A 193-kilometre cross-border hiking route through the Accursed Mountains is drawing international attention for connecting Kosovo, Albania and Montenegro through one of the Balkans’ most spectacular mountain landscapes.
According to CNN, the Peaks of the Balkans trail allows hikers to begin their day in one country and finish it with a traditional dinner in another, crossing a region where the borders can feel almost invisible along the mountain paths.
A major part of the route runs through Kosovo’s Accursed Mountains, known for their dramatic peaks, alpine meadows, forests, lakes and remote villages. CNN describes the wider region as one of Europe’s remaining great wilderness areas, while the trail has become one of the best-known cross-border hiking routes in the world.
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Kosovo at the heart of the route
For Kosovo, the international attention offers an important opportunity to promote its mountain tourism and showcase the Accursed Mountains to visitors from around the world.
The Kosovo section takes hikers far beyond urban areas, through mountain villages, forests and open landscapes while connecting them with local traditions, hospitality and traditional food.
The route can generally be completed in around 10 days, although hikers can also complete shorter sections. While it does not require technical mountaineering skills, the rugged terrain demands good physical preparation, appropriate equipment and caution on steep climbs and descents.
From a “trail of peace” to an international destination
The trail also carries a deeper history. When it opened in 2006, it was initially promoted as a “Trail of Peace”, with the ambition of changing the international perception of a region long associated with political tensions, closed borders and conflict.
Today, that landscape tells a different story. Instead of dividing communities, the trail connects them through mountains, villages and shared tourism.
As guide Dušan Dragosavljević has noted, the Peaks of the Balkans route offers a way to change the image and narrative surrounding the region.
For Kosovo, the recognition represents more than a tourism story. It is an opportunity to put the Accursed Mountains, Gjeravica and Kosovo’s mountain communities more firmly on the European adventure-tourism map—and to show an international audience a side of Kosovo defined not by conflict, but by nature, culture and cross-border cooperation.
