Mali i Thatë

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The Dry Mountain - Mali i Thatë

Summary: Aside from any mountain near the seashore, there is no other mountain in Albania from where so much water can be seen. The summit of Mali i Thatë (the Dry Mountain) is called Pllaja e Pusit, and both Lake Ohrid and Lake Prespa - the largest lakes in the Balkans - can be seen from there.

The mountain range separating Prespa and Ohrid Lake is most frequently climbed from Macedonia, from the height of land connecting the two lakes. The prominent summit on the Macedonion side is Galicia, which also gives name to the nature park surrounding it. According to our calculations, the highest point of the range is fully in Albana, and a climb of it makes for a longer, but truly Albanian experience.

To the Trailhead:

Maximum altitude:	1048 meter
Minimum altitude:	847 meter
Cumulative height:	200 meter
Cumulative length:	8.5 kilometer
Difficulty	easy
Time:	17 Minutes
Date of this record	May 2012
Download GPS info:	To Mali i Thatë Trailhead

The climb:

Maximum altitude:	2290 meter
Minimum altitude:	1050 meter
Cumulative height:	1240 meter
Cumulative length:	5.9 kilometer
Difficulty	easy
Time:	4.5 hours up
Date of this record	May 2012
Download GPS info:	Mali i Thatë

General location and approach: The hike begins in the village of Alarup, a village at the foot of the mountain, accessible by asphalt road.

Other Information: The indicated trail is probably one of the shortest from Alarup to the summit, but much of it is without a path. This is not necessarily a problem, but be aware that the total altitude gain is more than 1200 Meter, and some of the grassy slopes can be steep. For a more leisurely, but slightly longer trail on a good mule path follow Endrit's trail, or combine both for a roundtrip.

Mali i Thatë, seen from Lake Ohrid. The highest point of the range, which is in Albania, is under the cloud, right from the center of the image.

Because of the lack of vegetation, the way to the summit is possible without a path

Out team (minus the photographer) in May 2012

Snow in the summit area. The real summit cannot be seen yet

View to the north. The Macedonion border and Galicia - the Macedonian (lower) summit - are still a few kilometers away.

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.