🕒 Summit at 14:49
📍 Coordinates: 41.91833° N, 20.77639° E
🗺️ Route: Gjurgevište – Rudoka Ridge – Velika Rudoka Summit – Return
🚗 Transport to region: 2,347 km total
• 309 km drive Gaiziņkalns → Vilnius
• 811 km overnight bus Vilnius → Kraków (via Warsaw)
• 20 km train Kraków Główny → Kraków Airport
• 866 km flight Kraków → Sofia
• 341 km drive Sofia → Gjurgevište (Kosovo)
💤 Accommodation: Overnight stay in Skopje (1/2 September)
🌤️ Conditions: Warm, sunny, calm — perfect for hiking
🚗 Back south into wild country
After finishing the Baltic peaks, I travelled back to Vilnius, caught a night FlixBus to Kraków, then flew to Sofia the next morning. From there, a long drive led me through Macedonia into Kosovo, where I stopped overnight in Skopje before heading for the mountains.
The next morning, I drove to Gjurgevište, a quiet, remote village surrounded by wild alpine pastures and scattered sheep flocks, the gateway to Velika Rudoka, Kosovo’s highest peak.
🏔️ Calm climb through the Šar Mountains
I began hiking at 10:46, moving through open meadows, climbing gently along a broad valley that narrowed toward the ridge. The weather was perfect, clear skies, warm sun, and just a whisper of wind higher up.
It was one of those effortless mountain days: peaceful rhythm, big horizons, no people in sight. By 14:49, I reached the summit of Velika Rudoka, standing alone under an endless blue sky with panoramic views stretching across the Šar Mountains into Albania and North Macedonia.
For a while, it felt like complete stillness, the kind that only happens far from everything.
🐕 A sudden turn
But the descent became something else entirely.
Halfway down the valley, as I crossed a grassy plateau near a shepherd’s hut, I saw movement in the distance, a pack of dogs, seven or more, sprinting straight toward me.
They were huge, muscular shepherd dogs, barking furiously, closing in fast. I froze. My heart was racing; there was nowhere to run, no rocks or sticks nearby. They surrounded me, growling and snapping within metres. I genuinely thought this might end badly.
Then, from far across the slope, I heard shouting, the shepherd calling them off. His voice echoed across the valley, and slowly, one by one, the dogs backed away, still barking. It took minutes for my hands to stop shaking.
That short encounter was probably the most terrifying moment of the expedition. I’ve faced storms, glaciers, and exhaustion, but this? This was pure fear.
💭 Reflection
When I finally reached the car at 17:20, I was drenched in sweat and relief. The sunset over Rudoka’s ridges looked almost unreal, calm and golden, as if the mountain was apologising for the chaos below.
Velika Rudoka remains one of the most beautiful and unexpectedly intense memories of the Crown of Europe. A place of silence, wilderness, and a reminder that true adventure doesn’t always ask for permission.
📅 Date: 2 September 2025
