Shishtavec

Shishtavec is a village in Kukës County in eastern Albania that represents rich unique folklore, endless varieties of customs, traditions, stories, songs, legends and inspiring landscape. At 1,260 metres above sea level, the village is one of the highest in Albania and a well-known ski area. It is 100 km from Albania's capital, Tirana.

Understand

Shishtavec is a village in Kukës County of northeastern Albania and actually part of the municipality of Kukës. About half the villages in the administrative unit of Shishtavec are populated by the Muslim Slavic Gorani people and about half are inhabited by ethnic Albanians. If you want to see a different Albania, the one far away from big noisy cities, this is your place. Here you will love the good climate, the natural beauty of birch forests and pastures, mountainous landscapes, the variety of plants, the ski pitches and the horse-riding courts, hunting, traditional sports like wrestling and so on. Shishtavec village has a broad plateau 1260 meters above sea level, where snow is present for almost 6 months a year. Shishtavec plateau is one of the biggest in Albania, with oval shape in Northeast-Southwest direction.

Get in

By plane

Kukës has an International Airport 'Zayed North-Wings which was cleared to service international flights in 2016, was built in 2020 and opened in 2021. Kukes International Airport (Albanian: Aeroporti Ndërkombëtar i Kukësit Zayed-Flatrat e Veriut, (IATA:IATA: KFZ), ICAO: LAKU), also referred to as Kukës International Airport Zayed (Albanian: Aeroporti Ndërkombëtar i Kukësit Zayed), is an international airport in Kukës, Kukës County, Albania. The airport is located 33 km (2.2 mi) from the village. 2 airlines operate service to Kukes, with direct flights from some European cities.

Air Albania, the national carrier operates service to/from Basel and Zurich.
Wizz Air (to/from Basel, Memmingen, Karlsruhe and Vienna).

By bus

undefined, +355682925352. The bus leaves Shishtavec (center of the village) at 7:00 in the morning towards Kukes and from Kukes departs at 13:00 from former "Hotel Parku"Ish Hotel Parku 📍 2022-07-03

By car

SH26 connects Shishtavec with Kukës.
Coming from Kosovo, you can take the R113 in Zhur towards Dragash municipality and head towards the border crossing Shishtavec - Krushevë
Coming from Mavrovo, you can take the Nicpur Road and head towards, the Restelica-Strazimir border crossing at a distance of 47 km from Mavrovo to Restelice. Once you are in Restelice, you head towards the border crossing Shishtavec - Krusheve and the distance between the two villages is 6.2 km.

On Foot

The most beautiful hiking trails head to Shishtavec. Check the "Do" section for more.

Get around

On foot

Horse-riding

Car rental

Renting a car is possible, in Kukës, but not necessarily a good idea if you are not used to driving here. To reach Shishtavec you don't need an offroad car, but to go around it you will need an offroad car.

See

Morning Stone (Guri i Mengjesit (Murga)), 41.944729°, 20.618426°. This sandy-rock formation, found in southern Shishtavec is on the list of Albanian natural monuments. This stone, easily visible on the horizon, used to be a reference point since antiquity and the reason behind the name is the fact that during sunrise, the sun's rays create a crown around the structure. It is found at a 1.900 m latitude and for quite some time now, it has turned into a must for visitors coming from all over the world. Horse riding has been a widely practised activity in this area since a long time ago and it continues to this day. 2022-07-02
Vana Gorge (Gryka e Vanave), 42.060862°, 20.498236°. Vana’s Gorge is a deep gorge between Koritnik Mountain and Gjallica Mountain in Kukës, created by the erosion of rocks from Lumë, part of the Korab-Koritnik National Park. 2022-07-02
The Eagle Stone (Guri i Shqipes), 42.020278°, 20.593611°. Is situated near Borje village in Shishtavec municipality 1580 m above sea level. It constitutes a rocky escarpment, 100 meters long, 80 meters wide and 27 meters high. 2022-07-02
Novoseja Oaks (Dushkaja e Novosejes), 41.997222°, 20.576667°. is situated nearby Noveseje village 1410 meters above the sea level. It represents an oak forest of 3 ha, well above the normal alitude where oaks grow. Trees are 4-5 m height, trunk diameter 7-10 cm. 2022-07-02
The Birch Forest (Pylli i Meshteknes), 41.964167°, 20.601944°. is located in Shishtavec village, about 30 ha, at 1300-1390 m above sea level with height at 13-17 m, trunk diameter at 20-30 cm aged between 40-45 years. The forest is decreasing year by year because of natural reasons. 2022-07-02
Novosej Lake (Liqeni Novosej), 41.949983°, 20.572380°. Another attraction in the area is Novosej Lake surrounded by a pine forest. 2022-07-03
Bosnian Pine of the Loop of Topojani (Rrobulli i Lakut të Topojanit), 41.968889°, 20.472778°. 2022-07-03

Do

Hiking

Guri i Mëngjezit, Shishtavec - Morning Stone, Shishtavec
Guri i Shqipes (Borje) - Stone of the Eagle (Borja)
Burimi i Kolosianit - Source of Kolosian
Dushkajat e Novoseit - Oak field of Novosei
Mështekna e Shishtavecit Birch tree of Shishtavec
Liqeni i Kallabakut - Lake of Kallabaku
Rrobulli i Lakut të Topojanit - Bosnian Pine of the Loop of Topojani
Kroi i Bardhe and Teja Highland

Horse Riding

Ski

Rockclimbing

Events

The feast of "Saint George" (Festa e "Shen Gjergjit"). (Saint George’s day) symbolises the arrival of spring in the mountain areas. It is celebrated throughout the Shishtavec area, but especially in the village of Borje. The celebration is held on the 6th and 7th of May. The first day belongs to young men who offer tree branches with green leaves to their girlfriends early in the morning. The celebration continues throughout the day with several competitions held between men (throwing stones, pulling a rope, horse riding, etc). On the second day of the celebration (the 7th of May), traditional music and dances are performed until meal time when the lamb is served as the main dish. 2022-07-03
Immigrants' Day (Dita e Emigrantit). This day, which is celebrated on 1-st of August, aims at the joint meeting of immigrants with fellow citizens. This is a very good opportunity for everyone to get to know nature, traditional clothes, songs, dances, etc. 2022-07-03
Skiing day which is celebrated in February
Patato day (Dita e Patates). The “Potato Day” intend to gather all potatoes producers, processors and dealers from the region in order to increase community responsibility and promote the attractiveness of the Shishtavec area and well known for potatoes production with its unique taste and quality. 2022-07-03

Eat

Stani i Hoxhes, 41.967984°, 20.573635°, +355692099762. 2022-07-03
Hotel Bar Restorant Skiatori, 41.947623°, 20.609684°, +355695210957. 2022-07-03
Restoran Teferic, 41.994036°, 20.617170°, +38345612887. 08:00-18:00. 2022-07-03
Bar Restorant Hotel Izeti, 41.983557°, 20.582123°, +355697605567. 2022-07-03

Drink

Stani i Hoxhes, 41.967984°, 20.573635°, +355692099762. 2022-07-03
Hotel Bar Restorant Skiatori, 41.947623°, 20.609684°, +355695210957. 2022-07-03
Bar Restorant Hotel Izeti, 41.983557°, 20.582123°, +355697605567. 2022-07-03
Bar Veranda Bala, 41.980246°, 20.605001°. 2022-07-03
Zulfi Cafe, 41.979834°, 20.605347°, +355682353535. 2022-07-03

Buy

Sleep

Stani i Hoxhes, 41.967984°, 20.573635°, +355692099762. 2022-07-03
Hotel Bar Restorant Skiatori, 41.947623°, 20.609684°, +355695210957. 2022-07-03
Bujtina Adem Sokoli, 41.980301°, 20.603656°, +355689099981. 2022-07-03
Bar Restorant Hotel Izeti, 41.983557°, 20.582123°, +355697605567. 2022-07-03

Shishtavec - village in Kukës County, Albania