Polis Mountain

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Mali i Polisit

Summary: Mali i Polisit, for all its bulk, is a rather inconspicious mountain. For once, many people will not even notice that it is there, as it consists mainly of a high, seemingly flat plateau. Those driving from Elbasan to Librazhd through the Shkumbin valley only see its lowest slopes. Mali i Polisit doesn't have a "stand-out summit", though its highest point is unmistaken once you made it to the plateau.

All this is to say that Mali i Polisit is unlikely to top the mountaineer's priority list. But a hike up to its summit, especially in spring, will exceed all your expectations. Route finding is difficult through the forests and the karstic dolines, and - like on Munelle mountain - there is a lot of up and down before you will reach its highest point, just below the 2000 Meter mark.

But you will feel very much rewarded once you make it to the top, or just to the green alpine meadows!

The Drive to Gurshpatë: Not very difficult, but surprisingly long. There are several possibilities for taking the wrong turn. Once at the trailhead, one can continue following the fairly good road for a few more kilometers.

Maximum altitude:	1133 meter
Minimum altitude:	196 meter
Cumulative height:	996 meter down
Cumulative length:	13.8 kilometer
Difficulty	easy
Time:	4.5 hours
Date of this record	May 2013
Download GPS info:	Drive to Gurshpatë

The climb: The major difficulty is to find a trail through the patches of forest. Our trail (which we found on our return hike) uses open spaces as much as possible.

Maximum altitude:	1973 meter
Minimum altitude:	1175 meter
Cumulative height:	864 meter
Cumulative length:	7.28 kilometer one way
Difficulty	moderate
Time:	5.5 hour up
Date of this record	May 2013
Download GPS info:	Mali i Polisit

General location and approach: North of Elbasan. The turn off to Gurshpatë is just before Hotel Ballkan.

Other Information: Its a long hike, with more than 14.6 kilometer for the return trip!

Mali i Polisit, seen at sunset from the Bizë-Labinot road. While the summit appears indistinct (you'll see it when you get there), the image provides some hints of the difficult of terrain.

Mali i Polisit, with the village of Gurshpatë. The road goes up to the lower plateau on the right side of the mountain - from there it is still more than 864 m to climb and 7.5 kilometer to walk to the summit

At the trailhead, with a view towards Elbasan

Near the trailhead. View of Bukanikut Mountain, which we had climbed the year before

View towards Gropat e Shkembit, more than 100 Meter below the route. In the distance Mali i Gafferit.

View towards the summit ridge. A group of boys were ahead of us, having fun in the snow before collecting medicinal plants

Close to the summit ridge. In the background, Bukanikut.

First view of the summit of Mali i Polisit. The highest point is also called Maja Faqja e Madhe (the top of the great wall).

View south from the summit of Mali i Polisit

Mali i Gafferit (in the middle ground) from the summit of Mali i Polisit. In the distance: Valamares and Guri i Zi.

GPS and trailmaps: The map and trailinformation is generated by , 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 when viewing it in Google Earth, which you need to have installed on your computer. The 3D perspective allows a good preview of gradients, steepness, possible views and is generally helpful when planning a trip.