I continued a short strech up the road, then ascended the ridge directly uphill. This led me to
do a traverse into a high basin. I quickly decided that a route up here looked good. Indeed, I
got directly onto the final ridge leading to the summit.
A few small patches of snow were still
around, but I did not cross any. The ridge was easy with no issues.
The summit had a small cairn,
most likely there are few ascents. Good views down
to the Bulqize town, but also across to
Maja E. Dejes, a peak scheduled for the next day.
More east, some pretty large mountain
that still had a bit of snow.
I stayed around for about 15 minutes,
then descended the same way.
I decided to save some distance in the
lower part by following a pretty rough trail that went downhill sort of parallel to the creek. To walk the
road would have been more comfortable, most likely a very small difference in time as well.
Back down, I showed my "new friends" some pictures. I then argued hard with the wife trying to
convince her to accept a small amount as a sign of my appreciation for the drive. She finally,
clearly a bit reluctant accepted. As I got ready to drive she came back out and gave me
a bottle of cold fruit juice, she also offered a cold beer that I politely refused.
The day ended with a cold beer back at Hotel Vila Bruçi, later dinner.
Resources:
Images
North side, there may be an easy route also from this side?
