MTB in Kosovo, Albania & Macedonia

Afternoon tour, approx 21 km, 750 m + / 1400 m –

Your ARRIVAL PRISTINA AIRPORT EVENING BEFORE OR TODAY 10:00 latest. So please book according flights.

Pickup from airport and 1h transfer to 1300m altitude in the “Sharr” mountains national park. After preparing our bikes and a picnic al fresco we ride approx 10km uphill and along some mountain ridges, before Beni & his friends – Enduro cracks and part of a local bike club – show us some hot trails all the way 1400m down to Kosova lowlands. What a start! Dinner and comfortable hotel accommodation in Prizren, Kosovas most attractive city.

Daytour in the frontier area, approx 30km, 1200m + / 1600m – (includes approx. 2h pushing of bike, but no carrying)

A long day, but damn a good day. Early morning transfer to Kosovas most remote corner, „Dragash“, and a remote (but official) border crossing into Albania. Entry and start of daytour in alpine area (7000ft+) along the borderline. During communism heavily guarded, today only the occasional bunker-ruins give witness of the borderline in this otherwise completely deserted mountain area. Great downhill single track with curved trail and varied terrain over nearly 7000ft altitude.
Overnight stay at a traditional guesthouse in a beautiful village – an experience like 100 years ago.

Day tour in the alpine border area between Albania & Macedonia (Korab),approx. 27km +1400m / -1200m (includes approx. 1h pushing of bike, but no carrying)

This one our Guide Orgest – from the area and proud to show & develop it – found last autumn short before the snow locked it in. Ancient mule trails high up in the mountains, which back in the days where used to trade between the villages. Turns out today they are pretty good stuff for biking! Uphill mostly rideable, downhill they include fantastic sections like a flowy zig-zag trail through a pine forest. One of the top 3 trails of the whole region!
Overnight stay in a guesthouse in a lively mountain village.

Day tour in the Dibra valley, approx. 47km + 1000m / – 1600m

Today there`s a bit of everything – and something on top of it. After a short asphalt climb single tracks lead us down to the “black Drin”, the free floating river of the region. Over gravel roads we bike to lunch, which we get served from a family in the village of our Albanian guide Orgest. Where “tourism” comes to an end – and real experiences start! Well-fed we take the day’s second half under our wheels, and this means a lovely flow trail connecting two villages. Target of today is Peshkopi, a regional farming town.
Overnight at a comfortable hotel in town.

Day tour in the hills of the „black Drin“, approx. 22 km 600m + / 750m – (includes approx. 30min pushing of bike, but no carrying)

We cross the delta of the black Drin – a short splash is a must, its mostly warm here – and climb up into the hills. Once on top we get treated with smooth single tracks and panoramas of the
opposite border mountains. Mother nature made a bike park for us! Over some big fun downhill we ride along old village trails down to our old friend, the „black Drin“. This short bike day ends with a 2h bus transfer to our upcoming adventure – the “Shebenik” national park in central Albania. The night we spend in a guesthouse in a mountain village close to the national park: Stars and total silence!

Day tour to lake Ohrid, approx.52km + 1500m / 2200m –

Today is another big adventure. We bike on shepherd trails north to south through the Shebenik-Jabllanice national park, an Albanian-Macedonian cross-border protected area. A very remote area, and of big natural diversity. “Protected”, but that sadly doesn’t mean much in Albania, so biking through this area is actually our applied protection: We & our money is here because of nature’s beauty, and that’s maybe the only way the locals will understand that they want to defend their natural assets. Your tire profile will be the second here ever – only ours from exploration in front.
For the evening we arrive at a lovely village on lake Ohrid, where we sleep in a comfortable guesthouse.

Bike Lin – Radozda, approx. 14 km + 350 m / 350 m –

We have 6x cycling days in our legs, yesterday was long, so it’s the moment to take it easy and

relax a bit. But not the usual way – with us specials only! The little biking of today take us over the border crossing and into Macedonia, followed by a 2km singletrack down to lake Ohrid. A boat just for us now takes us over the lake and to the UNESCO city of Ohrid, where we enjoy lunch and a small sightseeing. A second boat ride and a short lift up to a mountain village concludes this “easy day” – full of views of fantastic lake Ohrid & the mountains surrounding it. Accommodation in a nice rural Macedonian guesthouse.

approx. 32 km +1000 m / 1050 m –

Breakfast – and singletracks! On the mountain looming over the Balkans biggest lake we climb to “Krstec pass” – the highest in the country and one of 4 karstic fields in Galicica National Park. Over a high plateau and dirt roads we bike to the areas freshwater springs and our well earned picnic. Singletracks – more of them! – take us downhill to the village of Velgosti. A cold beer, satisfying tiredness, and were sitting in a transfer to Mavrovo National Park – the largest one in the country, and home of tomorrows bike adventures. Accommodation in a rural guesthouse.

approx. total of 57 km + 1100 m / 1300 m –

Today Dimitri & friends show us the trails of “Mavrovo” – together with yesterdays Ohrid probably the best area for biking in Macedonia. We start riding from our accommodation place over some asphalt, before we climb on double dirt road up to one of the areas best view points, allowing a view of the highest peaks in Macedonia and Albania. We continue our track to the village of Galicnik, one of the countries most popular and rich in history & culture. After lunch in the village and a short visit to a small rural dairy farm, we leave this 1450m village place by van and transfer up to 1700m: 500m downhill with some nice single trail waiting for todays finale!

In the morning we transfer for 1.5 hours to the capital Skopje & its airport, where you can get your homebound flight from lunchtime & later. Time to say bye bye to a very special pioneer adventure – something you can’t find anywhere else!

For those interested adding a day & night: Skopjes city mountain is a pretty cool biking mountain: The cable car and a wide network of trails – we show & take you there!