Gramos

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Gramos - Highest Mountain of Southern Albania

Summary: Gramos is the highest Mountain in southern Albania. The summit of Gramos (also called Cuka e Pecit) sits on the border of Albania with Greece, near Erseke. Here, the border forms a sharp triangle so as to share the summit with both countries. From the valley one can see the summit pyramid, but not the summit itself.

The trail follows paths or through meadows on the left (northern side) of the gorge that drains the basin from the summit. Up to the summit pyramid, the ascent is pleasant with an easy gradient. The summit pyramid can be scaled from any point on the Albania side. Some prefer the (northern) rocky ridge, others the (southern) ridge. Because of the snow conditions, we simply went up the slope in a straight line.

Expectedly, views are wonderful, in all directions.

Maximum altitude:	2523 meter
Minimum altitude:	1236 meter
Cumulative height:	1287 meter
Cumulative length:	7.02 kilometer one way
Difficulty	easy
Time:	4.5 hours up, 2.5 hours down
Date of this record	May 2012
Download GPS info:	Gramos

General location and approach: The hike begins in the village of Starjë, a short drive to the north of Erseke. Where the tarmac ends, turn left until you reach the wide river bed. The river must be crossed by foot, and there is only one bridge, at the trailhead. In summer, the river could probably be crossed elsewhere, too.

Other Information: A trip up Gramos is an easy but a long hike, and an early start might be advisable. In May, snow was lingering on the meadows of Gramos. Later in the year, sheep and dogs may be present.

Near the trailhead. The summit pyramid in on the right

View to the north, towards Ostrovice Mountain

Erseke and, in the background, Nemercke with its summit Papingut

In spring, many little streams have to be crossed

Near the summit pyramid. We climbed it straight up, between the left (northern) ridge and the snowfield on the right

Zebra patterns along the northern ridgeline

GPS and trailmaps: The map and trailinformation is generated by www.wikiloc.org, based on GPS information collected from the actual hike. Waypoints can be downloaded to a GPS device from Wikiloc. If necessary, use GPSBabel to convert GPS data to different formats. For more hike descriptions by Palmtreetreeproduction, browse this website or visit Wikiloc and search for "Palmtreeproduction". You may also find nearby trails from other authors.

Google Earth: You may also view the trail in 3D by viewing it directly in Google Earth. You need to have Google Earth installed on your computer. Activate "wikiloc"in the "Gallery" menu in Google earth.