The last two weeks of June, 2024, I had the pleasure of joining a departure of Intrepid Travels' Hiking the Balkans: Via Dinarica. It was a memorable trip for many reasons.
This is my travel expert's personal review of Intrepid Travels Hiking the Balkans: Via Dinarica
Urban Adventure in Split
The tour started in Split, Croatia, where I had booked an Urban Adventure, a tour led by Mirjana Svagusha, a.k.a. The Story Teller of Croatia. It was one of the best city tours I have had. Unlike so many other guides who focus on the history and sights of a city, Mirjana took me to the local market to show me how the people of Split lived. While walking around town, she told me how they perceived and dealt with tourism. Chatting over coffee about sustainability and overtourism made me see the upside of it too, which was refreshing. Walking around with Mirjana didn't so much feel like a tour but more like a meeting of minds between travellers.
"You must be Tom"
In the evening we had our welcome meeting with Intrepid. I was welcomed with the words "you must be Tom" - as it turned out our tour leader Tamara Kušić is friends with Mirjana! Tamara briefly led us through what we could expect on the tour, then took us for a fabulous local dinner and gelato in town.
The next morning set the pace for much of the rest of the tour. An early start, followed by a half-day drive into Bosnia's Blidinje National Park, where we had lunch. After lunch we were driven further into the park by bus, followed by a 4WD shuttle to the trailhead. The 4WD's only held 4 passengers at a time and as our group had 11 participants, this meant we had to wait at the trailhead for the second shuttle to be completed.
Hike to the Outlaw's Gate
Then the first hike started, under the guidance of our local mountain guide Miroslav. It was a beautiful albeit challenging hike, first through forests, then scrub-covered hills. Our turn-around was at Hajdučka Vrata (Outlaw's gate), a natural arch high up in the Dinaric Alps.
After a refreshing swim in Bosnia's highest lake, we sat down at a mountain hut for burek, a local pie not unlike spanakopita. Nearby was a well where we were able to refill our water bottles. I had run out of water well before that - we hiked most of our trip during a heatwave and my own consumption of liquids often tallied eight litres a day.
The return hike was one of stunning views and beautiful wildflowers, as the sun slowly set over the mountains. Intrepid describes this walk as follows: "One of the highlights of this trek is that night begins to fall just at the end of the walk – giving you a special opportunity to stargaze from the Alps." Truth be told, I felt this was a bit of a marketing twist on something that cannot be avoided: as we started the hike late it was almost impossible to not finish in the dark. But since the last hour of the hike led through the forest, there wasn't a whole lot of stargazing to be done.
One improvement to the tour might be to do the drive from Split to Blidinje on the afternoon of day 1, so that you have all day on day 2 to do this hike.
This first day we hiked about 21 kms in ten hours. Despite ending late - we were back at the hotel at midnight - and several people (including myself) falling, it was a great start to a wonderful tour, a hiking adventure and roadtrip rolled into one.
Wild horses
Our second day of hiking started for me with a swollen ankle and bent trekking poles from last night's tumble. But luckily this was an easy day. This was another feature of the tour, alternating hard days with easy ones. After getting my poles in order and driving through some beautiful open landscapes we hiked to a grassy knoll through meadows covered in wildflowers. Here we were reminded of the recent past by signs warning of landmines; from the hill Bosnian Croats used to take potshots at Serbs and vice versa. We had a picnic lunch at the top and enjoyed the view and some delicious local cheese one of the local guides had brought along.
After that we went to find a herd of wild horses and fed them apples. That may sound a little naff - and while not exactly as Intrepid described it ("it'll be the sight of these majestic animals that takes your breath away"), it was actually a cool experience.
Bosnia's highest village
The next day my ankle was in top shape again. We said our goodbyes to Blidinje and journeyed to the Bjelašnica Mountain area, host to the 1984 Olympic Winter Games. It was another glorious drive and I rapidly fell in love with Bosnia, my 106th country, as we drove through wide-open valleys, past dark canyons, through tunnels and along the shores of a stunningly beautiful lake. We then transferred to 4WD's for a trip into the mountains where one glorious view followed the other. And that was only the start.
Next was a hike along a mountain ridge to Bosnia's highest inhabited village where we enjoyed a local lunch of burek, accompanied by freshly made juices (elderflower and thyme) followed by Bosnian coffee. Rumour has it I even had a beer.
After lunch a two-hour balcony walk through a rose forest (I didn't know such existed!) brought us back to the start of our 16 kms hike. From where we transferred to Sarajevo, Bosnia's storied capital.
In Sarajevo
From our centrally located hotel, Tamara took us on a quick orientation tour of town, followed by dinner. Food in Bosnia is good but relies heavily on meat and vegetarians and vegans may find it hard to get by. I topped dinner off with a gelato - I am on a mission to try gelato everywhere I go.
The next morning we had a guided tour of Sarajevo from a quirky, well-informed guide. While telling us about the past - the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the 4-year siege by the Bosnian-Serb army - he preferred to focus on the present, and the many ethnicities living peacefully side by side. As such he took us to the main mosque, showed us a church and synagogue, and walked us through the old and new town.
He also treated us to some of the best baklava I had ever tasted. No factory-produced stuff here - it was all homemade right there in the bakery.
Stunning Montenegro
Our morning ended with coffee and cake at a local restaurant, before we hit the road again. And just when I thought Bosnia was the most beautiful country ever, Montenegro took it up a notch. After a long drive through deep canyons south of Sarajevo, we entered the country across a one-lane plank-covered bridge high above the Piva river. Adventurous rafters were floating downriver back into Bosnia, while we followed an ever-narrowing road through an endless series of tunnels and hairpins, high into mountains. One spectacular view followed another and every time you thought you couldn't get any higher, still higher we climbed. Wildflowers were everywhere, the sun was shining and we were vibing to some great tunes. A day of road tripping doesn't get better than this.
The sunset that wasn't
Day 6 of our trip saw us on a nice hike in Durmitor National Park. Dark tall pine forests alternated with alpine meadows with the odd lake thrown in. Midway through we had a refreshing swim in an alpine lake. It was another hot day. In fact, the heat was such that the electricity net in Montenegro and neighbouring countries failed for several hours in the middle of the day as it could not keep up with demand.
That evening we had barely made it to our hotel when we were told of an optional sunset hike. It meant having a very late dinner and I took one look at the cloudless sky and realized one needs clouds for a great sunset. I decided to take the evening off: a relaxed dinner with some of our group members and the Eurocup match France - Netherlands on TV made for a great alternative.
Feedback from the hike was that the sunset had been obscured by sand blown in from the Sahara. Tamara sent me the photo on the right, taken when she did the hike again two weeks later, of what it could have looked like.
Across the Three Peaks
Another day dawned with another early start as we set off for Vusinje, a small village on the border of Montenegro and Albania. From here, we hiked a circuit of three peaks. Our route took us first through thick forest to a meadow. Here we had the choice to either rest while the group continued on their circuit of the three peaks, before returning to the meadow. Even the circuit had options - one could hike just to the first peak and return to the meadow, or complete the entire circuit. As it was, all but one of us completed the entire circuit and it was another glorious day in the mountains.
Intrepid's description was spot on this time: "You’ll walk along the ridge of the mountains and while the distance isn’t as far as previous days, the elevation gain is significant - pack your walking poles to help you out! The trail winds around Prokletije Mountain and includes Popadija and Talijanka peaks with a front row view of the towering Karanfili peaks in the distance." The hike was 12 kms long with an elevation gain of 900 metres, not unlike what I had done on my Mont Blanc adventure.
Into Albania
The next morning, day 8 of our trip, started with breakfast outside in the morning sun before driving into my 108th country, Albania. Closed off to the rest of the world for over four decades after WW2, the formerly Stalinist state has now opened up to travellers. Yet it remains firmly stuck in a time warp. Some images will remain with me: the farmer's wife, fully dressed in traditional dress, taking her flock of sheep out of the barnyard; the cafe owner with whom I didn't share a common language, yet I could see by the twinkle in his eye he appreciated seeing a foreigner drinking his (very strong) coffee; the endless hairpin-roads straddling the sides of never-ending canyons leading to traditional villages on the valley floor, then another curving road to climb out. Abandoned paddocks, lavender fields, myriad bunkers and a prison from a sinister, paranoid past. I was told that money was only introduced a decade or so ago; before that people bartered and there were no businesses.
Crossing the Accursed Mountains
After lunch we started our last hike, one that is popular with independent hikers, which meant there were quite a few people, although never distractingly so. The trail worked it's way through a beautiful beech forest to the top of a pass, where yet another stupendous view awaited: this time of a deep wide valley that had been scoured from the surrounding limestone mountains by a fast-flowing river.
From there we descended along the contours of the cliffs to the valley floor and the road head, from where an ancient Benz truck took us to our hotel for the night.
It was cooler than the day before, although less hot would be a better description: it was still 31 degrees as we hiked the 13 kms in six hours.
Our group
These past few days I had been assisting our hike leader Tamara by being the sweep. It meant walking slower than I normally would but it allowed me to take plenty of photos and it gave me time to take in my surroundings and chat with some of the other group members. They were mainly from the US and Australia, with one Irish woman and myself as the only Canuck. Ages ranged from early twenties to 70 and hiking abilities varied quite a bit but were never related to age. Everyone got along splendidly.
Our tour leader Tanara
Tamara meanwhile led from the front but always made sure everyone had time for a quick break after catching up with the group. With her energetic personality and great sense of humour she kept everyone's spirits up. She kept information sessions to a minimum, which I appreciated, and kept everyone up to date through a Whatsapp group.
A room to myself
The day ended in a splendid hotel on the Albanian side of the Accursed Mountains, where the hotel owner treated my roommate and I to our own beautifully appointed single room. Having a room to myself was a lovely surprise - while my roommate was fantastic, having a bit of privacy at the end of a long hike is a treat.
Overall the hotels were better than I expected. There was the occasional small room but hotels were always clean, comfortable and often of a 4-star level.
Boat ride across Lake Koman
Our penultimate day saw us travel through the mountains of northern Albania. The road connection between this part of the country and the capital Tirana is long and tortuous and travellers between the two are best to travel by ferry via Lake Koman.
The northern terminus of the ferry route has a real end-of-the-world feel and rather than being subjected to the capricious nature of the ferry schedule, Intrepid had hired a speedboat to take us south.
The boat ride was spectacular, with high cliffs rising up from the shoreline and towering mountains behind these. We broke the journey at a riverside resort where we enjoyed a coffee and a refreshing swim.
The road to Tirana
Back on terra firma, our journey continued by coach, slowly making our way south on a poorly paved mountain road high above a series of lakes and rivers. Once again the scenery was spectacular. We spotted donkeys and chickens on the road, cows swimming across a river, a town called Puke and signs calling on the weary traveller to stop at so-and-so restaurant or campground. There were barren hillsides and the deep blue water of the lakes always far below. Reaching the lowlands, eventually we ended our trip in Tirana where we had a quick highlights tour before sitting down for a final dinner.
I had booked one extra night in Tirana, for which I was glad, as it allowed me to visit Bunk'art 2, a former bunker built by the dictator Hoxha. It is now a museum dedicated to the memory of the people who vanished during the Stalinist years and a must-see if you are in Tirana.
Is this trip for you?
Intrepid rates this trip as 4 out of 5 on the physical exertion scale: "Be prepared for some serious physical activity. The fitter you are, the more you'll enjoy it, as most activities will be challenging." This is a very accurate rating as the combination of terrain, hikes, heat and long driving days make this trip one of the harder ones I have done. In fact I was glad I had just come off my Mont Blanc hiking trip as that was merely a warm-up for this adventure.
Trekking poles are a must, as are proper hiking boots with good ankle support. If you want to have a look around Split or Tirana you should book one night extra in either.
My opinion of the trip
I would rate this trip 8 out of 10. The hikes were fantastic and I would not change them at all. What makes the trip challenging to run for an operator are the distances involved and the long drives required to get between hiking areas. Still, moving around is better than staying in one area, as by travelling you get a good overview of the countries and their different landscapes.
As I mentioned above, there is an easy fix to the start of the trip. Rumour also has it Intrepid may build in an extra day in Sarajevo. Personally I think an extra day in the mountains south of Sarajevo would be a nicer addition - there are lots of adventure resorts here, allowing guests to rest up, or choose from a host of activities, including rafting, hiking and canyoning.
Making those two changes would catapult this tour into my personal top ten of trips.
Best time to go
This trip can only be done in summer (June through September). Travel either early in June or late September to experience lower temperatures, although, as I experienced, this is not guaranteed.
Trip details
Get your heart racing on this hiking trip that spans four countries and highlights some of the most incredible scenery across the Western Balkans. The Dinaric Alps stretch some 2,000 kilometres across Italy, through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, to the south-eastern part of Albania. You’ll discover some of the best bits of this breathtaking mountain range. Start out in the sun-kissed port-side hub of Split in Croatia. Then, pull on your walking shoes for an evening hike through Blidinje Nature Park, watch on as wild horses gallop through the countryside near Cincar Mountain and explore the fascinating city of Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. You'll hike through Durmitor National Park and admire its glacial lakes and never-ending pine forests in Montenegro. And finally, take on the Valbona-Theth hiking trail in the Albanian Alps with a scenic mountain-framed ferry ride like no other to end your trip. With history, culture, nature and a little adventure all wrapped up into one epic trip – we think it’s time you join us on this hiking journey through the Dinaric Alps.
Full details on the trip can be found here.
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