Gramos (Gramoz) Mountain which is located in the border between Albania and Greece is the highest mountain in southern Albania, it is an easy to moderate hike.
How to get there
The starting point for this hike is a village called Starje. This village is around 5 km from the Ersekë, the nearest town where you can sleep and can find supermarkets. The fastest way to go to Erseka from Tirana is through Elbasan, Pogradec and then Korça. Finally, you arrive in Erseka. It takes around 4 hours to arrive from Tirana to Erseka (200 km). Going from Erseka to Starje takes around 10 minutes by car or an hour of walking. People in Starje and Ersekë are very friendly and you can park the car at the Starje school, it’s safe.
About the Gramos Mountain hike
This hike is easy to moderate one, therefore, the peak called Çuka e Peçit is reachable all the year. During the summer time the path is easy to follow, you just follow the signs. In contrast, during the winter I would suggest following the wikiloc trail because it’s a little bit harder to follow. The last hill of the trail, in winter, is dangerous. As a result, it’s better to use crampons and the ice axe.
There are some shepherd houses on 2’000 m/alt.
The starting point elevation is 1’234 m/alt, it takes around 2-3 hours to reach the highest peak of this mountain, Çuka e Peçit 2’524 m/alt. I would suggest climbing this mountain in the winter because it is even more beautiful. The terrain is meadowy, and in some places rocky. The distance is 14.47 km.
There are two water sources, so you may need around 1.5 liters of water.
Another way to climb the Gramos mountain is from Greece.
Points of interest:
Starting point: Starje, Albania
Starting altitude: 1'234 m/alt
Highest altitude: 2'523 m/alt
Elevation gain: 1'285 m/alt
