Mount Korab straddles both Albania and North Macedonia. At 2,764m it is the highest peak of both countries (and 14th national highest in Europe). Given that it’s equal distance to both capital cities we decided to go with the cheaper option and fly into Albania.
There were eight of us on this trip in total – six from the UK, one already in Macedonia and one travelling in from Montenegro.
Travelling to Albania
After a bumpy start (cancelled flights, delays, and one person almost stranded in Prague) we made it to Tirana – the capital of Albania. Our plan was to settle in Tirana for the night with some time to explore in the morning. The next day we planned to head off on a 5 hour road trip across the North Macedonia border towards our destination – Mount Korab.
Albania is a short 3 hour flight from London, but due to our last-minute flight cancellation we had some ‘alterations’ to do. Three of us ended up flying via Germany, one via Prague and two others had the unfortunate circumstances of having to fly out and meet us the following day. However, we looked on the bright side; we all got there in the end!
Arriving in Albania
Around 10pm as we left the airport and we were greeted with our next challenge! The rental car company refused to give us the minivan as the pick-up time was different to the booking due to the messed-up flight situation. Fast forward 1 hour of waiting, we got our van keys and drove off to meet our next group member; Adam. Adam had travelled separately from nearby Kosovo. He had recently completed two hikes in his quest to be in ‘the first person to climb the highest peaks in each European country, all within 6 months’, earning himself a place in the Guinness Book of Records!
At around 01:30am we arrived at the hotel; ready to hit the sack!
The next day we spent getting to know each other over breakfast, sharing stories of our previous and future / planned hikes before heading out to take in the sights of Tirana.
Exploring Tirana
Tirana was an interesting city to explore. Signs of its communist and troubled past are scattered all over, mostly in concrete form – from the very famous ‘Pyramid of Tirana’, to its buildings and former bunkers – many of which are abandoned but some transformed into art galleries and even tattoo parlours. We retreated to nearby cafe to get some rest from the heat (30 degrees!) while we waited for the remaining two to join us. Jack and Mike had opted to fly out a day later and met us in the centre where we ate lunch.
At around 4pm we began our 5 hour drive from Albania across the Macedonian border. The plan was to stay close to Mount Korab ready for the following day’s hike. This took use to a beautiful Macedonian house by the lake where we spent the night.
Ready for the hike!
Saturday was the day of the climb. We first fuelled our bodies with a yummy omelette breakfast at a local cafe en route to the mountain base. Prior to the trip I had befriended Meto, a local guide who we invited on the hike with us. His local knowledge of the mountains and area proved extremely valuable to us. He helped us sort out daily passes at the visitor centre and then lead us straight to the summit.
The hike started fairly hard due to the blistering heat (about 25 degrees) and several steep sections early on. Though to be honest, the weather was perfect and we were extremely fortunate; we had been forecast thunderstorms and rain! A light gentle breeze of about 10-15mph provided a little relief now and then from the heat.
The views and terrain
As we started the walk we passed through a nice, cool and shaded wooded area followed by lush green meadows. The path to climb Korab was well marked and relatively clear (very few rocks or loose stones) for most of the trail. For about 3/4 of the climb you have beautiful rolling hills and valleys, with small streams and pretty flowers. It was only towards the last part of the hike did we experience snow – mainly left over from avalanches.
Whilst in some parts the snow was soft and deep these areas could be avoided and it was still not enough for crampons or ice axes. To reach the top it normally takes about 4 hours, though we took 5.5 as we walked slower to stay as a team when one of the teammates struggled a bit. We kept gentle pace and had several 10-minute breaks along the way. It was a true group effort, we took his bag off and divided amongst us to help out; no man was left behind!
We had about 1500m of ascent in total spread throughout. Despite the seemingly never-ending steep parts (where I was internally begging for it to flatten out) the walk overall was relatively easy and pretty enjoyable. I think the weather was a huge factor.
We were warned of the sheep farms and aggressive sheep dogs, but thankfully Meto helped us to avoid these. Jack was disappointed to not see any goats; he had been challenged by a friend to take a picture of one of them. We half expected to see them randomly walking around Albania but nothing.
We did however see a small snake – completely harmless. There are a couple of larger and poisonous varieties of snake around Korab; thankfully the most trouble we had were only mosquitoes.
Reaching the Summit of Mount Korab
At the summit we took pictures and ate some food whilst waiting for the last teammate. Good effort; we all made it!
Meto took us down a slightly different way to the way we came up. On snowy parts a few of us slid down the slopes using our butts as sledges. Jack used his bag as a toboggan and went down the slope on his belly like superman. After 4 hours we got back down. It was again a gentle pace ensuring no-one was left behind.
Our last day
We eventually made it down by 8pm, just in time for the sunset! We then drove to a restaurant an hour away where we rewarded ourselves with a hot meal of local food and the most delicious cheeses.
After dinner we bid farewell to Meto and drove 2.5 hours to Lake Ohrid in south of Macedonia (which by the way is now apparently called North Macedonia). As we drove, miraculously, we stumbled upon about 200 goats – as if Jack had been praying for them! In the dark of the night the local farmers had decided to transport their herd along the road to another field and it was a complete and utter roadblock. We were speechless and Jack could not stop smiling!
That night we all had the best night sleep ever.
Our last day was spent by Lake Ohrid enjoying a lovely breakfast! We checked out the local town before heading back to Tirana to catch our flight home.
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