Peaks of the Balkans (Day 11): Vusanje to Theth via Buni Jezercës + Maja Bojës summit
The penultimate day of this itinerary is perhaps the most spectacular of all, swapping the first 10km of the standard Peaks of the Balkans route for an extended exploration of the remote Great Valley of Lakes (Buni Jezercës) that includes one of the best summits in the region, Maja Bojës (2,461m).
True to its name, the high glacial basin of Buni Jezercës boasts six turquoise lakes scattered beneath a rugged cirque of limestone peaks and dolomitic spires. Even after reconnecting with the standard route through Ropojana Valley, dramatic karst landscapes and panoramic mountain views dominate the approach to Pejë Pass, making for a truly breathtaking day on the trail.
Detouring through this lesser-visited corner of Albania effectively doubles the elevation gain and loss compared to the traditional route, but for those determined to experience the absolute best of the Accursed Mountains, it’s truly worth ALL the effort!
This comprehensive guide to Day 11 of Peaks of the Balkans contains detailed section times, route recommendations, adventurous side trips, and heaps of insider tips— use it to plan your hike & then refer back on the trail so you always know what to expect!
>>> Read my Peaks of the Balkans hiking guide for the full 12-day adventure itinerary
Peaks of the Balkans: Day 11 overview
- trail time: 9.5hrs
- distance: 21km
- elevation: 1550m gain / 2110m loss
- side summits & variations: Buni Jezercës (Great Valley of Lakes) + Maja Bojës summit (2,461m)
- border crossing: Montenegro to Albania
*Trail times reflect the time we spent hiking, excluding extended breaks where we removed our backpacks to eat lunch, swim in alpine lakes, or otherwise luxuriate along the trail. These figures are best used to understand realistic hiking times between major waypoints, but we definitely recommend building in 1-2hrs of additional daily leisure time to properly enjoy the route!
About the route through Buni Jezercës
In designing this 12-day itinerary, I was absolutely determined to include the reportedly-spectacular Great Valley of Lakes, but every resource I found online described this as an out-and-back hike from Vusanje rather than a thru-hike to Theth.
I also wanted to include a side-summit within the valley, and after reaching out to some locals climbers for advice, I decided on Maja Bojës (2,461m). Although Maja Jezercë (2,694m) is the tallest peak in the range and an easier summit overall, Maja Bojës integrates far more elegantly into this route and offers a better summit viewpoint.
Poring over the map, I could see several possible trails linking Buni Jezercës and Maja Bojës with neighbouring Ropojana Valley, where we’d need to rejoin the standard route for the descent into Theth— but the quality of these trails remained a bit of an unknown. And this is to say nothing of the very ambitious trail stats, which one guide described to us as “not possible in a day”.
Having now completed this exact itinerary ourselves, we can say that the route is indeed challenging, but absolutely doable for strong, experienced hikers. If you want to experience the best of the Accursed Mountains, it doesn’t get any better than Buni Jezercës!
Transfer from Vusanje to Katun Zastan
With the long route through Buni Jezercës up to the summit of Maja Bojës, today is the most ambitious day of the entire itinerary. To make the schedule a bit more realistic, we strongly recommend arranging a 4WD transfer from Vusanje to Katun Zastan, eliminating 6km of hiking and roughly 2hrs of trail time on the initial ascent to the valley.
The owner of Guesthouse Vucetaj dropped us at Katun Zastan for 60€, and although it’s certainly not cheap, it’s fairly essential to ensure you have adequate time and energy to actually enjoy the side trip!
Alternatively, the brand new Guesthouse Ropojan is located just a few minutes from Katun Zastan, which would make a fabulous starting point for the hike into Buni Jezercës— and if you can hike up the 4WD road to get here on Night 10, it would also save you the expense of the transfer!
We haven’t stayed here personally so I can’t comment on the experience, but we passed the guesthouse on our drive and it looks quite nice.
Katun Zastan to Buni Jezercës (1hr)
From Katun Zastan, ascend a little over 2km on a well-defined trail towards Buni Jezercës. The route climbs steadily through soft, shady forest before emerging above the treeline for the final approach to the valley entrance.
Pass a concrete border marker just under 1,800m of elevation, marking your final crossing from Montenegro back into Albania. Beyond this point, the trail opens dramatically as the first limestone walls of Buni Jezercës come into view, offering an enticing glimpse of the spectacular scenery still to come!
Buni i Jezercës to Jezercë Pass (1hr)
Although it takes less than half an hour to hike all the way to the back of the valley, expect to spend considerably longer as you parade past a series of sparkling alpine lakes, each reflecting a dramatic amphitheatre of limestone peaks and dolomitic spires.
Buni Jezercës is one of the most spectacular alpine landscapes in the entire Accursed Mountains, and we found ourselves stopping constantly for photographs as each bend in the trail revealed another impossibly beautiful view!
Towering above the valley is Maja Jezercë (2,694m), the highest peak in the Dinaric Alps, with countless other (inexplicably unnamed) summits and spires framing the basin.
Despite its extraordinary beauty, the valley feels remarkably wild and remote, with surprisingly few hikers venturing beyond the standard route in neighbouring Ropojana Valley. Allow yourself plenty of time here to wander through the lakes, enjoy a snack beside the water, and soak in the scenery— this is why we came!
At the far end of the valley, a well-defined trail wraps around the right side of the Great Lake of Buni Jezercës, the largest of the six lakes. Early in the season, sections of this trail may still be submerged, but it’s easy to pick your way around the shoreline.
The route swings sharply right beyond the lake and begins climbing towards the high limestone walls that form the western edge of the valley.
At around 1,950m elevation, watch for a cairned right turn leading onto a rocky trail just below Jezercë Pass. Stop here (before reaching the pass) to begin the ascent up to Maja Bojës, stashing a bit of pack weight in the rocks if you want to lighten your load for the summit excursion.
Maja Bojës summit & return (2hrs)
Setting off from an unmarked junction just below Jezercë Pass, the route up Maja Bojës follows intermittent painted dots up the rocky hillside towards the southern face of the peak.
It takes about 25min along very faint trails to reach the steepening limestone slopes, traversing left across the rocks to a clearly marked couloir— if you don’t see painted signs on the rock, you aren’t in the correct couloir! (Approximate ascent route shown on the photo below.)
Navigating up the steep, rocky, and occasionally snow-filled gully requires a bit of finesse, weaving between the right and left sides on Class 2-3 terrain to find the best line upward.
The final 200m ascent through the couloir is the only challenging part of the route, and even then, it’s very manageable for those with previous scrambling experience.
Filled with loose rocks, it’s particularly important to tread lightly within the couloir to avoid knocking rocks onto your hiking partner. Since we didn’t carry helmets on Peaks of the Balkans, we climbed close together to minimise the distance any dislodged rocks could travel between us, but larger groups should consider staggering their ascent to reduce the risk of rockfall.
The ascent through the couloir takes about 20min, followed by another 5-10min of easy scrambling across the limestone blocks of the summit ridge to reach the true summit, located above and left of the ascent gully.
From the summit of Maja Bojës (2,461m), the entire Great Valley of Lakes spreads out beneath your feet, its chain of turquoise lakes sparkling under the soaring height of Maja Jezercë and countless other summits.
To the north, the jagged limestone towers of the Karanfili Mountains (which you admired from the Three Peaks Loop yesterday) erupt dramatically from the valley floor, while far below, it’s possible to trace parts of the forthcoming route through the deep trench of Ropojana Valley.
Standing above this maze of peaks, cirques, snowfields, and glacial basins, it’s difficult to imagine a finer viewpoint anywhere in the Accursed Mountains. And enjoyed entirely alone, this was our absolute favourite side trip AND summit of the entire trip!
Finally tearing yourself away from the spectacle of Maja Bojës, it takes about an hour to descend back to the junction where you may have offloaded a bit of pack weight, and then only a few minutes further to climb up to Jezercë Pass (2,110m).
Jezercë Pass to Pejë Pass (3.5hrs)
From Jezercë Pass below Maja Bojës, follow a trail west out of the valley beneath a spectacular amphitheatre of limestone cliffs, where snow lingers beneath sheer rock walls long into the summer.
The route threads through an increasingly wild alpine landscape on a faint but discernible trail, opening onto enormous views of the Karanfili Mountains as you near the Ropojana Valley.
After about an hour, the trail reaches a series of brutally steep switchbacks that plunge several hundred metres into Ropojana Valley.
This is one of the most agonising sections of an otherwise delightful day, but fortunately it’s possible to avoid dropping all the way to the valley floor by following a well-defined trail that traverses high along the left-hand slopes, joining with the standard Peaks of the Balkans route at around 1,600m elevation.
From here, the walking becomes far more pleasant, undulating towards Pejë Pass (1,710m) through a beautiful karst landscape of rolling limestone hills, grassy hollows, and wildflower-filled meadows enclosed by towering cliffs.
Small concrete bunkers occasionally appear beside the trail, remnants of Albania’s communist era when dictator Enver Hoxha built nearly half a million defensive structures across the country in preparation for an invasion that never came.
The bunkers seemed so out of place in the alpine landscape that we hardly recognised them as such, even after having read a long description in our guidebook!
Passing above Lake Pejës, a small alpine tarn tucked amongst the limestone hills, the final climb leads to Pejë Pass at 1,710m.
Though I feel I’ve said it a thousand times already, this is yet another of the most beautiful spots on the entire route, with compressed views across the surrounding peaks and a first glimpse towards the mountains enclosing Theth Valley.
Pejë Pass to Theth (2hrs)
Beyond Pejë Pass, the trail begins a long and unrelenting descent towards Theth, losing more than 1,000m over the next 6km (bringing your daily descent over 2,100m, which I’d consider just shy of criminal).
The first 30min follows a series of brutally steep switchbacks across open slopes, passing directly beneath a distinctive golden rock outcrop that serves as a useful landmark. Another 15min farther down, the trail finally enters the trees and the gradient eases slightly.
From here, continue descending through mixed forest on a well-defined path, across a dry riverbed, and finally onto the gravel road that will carry you all the way into Theth.
After the enormous effort of crossing the Great Valley of Lakes and summiting Maja Bojës, there can be few better feelings than arriving in Theth and digging into a MASSIVE feast! Cheers to just one spectacular day remaining on the trail!
Night 11: Villa Gjeçaj Guesthouse
Set within a romantic garden strung with fairy lights, Villa Gjeçaj was one of the nicest properties we stayed at anywhere on Peaks of the Balkans! Our balcony looked out over the high peaks of Theth National Park, and we could even see the famous Theth Church right from our room.
Private rooms with ensuite bathrooms cost about 90€ including breakfast, but you’ll be on your own for other meals— although we highly recommend eating dinner at their excellent restaurant, which draws visitors from all over the valley each evening. The stuffed eggplant, pork escalop, oven-roasted lamb, and “cheese in the oven” were all AMAZING!
The location of Villa Gjeçaj is also particularly convenient, sitting close to the trail descending from Pejë Pass and also tomorrow’s ascent route to Valbona Pass. After one of the biggest days of the entire itinerary, it felt like a very welcome bit of luxury (and we even decided to stay two nights to enjoy a bit longer).
>>> Book a room at Villa Gjeçaj on Booking.com
For more information on guesthouses, check out this post: Peaks of the Balkans guesthouses: what to expect & how to book (+ best 2026 guesthouses)
Read all of my Peaks of the Balkans posts
- start here >>> Peaks of the Balkans hiking guide & 12-day itinerary
- accommodation >>> best guesthouses on Peaks of the Balkans & what to expect
- Day 1: Valbona to Çerem via Prosllopit Pass + Zla Kolata summit
- Day 2: Çerem to Dobërdol
- Day 3: Dobërdol to Gacaferi via Gjeravica summit
- Day 4: Gacaferi to Milishevc via Zavoj Pass
- Day 5: Milishevc to Rekë e Allagës + Via Ferrata Shpellat
- Day 6: Rekë e Allagës to Drelaj via Hajla summit
- Day 7: Drelaj to Babino Polje
- Day 8: Babino Polje to Plav
- Day 9: Plav to Vusanje via Bora Peak
- Day 10: Three Peaks Loop, Prokletije National Park
- Day 11: Vusanje to Theth via Buni Jezercës + Maja Bojës summit
- Day 12: Theth to Valbona
- navigate confidently on & off the trail >>> Peaks of the Balkans GPS map
- essential gear >>> Peaks of the Balkans packing list
