Day three of a thru-hike on the Peaks of the Balkans trail reads like a checklist of everything the route throws at walkers: sleepless nights courtesy of feral dogs, brutal midday heat, a glacier-fed river dip, and a puppy that refuses to let you leave.
The day began in a campsite where local dogs had barked and scrapped past the tent all night. Setting off at dawn with a group of German hikers, the route climbed through beech woodland before breaking out onto rocky mountain passes. The first major descent drops into the Theth valley — the most popular section of the entire trail, and it's not hard to see why once the views open up. Valbona, the small town at the valley floor, is a useful resupply point: there's a hotel where hikers can recharge power banks and send a message home before hitting the road again.
The afternoon is where the day gets serious. A steep climb in 36C heat tested every reserve, with the trail only easing off once it entered shaded woodland. Water is the real logistical challenge here — sources are sparse and far apart, and the hiker relied on directions from oncoming groups to find the next one, roughly 40 minutes away across rocky terrain and sheep-filled green valleys. The reward: a tiny farming village high in the mountains, where a trough provided cold water and a playful puppy provided an unwelcome escort, chasing trekking poles down the trail until they were stowed away.
Exhausted and dehydrated, the hiker found a flat clearing, ate a cold-soaked meal, and slept — hoping to recover from two rough nights.
Why does this matter to a traveller? The Peaks of the Balkans is a roughly 190km circuit linking Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo through the Accursed Mountains, and it's still far quieter than the Alps. But this account is a good reality check: expect wild camping, unreliable water sources, heat in summer, friendly but persistent village dogs, and long stretches without shops or phone signal. Days like this one — hot, steep, remote and unpredictable — are exactly what you're signing up for. Pack more water capacity than you think you need, plan around water sources, and book a night in Valbona if you want a shower and a charged phone. For fit hikers after genuine wilderness in Europe without Alpine crowds or prices, this trail is one of the continent's best-kept secrets.
