Читать книгу The Peaks of the Balkans Trail. Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo онлайн

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In general, northerly winds are colder and drier, bringing more stable, clear weather conditions during the summer, and snow in the winter; southerly winds tend to bring warm, moist air, leading to rain during the summer and snowfall during the winter. As in other parts of the Dinaric Alps, the northerly wind (called the bura) can be quite strong, with gusts reaching gale force.

The Montenegrin and Albanian coasts and lowlands enjoy long, hot summers and short, mild winters. In Montenegro’s Zeta plain, summer months can be oppressively hot – the Montenegrin capital, Podgorica, had the highest summer maximum temperatures recorded in the former Yugoslavia, while Orjen, above the north end of the Montenegrin coast, has one of the highest annual rainfalls recorded anywhere in Europe.

Alpine shelter near Hridsko jezero (Stage 8)

When to hike

The hiking season on the Peaks of the Balkans Trail begins in May or June, with the latter bringing more settled weather and milder temperatures – although you can still expect snow patches in June, or until July in higher areas. Wildflowers are at their most spectacular in June. July is statistically the driest month, followed by August and June – but this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be prepared for possible rain or thunderstorms during these months, just as at any other time of year. August is the hottest month. By September snowfields have dried up, and with them possibly some springs; nights will be getting cooler and you can expect frost. In October the landscape turns to beautiful autumn colours, and the first snowfall arrives sometime this month, which generally marks the end of the trekking season in Prokletije.