Cicerone: A long-held ambition to visit The Accursed Mountains in Albania was worth the wait
All photographs: Hiking the Balkans A long-held ambition to visit The Accursed Mountains in Albania was worth the wait for Maja Trajkovska: I have wanted to go to the Accursed Mountains since the mid-90s, having visited Albania for the first time in 1994. The north of the country was a ‘no go’ area for many years. […]
Download the e-book Balkans and discover an amazing new corner of Europe
Hiking the Balkans is supporting organisations and associations that share our vision and are active in the Balkan countries. The idea behind Hiking the Balkans is to promote the Balkan peninsula as a destination to nature lovers who enjoy the outdoors and want to have first-hand experience of this fascinating region of Europe. We work […]
Adventure Travel News: National Geographic Traveler Names The Via Dinarica Hiking Trail a “Best of the World” Destination for 2017
National Geographic Traveler magazine has recognized the Via Dinarica mega-hiking trail and cultural corridor—an eight-country route and ATTA partner that spans the Western Balkans—as one of its “Best of the World” destinations for 2017. The NGT story, which includes 21 of the most interesting places on the planet to experience adventure and authenticity, makes the […]
Guide advisor: 6 Good Reasons to Visit the Balkans
When you think of European travel, the Balkans might not immediately come to mind. Although only a handful of the region’s countries are members of the European Union, the rest all lie within the continent’s boundaries. But when most people plan their Europe trips, they tend to go to the glamorous cities of London or […]
National Geographic: Best trips 2017 – Via Dinarica
Hikers ascend Plat Peak on Shar Planina Mountain at dawn along the Via Dinarica in Macedonia. (VIDEO BY EMIR SEHANOVIC, NOVAGENUS) The Western Balkans, adventure travelers’ under-the-radar playground, just got more accessible. In 2017, for the first time after years of expansion, the 1,200-mile Via Dinarica trail will be completely mapped with stage information compiled […]
LA Times: Explore caves. Scale 6th century fortress walls. Savor fresh-caught fish. The pleasures of barely discovered Macedonia.
Macedonia, a landlocked Balkan country squeezed between Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, Albania and Kosovo, is one of Europe’s best surprises. Part of the former Yugoslavia until its independence in 1991, it is an exotic melting pot of civilizations at the crossroads of East and West. Wildly mountainous with spectacular rivers, peaks and national parks, it is […]
The New York Times: Hiking Beyond Borders in the Balkans
…Tomorrow we would follow that trail and slip virtually unnoticed into Albania. That would have been among the stupidest things you could do had it been the 1980s, when Albania was the North Korea of Europe. From World War II until his death in 1985, the Communist leader Enver Hoxha hammered Albania into an oppressive […]
Elisa Globetrotter: Pristina by night
Mitt første møte med Kosovo skulle bli byen Pristina. Kanskje den eneste byen du kan navnet på i dette landet? Pristina er nemlig hovedstaden. Jeg må innrømme at jeg knapt visste det før jeg dro ned. Nå var det ikke byene i Kosovo som skulle få hovedfokuset på turen min til Europas yngste land, men […]
Globetrotter Elisa: Hajla 2403 moh – med en fot i Kosovo og en i Montenegro
Det er alltid stas med toppturer! På toppen er det alltid fin utsikt, det er et perfekt sted å spise matpakka si på og det gir deg en aldri så liten mestringsfølelse. Nå skal det ikke sies at alle disse faktorene slår inn hver gang, men på denne turen hadde jeg både været og kroppen […]
BBC: Mother Teresa declared saint by Pope Francis at Vatican
Mother Teresa, revered for her work with the poor in India, has been proclaimed a saint by Pope Francis in a ceremony at the Vatican. Francis said St Teresa had defended the unborn, sick and abandoned, and had shamed world leaders for the “crimes of poverty they themselves created”. Tens of thousands of pilgrims attended […]