Peaks of the Balkans-Day 4: Milishevc  to Rekë e Allegës

Hiking the Peaks of the Balkans

Day 4: Milishevc to Rekë e Allegës

Walking up to the pass after leaving Milishevc in the Peaks of the Balkans

This is the fourth in a series of posts about our experiences taking on the Peaks of the Balkans trekking circuit. I traveled with my daughter Rebecca and a friend Nev Chamberlain from the UK.  We decided to make this journey without hiring a guide. 

If you want to read the series from the beginning, start HERE

In the last post, I will provide the resources that we used to make this excursion a success. I will also discuss the pros and cons of hiking the Peaks of the Balkans independently.

It was sad to say goodbye to our hosts, who had provided such wonderful hospitality for our rest day at Guesthouse Lojza in Milishevc.

At the end of each blog post is a video recapping highlights from the day’s  journey.

We started out walking uphill on the road out of Milishevc. All throughout the valley construction of new guesthouses is being carried out—an indicator of expectations that this will become a more established trekking route in the coming years. 

Beside the road is the grave of two very young men. The gravestone reads, “Ambushed by the strong Serbian-Montenegro army on 11 September 1998.”

Grave of local Kosovo soldiers

They were 18 and 17 years old, respectively.

Then we had to climb a steep hill with no real trail—just using our GPS to get us up to the main trail. Even then, the trail was non-existent in places, and we had to rely on GPS and the occasional Peaks of the Balkans trail markers.

Red and white trail marker painted on a rock
Trial markers were either “bull’s eyes” like this one or a two red stripes with a white center stripe. Nev seemed to have eagle eyes when we were looking for them.

Once we found the trail, we continued up to the top of the pass. Then at the top, we had about three kilometers of rolling terrain on open meadows surrounded by rounded hilltops. These broad meadows are my favorite terrain.

Cathy walking across a broad meadow
Photo: Rebecca Fulton

A recently-built shelter provided an excuse to rest for a bit. 

Covered rest stop with an informational sign

THEN, we had 1130 meters to descend in 4.8 kilometers.

The steep descent was not too difficult for the next two kilometers. It was easy to find the trail and it was not difficult to find our footing on the terrain.

A bright green bug that landed on my arm

At one point, I felt an insect on my arm. I kept trying to shake it off, but it would not budge. I finally looked down and found this brilliant little guy crawling along. It looked like a “color not found in nature”—but it was!

After the next kilometer, which was easy walking on a 4WD road, the trail led us into dark woods with another steep descent. This one would have been easy if not for the layers of dried leaves covering the trail. Anytime a foot was placed facing downhill, we risked sliding onto our backsides. I only fell completely down twice, but every time my feet would start to slide, I took a breath. I was never injured, but I was tired and each fall left me more dispirited.  

But I had no choice. I had to slowly make my way to the bottom of that incline—380 meters descended in 1.6 kilometers.

Route Map for Day 4

A Reward!

Once we reach the bottom (at a paved highway), we had over six kilometers to walk uphill on asphalt to reach our guesthouse. This surface, while easy to walk on normally, can be painful on overworked feet.

But first! That nasty leaf strewn trail dumped us right out at Rogova Camp—a nice hotel and restaurant. We found a shady table. We had already planned to stop for coffee there, but after one coffee each, we decided to eat a late lunch as well.

Cappuccinos with tons of whipped cream on top
Look at those cappuccinos!
Hundreds of trout swimming in a giant pool on the terrace at Rogava Camp
Thousands of huge trout were swimming in pools throughout the outdoor restaurant.

When we asked for a menu, we were amazed at the prices.

Becca and I shared fried trout and fried potatoes and Nev got a dish of rice and yogurt (which he reported tasted much better than it sounds.) Nev is from England and we teased him because he was able to resist the fish and chips!

We also ordered a dish of “Rugova Cream” which the server assured us was delicious. It was very similar to the kaymak I had enjoyed in Turkey—just a bit saltier. (It tastes like a cross between sweet butter and whipped cream. It is actually a kind of clotted cream.)

The trout dinner we had at Rogova Camp
Photo: Rebecca Fulton

We ate and ate. There were two trout on our plate, apparently retrieved from one of those ponds just minutes earlier.

Although Nev did not order any chips, we caught him in the act of creating a “chips sandwich” from our French fries. Nev could not believe we had never heard of such a thing—it’s something the Brits do. (And apparently it has a name: “chips butty.” Don’t ask me to explain that one!)

Nev preparing his french fries sandwich with catsup

Then for the finale, we each ordered Skënderbeu cognac for “dessert.”  (Skënderbeg was an Albanian hero of the 15th Century who led a successful revolt against the Ottoman Turks. Many things, including this cognac are named after him.)

Skenderbeu (an Albanian cognac)

Receipt totaling 23 Euros
Our receipt: 3 espressos, 2 cappuccinos, rice and yogurt main dish, 2 orders of fries, trout main dish, 3 Skënderbeg cognacs. Total for three people: 23 euros (which is about the same in USD)

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We sat there for two hours. At the beginning, we planned to hire a taxi to take us the six kilometers up to our guesthouse. But by the end of the meal, we were so refreshed that the hike in the mostly shaded uphill climb was a piece of cake!

A log cabin cottage we passed in the Rogova valley
A sweet little cottage we passed on the highway. We all agreed it would be a lovely place to live.

Unfortunately…

We arrived at one of the more hospitable guesthouses of the trek: Ariu Guesthouse in Rekë e Allegës.

Nev and Rebecca arriving at Ariu Guesthouse

A couple tour groups was well as several other independent hikers were staying the night. The dinner table was fully seated by the time we finished our showers.  

Dinner served at Guesthouse Ariu

Unfortunately for us, our hosts had prepared one of the best dinners we had seen so far on the hike. And I was still stuffed with trout and potatoes—even after six kilometers of hiking. I could only take a little taste of the stuffed peppers in a luscious cream sauce and a bit of the fresh spinach borek. What a disappointment! But I certainly did not regret my earlier meal. It was just that we had experienced so many “so-so” meals on this trek and to have two presented to us on the same day seemed to be too much of a good thing.

Nev, on the other hand, had little trouble doing justice to this second dinner! Later, after I was in bed, Rebecca and Nev sat at one of the outdoor tables and talked for a while. The host, according to Nev, left them a bottle of homemade Rakja (a kind of local plum brandy) “to look after.” I cannot believe they were able to hike the next morning!

And now for the video!

https://youtu.be/wj4lOyxaZzs

Up Next: Peaks of the Balkans Day 5: Rekë e Allegës to Drelaj

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