In the Western Balkans, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania share a border mountain range. And a 300-kilometre-long ridge trail that has been honoured with the "International Tourism Award": the High Scardus Trail. Gerhard Czerner tried it out on his MTB.
It was during a trip to Slovenia when I told my mates about this insider tip trail in the Western Balkans over dinner. A man from the next table turned to us: "Are you talking about the High Scardus Trail in Macedonia? I've built a few trails there!" Unbelievable, but true.
Stojan himself is an enthusiastic mountain biker and owner of the "Outdoor Adventure Macedonia" agency. He was involved in the long-distance hiking trail project over the mountain ridge, but no one has yet tested whether the entire 300 kilometres of the route can also be ridden by bike. Bingo!
Months later, I arrive in Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia, with my adventure-tested travelling companions Madlaina Walther and Gerald Rosenkranz. Stojan had already organised everything: Shuttle, accommodation, route. "Aren't we just going to follow a signposted route?" Madlaina wants to know. As a Swiss woman, she had the idea beforehand that a trail that was honoured with the International Tourism Award in 2022 could only be a clearly marked gravel path in the landscape.
But Stojan takes us up Vodno, the city's 1066 metre high local mountain, to warm up. Here we find an uphill trail, a cable car, various descents and, at the end, the adrenaline trail is a very fun way to surf back into town. The last doubts have been dispelled: the people here obviously know exactly what a real bike trail is.
Let's go: off on the Scardus Trail!
The next day, we rock westwards in the van and soon take a gravel track up to Ljuboten Mountain Hut (1630 m). The hut has just been renovated, we have a delicious dinner on the terrace and a fantastic view stretching from Tetovo to Skopje. From here, we'll really get going tomorrow morning. "And up there!" Stojan's outstretched arm points in the other direction to a grassy pyramid-shaped peak.
A gentle giant, I thought, but we actually push and carry the bikes every single metre up. The path is simply too rough and steep, and in places unrecognisable. But at the top, 2498 metres above sea level, we have one foot in North Macedonia and the other in Kosovo. In the distance, we can see the lifts of Brezovica, the largest ski centre in Kosovo - our destination for the day.
Unfortunately, however, neither the following descent nor the onward route over a grassy high plateau turn out to be a treat. There is a trail, but you have to feel your way under the tall grass. "It rained a lot in spring. I've never seen grass this high up here," Stojan tries to make light of the situation. It is almost dark when we reach our planned accommodation. This time Stojan has booked us into a mate's small ski workshop. This means we don't have to ski all the way down into the valley, as there is no more accommodation along the border ridge.
Our local also proves to be a stroke of luck the next day. If there are any rideable sections, he finds them. We soon wind our way along wild, winding paths past Lake Karanikolla at an altitude of 2200 metres. We only stop on the way because Stojan wants to phone our next hostel. But when we arrive in the small mountain village of Bozovtse after a long day with many metres of altitude, the house is locked. The landlord doesn't answer the phone. We find a small bar in a side street. It's open and there's a couch in front of it, into which we plop ourselves, ready and waiting. Stojan pulls out his mobile phone again. It's getting later and later, our stomachs are growling, and by the time it gets dark, we're the talk of the town.
Suddenly, the headlights of a jeep dazzle us. His driver takes us to his restaurant, which is already closed. But he wakes his wife for us again and she cooks us a big pot of noodles just before midnight. Just as we've finished it, the landlord of our booked accommodation calls us back. So we can still stretch out on the couch, on the carpet and in the children's beds in his living room. At least for the few hours until the muezzin wakes us for prayer.
The gentle hills now recede into the background. The rugged rock faces of the Sharr Mountains, which resemble the Dolomites, tower before us. Wild rocky peaks in the espalier. Unfortunately, the forest track soon ends and we have to push again. But as we painstakingly climb up to 2100 metres and let our eyes wander over the lush green mountain slopes without a hint of civilisation, we slowly understand: there has never been a seamless network of paths here, as we know it in the densely populated Alps.
In the Balkans, people used to hike through unspoilt nature and wilderness. Trails were only important where you had to get there by car. That's why it's better to be travelling on the High Scardus Trail with a GPS device. Even the wooden signposts are easy to miss in the tall grass. With this realisation, we set up our bivouac at a small mountain lake at the end of the day, where we soon drift off to sleep despite the sensational starry sky - and a little fear of bears and wolves.
The crossing of the Shar Mountains ends in the village of Trnica. From here, we continue on to the highest mountain range in the country, the 2764 metre-high Korab. But we are sitting in the restaurant in front of a plate of Tavče Gravče, the national dish with beans, peppers and tomatoes, when Stojan reads the weather forecast from his mobile phone: A bad weather front is approaching, we have to reschedule.
Albania: "Next Level Adventure"
The shuttle takes us across the Albanian border to Tanushe in the afternoon of the next day. Stojan's new plan is called "Cross Border Adventure Biking Trails", an EU-supported trail project for "Next Level Adventure Tourism". Sounds promising, and above all Stojan has been involved in building these trails in the border region himself. We don't need any ascent assistance, as we can easily pedal up the 400 metres in altitude to a kind of high plateau summit.
The view in the soft evening light is marvellous. We sit up here at 1,800 metres for a long time, soaking up these magical moments and Stojan has a lot to say about his trail building project - until it's almost too late for the descent, it's now so dark. But well, Stojan will know where and how he has carved his trail bends. He rides ahead and we follow a little hesitantly through the low bushes. At times, we can only follow him by ear because he has loosened the bear bell on his handlebars.
Then the pitch-black forest swallows us up and we have to fumble our head torches out of our rucksacks. "Can you still hear Stojan ringing?" asks Madlaina. Everyone listens into the darkness - nothing more to be heard. A little worried, we set off again. More cautiously now, to illuminate the bushes behind the increasingly narrow trail. Not that our Macedonian friend is lying there somewhere. But then he suddenly stands in the beam of my light with his arms raised: "Stop!" Stojan points towards the undergrowth.
His trail must continue somewhere in there. He trudges on with courage. The branches tug at our clothes and get caught in our spokes again and again, but after what feels like an eternity, the thicket finally lets go of us and we stumble onto a path that leads us to Žirovnica. There's still a bar open here at 11 p.m., which we invade like bears.
We're actually in good spirits again now, despite our completely scratched legs, but Stojan's a bit miffed that all his trail work has just been left to run wild again. "But I promise you: Everything will be different at Deshat!" We have to laugh. But Stojan sticks to his guns: "My absolute favourite trails are waiting there. I was just there the other day."
Trails on the Deshat at last
The Deshat or Dešat is a mountain range that adjoins the Korab to the south. The border between North Macedonia and Albania runs along its ridge. The shuttle vehicle takes us to a mountain pasture and from there we continue on foot. This time even with the bikes on our backs, because the mountain path up to the border ridge is again too steep to ride. But at least there is a path!
But the laughter soon fades as we reach the top and are rewarded with a spectacular view that stretches far into Albania. "Yes, you're daft!" Gerald exclaims. "It looks really promising," confirms Madlaina, but she is referring to the trail descents that wind down the mountain flanks from up here. Continuous, without interruption.
Stojan opens the map and points to a small town: "Rabdisht - that's where we want to go. Distance: about two days' walk." Here you can really tell that the path has been newly created for hikers. At first, the path balances gently up and down along the mountain ridge until we reach a small pass. When we look at the Albanian side of the slope, a striking edge catches our eye, which somehow doesn't quite fit into the terrain. Stojan sighs:
Yes, this is an artificial strip of sand and soft earth. It was intended to prevent Albanians from escaping.
Until 1990, the country was completely sealed off under the communist dictatorship of Enver Hoxha. "And if they did make it across, they left footprints behind when they crossed and their pursuers knew which way to look," our guide explains. It's shocking how little we know about this not-so-distant country of Albania. Today, all we see up here is a small sign saying "State Border".
At first, the descent is a little overgrown again. But the sea of flowers that spreads out in front of us is a feast for the eyes. Stojan undoubtedly guides us towards the edge of the forest. In fact, the promised trail fireworks start with the first tree trunks. A trail of velvety forest floor picks us up. This time only interrupted by root passages and hairpin bends. Perfect!
We feel like we've travelled back centuries in time as we roll through the narrow, stone-paved streets of Rabdisht to our accommodation. We enter the courtyard of Guest House Sabriu through a large gate. Apple trees line the path to a covered terrace. A fire crackles in the open fireplace. The landlord Sabri and his wife give us a warm welcome and serve us dinner, which we sit and savour for several hours.
We don't even realise that the bad weather front that was actually announced for the day before yesterday is approaching and has robbed us of the section over the Korab. An open door suddenly slams shut, a flash of lightning, closely followed by the rumble of thunder. Then the rain starts drumming on the roof. It's a good thing we're no longer stuck somewhere in the thicket!
What you need to know
High Scardus Trail
The long-distance hiking trail, which is 301 kilometres long and has an elevation gain of 22,500 metres, was launched in 2016 together with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), but has not yet been fully completed. Modelled on the "Peaks of the Balkans" long-distance hiking trail, the aim is to promote sustainable tourism in this structurally weak mountain and border region between North Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania.
For hikers, the route is divided into 20 daily stages and actually runs across several small mountain ranges: Sharr Mountains, Korab, Dešat, Jablanica and Galičica. The route is marked and signposted except for a few gaps, but without a GPS device you'll be lost pretty quickly. Information on the individual stages: high-scardus-trail.com
There is now also a kind of trail centre on the shores of Lake Ohrid with a total of 42 signposted enduro kilometres. More information: ohride.org
Best time to travel
The trail should be snow-free from May to September. In midsummer, the temperatures on the mountain are still pleasant, but in the valleys it can get blisteringly hot. In October, on the other hand, it is quite rainy.
Overnight stay
So far, there is only one hut along the route where you can spend the night in an alpine-like setting on the mountain: the Ljuboten Mountain Hut. For all other overnight stays, you either have bivouac equipment with you or descend into the valley in the evening.
Gerhard Czerner's conclusion
Gerhard: The choice of route on the High Scardus Trail is made for hikers and is only suitable for biking in sections. The areas around Rabdisht and Ohrid offer great opportunities for biking. The right infrastructure is available there. If you want to make the climbs easier with a shuttle, you need an off-road vehicle. I recommend a guide who knows the area. Orientation is not always easy and the route sometimes changes. Local knowledge helps enormously.
Did you follow the path all the way through?
Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as "THE way". There are variants that go in the same direction. You put them together. We roughly followed the route where it made sense in Stojan's opinion. Otherwise, we took variants that he thought were easier to roll. Due to the bad weather, we skipped the area around the Korab altogether and travelled a few transfer stages in the south by shuttle due to lack of time - for example from Rabdisht to Ohrid.
So we can't claim to have travelled the entire High Scardus Trail. Rather, we were travelling on the tracks of the High Scardus Trail. To summarise, the attempt to ride the entire High Scardus Trail was not successful.
Do you need visas for the three countries?
No. We travelled to Kosovo via green borders in the mountains, there are no controls there. Entering and leaving Albania was also straightforward.
