the Prokletije mountains, two of them venomous. These are the nose-horned viper, known locally as poskok or nëpërka me bri in Montenegrin/Albanian respectively; and the common viper or adder, known locally as šarka or nëpërka e malit. The nose-horned viper is the more venomous of the two (it’s Europe’s most venomous snake), and also the more aggressive; it is either light grey or brownish copper, with a dark black zigzag pattern along its back, and is easily recognizable by the prominent soft horn at the end of its snout. The common viper is generally around 55cm, with a zigzag pattern along the back. (It is worth mentioning that both the nose-horned viper and the common viper also occur in other, more frequently visited parts of Europe – for example, the former is found in northern Italy, while the latter is Europe’s most widespread venomous snake, and is found in the UK.) Other species of snake include the large whip snake, Balkan whip snake, Dahl’s whip snake, Montpellier snake, grass snake, dice snake and the tiny worm snake.
Snakes are very unlikely to strike except in self-defence (for example, if you step on them), and walking boots and hiking poles will usually alert a snake of your approach and give it time to slither off. See ‘Safety in the mountains and what to do in an emergency’ for more information.
A number of lizards are common in Prokletije, including the Balkan green lizard (which grows up to 16cm or more in length), green lizard, Balkan wall lizard, Dalmatian algyroides (unmistakable, with its striking, blue-coloured throat), slow worm and Prokletije rock lizard – the latter a species endemic to Prokletije and known only from a few isolated locations.
The amphibian you’ll probably see most commonly hiking the Peaks of the Balkans Trail is the fire salamander, easily recognised by its bright yellow spots. Other species found in Prokletije include Alpine newt, Balkan crested newt, Balkan stream frog, Albanian water frog and yellow-bellied toad.
A useful resource for identifying the reptiles and amphibians of Europe is www.herp.it.
Fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) on a trail near Plav
Birds
Prokletije is very rich in birdlife, with high mountain areas particularly important for breeding raptors and Lake Plav providing a significant area for waterfowl and migratory species. Some 161 different species of bird have been recorded in Prokletije National Park (Montenegro) and 179 species recorded in Kosovo.
Raptors to look out for in the mountains include the golden eagle – a huge bird, fairly easy to identify by its long wings, long tail and sheer size – the short-toed snake eagle, Bonelli’s eagle, griffon vulture, common buzzard, goshawk, peregrine falcon and European honey buzzard. The latter is more closely related to a kite than to the common buzzard, and has an extraordinarily wide colour variation – generally in imitation of other birds of prey inhabiting the same area.
Prokletije is a particularly good area for rock partridge, and you also have a chance of seeing the Eurasian eagle-owl – one of the largest species of owl, with huge ear tufts – Eurasian scops-owl, hazel grouse, red-backed shrike, yellow-billed chough, Alpine chough, wallcreeper, ring ouzel, white-winged snowfinch, Alpine accentor, horned Lark, European nightjar, rock nuthatch and common crossbill. Several species of woodpecker are present, including the lesser-spotted woodpecker, grey-headed woodpecker and the endangered three-toed woodpecker.
On or around lake Plav, look for grey heron, great crested grebe, black-necked grebe, little grebe, great bittern and corncrake. The lake is home to the largest breeding population of corncrake in Montenegro.
Journey to Valbona have prepared a very useful checklist of birds in the Valbona Valley, based on information from the Albanian Ornithologist Dr Taulant Bino, which can be downloaded from www.journeytovalbona.com (select ‘About’, then ‘Birds’).
Butterflies
The Prokletije mountains are incredibly rich in butterflies, with 130 species having been recorded in Prokletije National Park in Montenegro alone, and 129 species recorded the area of Prokletije in Kosovo (to put these figures in context, there are just 67 species of butterfly in the UK!). Butterfly species recorded along the Peaks of the Balkans Trail include common swallowtail, scarce swallowtail, twin-spot fritillary, lesser-spotted fritillary, small tortoiseshell, mountain apollo and several species of blue including northern blue, turquoise blue and mazarine blue.
Plants
The Balkan peninsula constitutes one of the richest plant areas in Europe, with an estimated 7000 or more species of plants – a figure which includes numerous endemics and, because the region was not under permanent ice caps during the glacial periods of the Quaternary era, a number of Tertiary relics (species that were more widely distributed during the Tertiary Period).
Around 2000 species of plant have been recorded in Prokletije National Park in Montenegro, of which some 225 species are endemic. At least 1650 plant species were recorded in Theth National Park in Albania, 85 of which are rare or threatened, and four endemic; and over 1500 plant species in the area of Prokletije located in Kosovo.
Orchid beside the path from Çeremi to Dobërdol (Stage 3); bellflower (Campanula) near the Zavoj pass, Montenegro (Stage 7)
Along the lower sections of the Peaks of the Balkans Trail, coniferous, mixed and broadleaved forests dominate: Aleppo pine, Norwegian spruce, beech, mountain maple, white oak and to a lesser extent the regionally endemic Macedonian pine and Bosnian pine. At higher altitudes these are replaced by Alpine vegetation including mountain pine and juniper. Rich sub-alpine pastures and grasslands or areas of scrub extend above the tree line, giving way to bare rock and scree.
Wild thyme and other herbs carpet the ground in places, and blueberries grow in profusion during the summer months, along with blackberries and wild strawberries – hiking at this time is sometimes reduced to a slow but very enjoyable grazing pace. The number of fungi is astonishing; there are an estimated 2000 or so species in Montenegro alone.
Climate
The Prokletije mountains experience moderate summers and long, harsh winters. Daytime temperatures during the summer are warm but not unpleasantly so, reaching up to around 25°C in July/August, the nights refreshingly cool. July is the driest month of the year in Prokletije, followed by August and June, although the weather here is notoriously fickle and you shouldn’t rule out the possibility of showers, even in the summer months.
Over 90% of precipitation occurs during the winter, with precipitation generally at its highest in November. Winters in Prokletije are long and harsh, with heavy snowfall (between one and three metres). The first snowfall in the mountains is usually sometime in October, and is at its heaviest in November/December, with snow lingering well into the summer months, particularly on northern slopes. The snowline in Prokletije is considerably lower than in the Alps – around 1500m.
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.