High Scardus Trail
Albania - Kosovo - North Macedonia
| Year | Length | Trails |
|---|---|---|
|
2016 - 2021 |
259 + 378 km |
17 main + 30 side |
An award-winning 1 92 km long cross-border route that links rural
communities in Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro and preserves their natural, cultural and
spiritual heritage. Winner of the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Tourism of
Tomorrow award.
Our Contributions
- 2016-2019: Endrit Shima was engaged by GIZ SEDRA as national expert of Albania for the project.
- 2020-2021: Ricardo Fahrig assessed the complete trail for a report and action plan in 2020 and implementation of changes in 2021.
- 2020: Ina Havaraj trained in conjunction with a tour leader of Zbulo! Discover Albania local guides in Diber.
- 2020: Sokol, Endrit and Ricardo trained hosts from Albania and Kosovo.
Trails
● Identification, assessment and selection of 189 km of trails in Albania.
● Assessment of the complete route, including Kosovo and North Macedonia, for a report and action plan in 2020.
Signalizations
Marking and signposting of the selected routes according to the latest standards.
● Cleaning and ground work of trails near Peshkopi.
Map
Creation of six topographic maps inclusive of descriptions of the main trails.
Training
● Trained 12 hosts in 8 communities of Albania and 17 from Kosovo on gastronomy, hospitality and COVID measures. ● Training 10 local guides from Albania's Diber region. ● Trained 15 guides in trail marking and signalization work.
Marketing
● Creation and management of highscardustrail.com
● Hosted 2 mountain biking FAM trips for the press.
● Hosted the Rother guidebook authors who included the HST in their Albania edition.
● Hosted ZDF (German TV station) film crew.
- Lines Magazine issue #14 featured the High Scardus Trail as cover story.
- Lines Magazine teaser (71s) and full video (8 min)
- ZDF Balkan Style Part II interviews Ricardo about the trail.
- Zbulo! Discover Albania
Resources
Maps and Guides
Mountainbiking the High Scardus Trail
Less time at hand, watch only the trailer (71s)
Recent Projects
The Mysterious South Coastal Mountains, Shushica Valley & The Riviera Year Length Trails Trek 2015 – 2016 148 km 11 The Shushica …
Creating the hiking infrastructure and putting it on a book for active travelers to visit Permet and marvel at the region's hidden beauty
Seven local guides from Diber completed a three-day training on guiding hiking and trekking tours per international standart, with prospect of guiding future tours on the High Scardus Trail
A workshop on the new trail signalization standard in Albania updated ten guides who will be engaged in the re-marking of the High Scardus Trail.
High Scardus Trail Albania – Kosovo – North Macedonia Year Length Trails 2016 – 2021 259 + 378 km 17 main + …
Peaks of the Balkans Albania – Kosovo – Montenegro Year Length Trails 2014 192 km 10 main + side “The trail has …
High Scardus Trail hosts from Southern Kosovo completed with Qendra për Edukim Kulinar, Slow Food Dukagjini, Tourist Information Center Prizren and Trails of Albania a two-day intense gastronomy and hospitality course.
High Scardus Trail hosts from Diber and Kukes completed with chef Sokol Prenga and Trails of Albania a two-day intense gastronomy and hospitality course.