The Korab ridge and the Šar Mountains: the roof of North Macedonia and Albania

There are mountains that stay hidden not because they are hard to reach, but because no one has built the apparatus of tourism around them. Korab, which at over 2,700 metres is the highest peak of both North Macedonia and Albania, is exactly this: a great border ridge where you find no chairlifts, equipped huts or well-kept signs, but rather pastures, flocks and the odd rare hiker. The same is true of the Šar Mountains (Šar Planina / Malet e Sharrit), a little further north, a plateau of grass and ridges spread across the border with Kosovo.

The approach

The classic approach to Korab starts from the Macedonian side, from the village of Strezimir and the area of the high-altitude summer pastures beyond the Radika valley, inside Mavrovo National Park. The path climbs through open grasslands until it reaches the border ridge, from which in season you can make out the famous waterfall that plunges down the rock faces. The summit of Golem Korab is won by walking the final stretch of crest, with views ranging over the Albanian heights to the west and the Macedonian valleys to the east. On the Albanian side the base is the Dibra region and the villages of the valley, from which the most direct approaches to the face set off.

The Šar Mountains

The Šar Mountains deserve a journey of their own. The most convenient base is Popova Šapka, above Tetovo, from which long traverses set off across the summit grasslands towards peaks such as Titov Vrv. This is terrain for high-altitude walking rather than climbing: grassy undulations, glacial lakes hidden in the hollows, grazing herds and the horizon opening in every direction. The feeling, as you climb, is of moving through an ancient pastoral world, where the mountain is still a place of work more than of leisure.

In terms of effort, these are not strolls. The climbs are long, with significant elevation gain and stretches over open ground where the trail is lost in the grass: you need good legs, orientation experience and the ability to manage a whole day out, because water and shelter are scarce. Signage is patchy and in some stretches absent, so a map, GPS and, where possible, a local guide make the difference. As this is a border zone, it is wise to check the transit rules in advance and keep your documents with you.

Getting there

Getting there: the Macedonian valley floor is reached from Skopje via Gostivar and Mavrovo, while the Albanian side centres on Peshkopi, in the Dibra region. In both cases the final stretch requires your own vehicle or an organised lift, because public transport stops well short of the summer pastures. Once at altitude you move only on foot, and accommodation is found in the villages and valley guesthouses rather than on the mountain.

When to go

The right time is the heart of summer, July and August, when the snow has withdrawn from the highest gullies and the pastures are passable. It is also the window when the shepherds are up at the pastures, which makes the landscape more alive and, if needed, offers a human point of reference along the way. Even in peak season you are unlikely to meet queues or full car parks: the fame of these mountains remains confined to Balkan enthusiasts, and that is precisely their merit. The flip side is that the weather at altitude changes quickly, with frequent afternoon thunderstorms.

A practical tip: plan very early starts so you are on the ridge and then descending before the afternoon downpours, and always allow a margin because there is no dense rescue network at hand here. Carry an abundant water supply, warm layers even in August and food for the whole day. Relying on a guide or a local guesthouse, besides being safer, is the best way to give value back to a fragile mountain economy and to truly understand these places.

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