Cycling the Western Balkans: A Wild, Yet Welcoming, Mountain Tour

21.08.2024 - 10:40 / nytimes.com

“Hey mate!” a cyclist called to us in an Australian accent as he pedaled by on the rocky dirt road that serves as the main street of the village of Theth deep in Albania’s Dinaric Alps. Along with my friend and travel companion, Dave, I had not seen another bikepacker in four days.

In June, Dave and I rode a section of the new 2,500-mile Trans Dinarica cycling route that connects Albania and the other countries in the Western Balkans through the Dinaric Alps, known as the “Accursed Mountains.” The route starts in Slovenia, crossing through remote parts of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia on public roads with a mix of gravel, dirt and asphalt. By covering so much terrain, the Trans Dinarica is able to offer something for different types of cyclists, regardless of experience and skill.

As we quickly learned, biking the Trans Dinarica is not like cycling in the French Alps or the Italian Dolomites, although with limestone and steep rock faces, some of the terrain looks strikingly similar. In France and Italy, there are cyclists on every switchback of popular climbs, bike repair shops in most towns and a decades-old cycling culture. In Albania and Montenegro, Dave and I went days without seeing a single bike shop and long stretches without even a grocery store. But the scenery is breathtaking, the roads are calm, and this rural zone is eagerly transforming into a tourist destination.

“The idea is to present the Balkans positively and to inspire people to see the Balkans from a different perspective and in a sustainable way,” said Jan Klavora, a Slovenian and one of the creators of the Trans Dinarica. “It is an economical route because it brings business to an area that needs it. It is also cultural because it brings together areas that were divided by war and connects them all.”

The Western Balkan region experienced significant political, social and cultural upheaval in the 20th century, particularly following World War II. After the disintegration of Yugoslavia into six separate states, the Yugoslav Wars, a series of ethnically driven conflicts from 1991 to 2001, caused the deaths of 140,000 people.

Slowly, the region’s economy is improving, and tourism is considered a key aspect. Crowds are already flocking to Croatia and spreading down the Adriatic coast to Albania and Montenegro. But the Trans Dinarica route heads deep into the mountains, an area that is still much less visited.