Maja e Kreshtes
2,101 m
Albania
Also known as Maja e KreshtësAlso known as
Maja e Kreshtës
- Elevation
- 2,101 m
- Prominence
- 1,141 m
- Difficulty
- 3/10
- Mountain hike
- Best Season
- Jul–Sep
- Routes
- 1
Routes
1Sources differ: Very difficult (Wikiloc track rating (2014))
An unmarked round trip from the new town of Bulqizë (about 900 m): mining tracks to a road end, a grassy couloir to the ridge at about 1,840 m, then along the crest over a false summit to Maja e Kreshtës (2,101 m). About 11 km and 1,180 m of ascent; one recorded party took about 4 hours up and 3 hours down.
About 100% of this line is approximate (no mapped trail; drawn from the terrain). Check it against a map before relying on it.
Why? 4 check notes
- 100% approximate geometry
- low confidence 0.4
- Bulqizë new town → Maja e Kreshtës: dem (snap_failed, 3.8 km)
- unresolved waypoints: Road end, North-east couloir, Kreshta ridge, False summit
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- 3.9 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +1,202 m
- start → summit
- High Point
- 2,101 m
- Time Up
- 4h 29m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 2h 53m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
Start from the northern, new part of Bulqizë (Qyteti i Ri, also called Vajkal) and follow roads and tracks north onto the slopes of the Balgjaj massif, past the open area known as Fushë, to the end of a road at about 1,260 m. From here a path climbs through the north-eastern couloir; the grassy slopes below the ridgeline are steep but manageable. The ridge is reached at about 1,840 m, roughly 2 hours from the road end. Follow the ridge anticlockwise over a false summit (about 1,980 m) to the main summit, about an hour from where you reach the ridge. The massif is ultrabasic rock rather than limestone, with red, steep and wild slopes; glacial lakes lie in cirques on both sides of the ridge, most of them at about 1,800 m. The recorded party descended by a different line, via a mining road, ruins and a fork, where abandoned mining works have broken the old path: keep close to the track and return to a visible path, then descend to a river and back to town. The route is not waymarked; carry a GPS track. Brown bears live on the mountain, and vipers are common in early summer.
Start
Bulqizë new town896 m
- Buses and minibuses run from Tirana to Bulqizë via the Arbri road in about an hour; the route starts on foot from the town.
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bulqizë new town → Maja e Kreshtës | 3.9 | 1,202 | 0 | 4h 29m |
Waypoints
- Trailhead: Bulqizë new town896 m
Start point of the 2014 Wikiloc track; elevation approximate
- Summit: Maja e Kreshtës2,101 m
Key Passages
- Steep grassy slopes in the north-east couloir below the ridgeline
- Ridge over the false summit
- Finding the old path where mining works have broken it on the descent
Equipment
0/7 packedDownloads
Route confidence 40%Overview
The highest point (2,101 m) of the Balgjaj massif directly above the chrome-mining town of Bulqizë in eastern Albania: steep, red ultrabasic slopes, glacial lakes and pine forest, climbed in a long unmarked day from the town.
Maja e Kreshtës ('Crest Peak') tops the Balgjaj massif, which rises between the Burrel basin to the west and Mount Homesh to the east; Qafa e Buallit and the Bulqizë valley separate it from the Martanesh massifs to the south-east, and Qafë Murra from Mali i Dejës to the north-west. The ridge forms the watershed between the Drin and Mat basins. Neighbouring tops are nearly as high: Maja e Mcekut (2,100 m), Gurrat e Zeza (2,079 m) and Maja e Arnishtës (2,073 m).
Unlike the karst mountains elsewhere in Albania, the massif is built of ultrabasic rock, part of the same belt that is mined for chrome around Bulqizë. Glaciers carved cirques and sharp crests, and about 15–21 small glacial lakes lie close to the ridge at about 1,800 m, the largest being Liqeni i Zi (up to 1.5 ha). Oak gives way to beech, and above 1,800 m to stands of Macedonian pine and Bosnian pine.
The mountain is the local summit of Bulqizë, about 4.5 km south of the top. The usual ascent climbs from the new town by mining tracks and a grassy couloir to the ridge, with about 1,200 m of ascent. There are no waymarks and few visitors.
Climbing Notes
A long day (7–9 hours with stops) for fit hill walkers who can navigate without waymarks: load a GPS track before you go, as old mining works break up paths on the lower slopes. The steep grassy couloir below the ridge needs care when wet or snow-covered. Carry enough water for the day.
Bulqizë has hotels and is about an hour from Tirana by minibus, so the ascent can be done in a day from the town. Late spring brings flowers but also snow in the couloirs; summer to early autumn is the most reliable. Brown bears live on the mountain: make noise in thick vegetation and store food carefully if camping near the lakes.
Season
Best Jul–Sep- January: Not advisable
- February: Not advisable
- March: Not advisable
- April: Possible
- May: Possible
- June: Good
- July: Best (best window)
- August: Best (best window)
- September: Best (best window)
- October: Good
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Winter conditions
- Feb
- Winter conditions
- Mar
- Snow
- Apr
- Snow on the upper mountain
- May
- Snow in couloirs; flowers lower down
- Jun
- Early June ascent recorded; spring flowers
- Jul
- Most reliable conditions; afternoon storms possible
- Aug
- Most reliable conditions
- Sep
- Stable weather, cooler
- Oct
- Shorter days; first snow possible late in the month
- Nov
- Wet, first snow
- Dec
- Winter conditions
Access & Permits
- Hut Booking
- No huts. Hotels and guesthouses in Bulqizë, including in the new town (Vajkal).
- Rules
- Active and abandoned chrome-mining areas lie on the lower slopes; keep out of mine workings
- Getting There
Bulqizë
Tirana International Airport (TIA)
- By bus: buses and minibuses from Tirana to Bulqizë via the Arbri road take about an hour (300 lek in cash, per Wikivoyage); minibuses also run from Peshkopi in about 45 minutes
- By car: Tirana–Bulqizë via the Arbri road; the old route via Fushë-Krujë, Milot and Burrel takes about 3 hours
Hazards
- Weather
- Remoteness