Arrival – Kukes

Welcome to the Balkans! We meet at the airport or in Tirana for a walk-through of the tour, Q&A on the upcoming days, and to hand over your self-guiding materials – a road book, maps, phone, and GPS unit. Onward you travel directly to the first overnight location in either Kukes (2:30 h) or Shishtavec (3:15 h). If you prefer to take public transport, we will accompany you to the right bus. Please let us know in advance when and where to meet you. Luggage can be stored in Tirana at the last overnight hotel.

Kukes is a small city in Northeastern Albania that overlooks the confluence of Kosovo’s White and North Macedonia’s Black Drin Rivers. Following the Kosovo conflict in 1999, the town was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for welcoming and sheltering 450.000 Kosovar refugees fleeing the war. The views of towering Mt. Gjallica (2.489 m) are a foretaste of what is to come. You’re staying in a small pension including a restaurant, have the opportunity to stock up on snacks and join the local’s evening stroll to the ruined regime hotel that overlooks the surrounding lake.