#135 Getting Close to Nature

May 27-30, 2022: Mirusha Waterfall, Peja, Rugova Mountains

J. We had to process all the impressions of the last two days and spent a whole day at the Mirusha Waterfalls. They are not only located in the middle of peaceful nature and are very beautiful to look at, but you can also hike/climb up a steep trail to the top of the waterfall and find more waterfalls and pools where you can swim.

The next day we continued to Peja, a slightly more touristy city. Peja has an old bazaar, but the rest of the city is architecturally unspectacular.

Peja is primarily known for its surroundings. First, we drove to the Visoki Dečani Monastery, located 15km south, which was described in our travel guide as one of the absolute highlights of Kosovo. The monastery is an Orthodox monastery where, despite regular attacks (last one in 2007), there are still 25 Serbian monks living. Therefore, the monastery is strictly guarded by KFOR soldiers. The fact that there is still a traditionally Serbian monastery here in Kosovo is probably the real highlight. Apart from the many roadblocks, guardhouses, and KFOR soldiers, the monastery was rather unspectacular. It was quite nice, but we were only allowed to visit the courtyard and the church. In Greece and Albania, for example, we have seen much more exciting monasteries.

On the way back, we passed a spring where many locals were having picnics and many, especially grandmothers, were bathing their feet in the water. The water definitely has healing properties.

Afterwards, we drove to the actual highlight of the region: the Rugova Mountains, or rather the Rugova Gorge, which stretches from Peja to the border with Montenegro. You can already see the impressively high mountains and the beginning of the gorge from the city center of Peja. But it looks even more impressive when driving along the gorge. In some places, it is so narrow that tunnels have been built into the mountains for the road. The tunnels were not very long, but narrow and unlit, which made the drive through the gorge even more thrilling.

Shortly before the border, we drove out of the gorge up the mountain and were rewarded with a magnificent view. Although there was a wedding taking place in the restaurant up here, we were allowed to park and spend the night behind the restaurant, overlooking the gorge. As a thank you, we had dinner in the restaurant and tried many regional specialties and local wine while watching the American-Kosovar wedding celebration through a window (which was ridiculously small for Kosovar standards with about 120 guests).

The next day, we had planned to go hiking, but we were awakened by the sound of rain on our roof and when we looked out the window, all we could see was white. We were trapped in a cloud with a maximum visibility of 20 meters. However, it was supposed to be dry for four hours starting at 10 am, so we hiked in the drizzle into the white wall, hoping to get above the clouds. It actually stopped raining and the fog cleared from time to time, giving us breathtaking views of the steep wall next to us and the dense forest around us. After about an hour of hiking, it started pouring rain and a powerful thunderstorm formed. The lightning flashed across the sky, making the fog even brighter and whiter. The thunder was incredibly long and built up, like a piece of music, through increasingly louder rumbling, to a climax with several super loud bangs at the end. In awe and trembling, we witnessed this natural spectacle and discussed what would happen if we hiked in a thundercloud. Since the thunderstorm was still directly above us even after 20 minutes, we decided not to continue hiking up the mountain. The risk of being struck by lightning was a bit too high, so we turned back. And then our wish came true after all: the fog cleared and we had a breathtaking view over the gorge and the clouds within it. We were above the clouds, or rather between the clouds, as it was still raining.

For the rest of the day, we watched the constantly changing clouds. Sometimes they only hung on the mountain peaks, sometimes they moved into the gorge like an army below us, sometimes they surrounded us in infinite white, only to open up briefly afterwards and reveal the view of the mountains opposite or a single cloud hanging below in the gorge.

The next day the sun was shining again and it was surprisingly hot. We drove to the north of Peja to another waterfall. Unfortunately, swimming was not possible here because the river carried an incredible amount of meltwater. We were told that the waterfall looks most beautiful in spring, as the river nearly dries up at other times of the year.

Behind the waterfall is a huge cave system through which the river used to flow. It has not yet been fully explored, but it is beautiful. It also offers a pleasant cooling with its constant 12 degrees. We had a private tour with lots of interesting information about the stalactites, stalagmites, and other beautiful rock formations. Only 3km of the huge cave system have been explored so far, and every summer, researchers spend weeks exploring it further. Bones and cooking utensils of our ancestors were even found in one of the cave entrances. Far below us, we could hear the sound of the river, which still flows through parts of the cave in spring. The size of this cave must be incredible.

From here, it is not far to the border with Montenegro, and so we say goodbye to Kosovo and its wonderful people after 8 wonderful days.

Day 227 - Total Tour 16,777 km

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