The Korab is the highest mountain in Albania and North Macedonia. Climbing it was my favorite hike during our trip to the Balkans. In this blog post you will find all the information you need for the hike .
Korab is located on the border between Albania and North Macedonia, and the two countries argue about its height. Albania says it is 2754 m high, North Macedonia 2764 m.
A few meters more or less do not matter during our climb.
You can climb the mountain from the Albanian side (Radomirë) or from the North Macedonian side (Strezimir). Neither tour requires any special mountaineering skills, just a good level of stamina, as the climbs are long and steep. We decided to climb from Albania, as the road to Radomirë is paved and there are good places to stay overnight.
You can find the GPS data for this hike on outdooractive . If you take the same route for the descent, it is 17 km with an elevation gain of 1400 meters.
Hiking Korab Albania North Macedonia
Idyllic starting point: Radomireë
Most of the hikes in Radomireë are not yet listed. The path to the Black Lake, which Bill from the Hotel Radomira recommends as a Warmach tour, is not shown on any map either. The path was lovingly laid out by the Swiss Alpine Club. The landscape is beautiful. Suddenly you notice that autumn is approaching. The leaves are turning colorful and the grass on the hills is already brown from the first frost. After the heat of midsummer, it is quite cold here at 1200 meters above sea level. Especially after I got wet on the Warmach tour and walked through the fog. I am trying to put on my rain gear in a stable when I see a dog tied up there.
Before our Balkan tour, everyone had warned us about the dangerous sheepdogs.
The Å arplaninac breed, which accompanies shepherds in North Macedonia as livestock guarding dogs, is on the list in Ticino and Denmark, where we have fighting dogs like pit bulls. As a precaution, we always have CS gas, stones and sticks with us. He hasn't noticed me yet. I carefully creep backwards to the exit. But when I turn around, the next huge dog is already standing in front of me, growling at me. I talk to him in a calming way and slowly walk sideways back to the path.
Phew, that was a close call.
In the evening I walk down the street, cosmos and dahlias are blooming in the gardens. The houses are made of stone. A little girl calls out "Hello" from far away, runs up to me and gives me a piece of chocolate. Her name is Gisa and she speaks English pretty well. I am totally touched, how sweet! But I also feel guilty. The little girl gives me some of her sweets and I have nothing to give back.
The cows are driven from the mountain pastures to the village by a little boy on a horse with a wooden saddle. They sort themselves into stalls. Three turn right at the mosque, four turn left and two go straight ahead. I like these independent animals. There are tomatoes and pumpkins in the gardens. People grow what they eat. It's quite isolated here. There's only one small market stall.
The ascent of Korab
The weather is forecast to be nice the next day. Bill, our host, checks the weather again the next morning at breakfast. He has reserved us a table by the wood-fired Buller oven. There is flatbread, feta cheese, tomatoes and, to our delight, bananas and Nutella!
The Korab is located in the Korab-Koritnik Nature Park, which is known for its rich flora. The hiking trail is well marked and we don't have to worry about finding our way in the best weather. We nibble on Conil cherries, which taste much better after the first frost, juniper or hawthorn. Who needs provisions when superfoods grow everywhere along the way? We soon reach the tree line and the path leads uphill over steep groups of meadows. Horses and cows stand in the pastures and watch us with interest. The higher we go, the colder it gets, at least in the shade. Icicles have even formed on some of the rocks. But in the sun it is still warm like late summer. We are lucky with the weather. The sun shines from a cloudless sky and makes the colors of the rocks and meadows shine.
The mountain has two very contrasting sides:Â to the east, Korab is a meadow top, to the west the rock faces drop steeply. Shortly before the summit, the hiking trail turns north. From here we have a spectacular view to the east and to North Macedonia. We see the path from Strezimir, which winds through the Mavrovo National Park to the summit.
The two flags fly on the summit: the black Albanian eagle and the yellow sun for Macedonia. We look for a place in the shade for our summit break. If you want, you can descend via the Gryka e Panairit plateau and the Fusha e Korabi high valley as a circular tour (as described in the Outdooractive GPS). We decide to take the same route back. This shortens the tour to 17 km and 1400 meters in altitude. Although we have already walked the path once, the beautiful landscape does not bore us on the descent.
In the next few weeks I will share more of my favorite places in the Balkans with you.
Info
Arrival
The road from Peshkopia to Radomirë is now completely asphalted.
Overnight stay :
We slept and ate at the Hotel Restaurant Radomira . The owner, Bill, works in England in the winter and is very nice and helpful. The rooms were cozy and clean and the food was delicious. Unfortunately, they don't have their own website. We booked through booking.com .