Hiking the Maja e Qores Summit in Albania
The coastal town of Dhermi, Albania is close to Llogara National Park, which has some impressive mountain hiking.

Yesterday, we rode up there and attempted the Maja e Qores hike, which is (ostensibly) a ~10km out and back. We followed Build & Board Travel’s instructions for accessing the trailhead (thank you!).


After a bit of forest hiking, we were treated to some pretty epic mountain/ocean vistas.


Unfortunately, we were underequipped to finish the hike, so we turned around at the halfway point. Today, we went back very early in the morning, with proper hiking shoes and a lot more water, and gave it another go.

Not only is this hike very gravelly and slippery, but it is basically straight up for most of the hike. In the 5km to the summit, you gain a kilometer of elevation.


But wow, are those views worth the effort.

We spent a fair bit of time at the summit, wandering around, taking photos, and enjoying the views from different vantage points.


And of course, eating some Albanian snacks.

We only saw four other hikers the whole time we were up here. Albania has got to be one of Europe’s most underrated countries.


The descent back to the bike took almost three hours. 5km my ass.
