Robert-Antonio - Feb 15, 2024 1:14 pm Date Climbed: Jun 24, 2023
Ascend from Strezimir
I've arrived from the Macedonian side. The police outposts at Nichpur and Strezimir are closed and abandoned now. But this also means the road in Radika valley is very bad state, full of potholes and fallen stones. Although still passable by passenger car, the last 12 km took almost one hour.
To the contrary, the trail from Strezimir is very well marked by red-white poles, you can't get lost there.
bobbyfm - Jun 27, 2019 6:44 am Date Climbed: Jul 15, 2017
From Strezimir
We slept in tents at Strezimir and started early in the morning to avoid the rain in the afternoon. No problems with the route, it's pretty straight forward.
casetrain_ - Apr 10, 2019 8:25 am Date Climbed: Jul 21, 2017
Korab from Albanian Side
We climbed from Radomirë to to Golem Korab and back.
bruno baschung - Jul 2, 2016 8:40 am Date Climbed: Jun 26, 2016
ascent on macedonian side
Normal route from Macedonian side.
I climbed Korab from Steizimir (1465m), A nice, easy, but long hike, nature is beautiful there, so much wild space in the region!
Access with a bit of care is possible up to 1465m with an normal car (13.3 km away from main paved road), plus 10 km up to the top, so one can think about the real distance to urban life!
On a further attempt, i even saw a bear on the access road.
Be careful when following the well marked path around 2250m, one can easily miss the path going left. From there, one can see straight away in distance an old (different) path making a switchbak on the right just Under the ridge (foresummit) coming from the summit.
Just follow the red and White marks (basic rule : if you happen to lose these marks at a certain point, you've lost the track, so turn back and find one again and try to search).
Early in the season, it's quite possible some marks disappear Under snow, making orientation and keeping on the right track a bit of an issue above 2250m, so be cautious especially when the weather is not so fine.
The trail actually goes "left" up to 2344m (little Korab) from where it loses slowly just 30 m over 1.5 km in distance going west. The summit of Korab will be seen a bit later on the right, after walking these 1.5 km, so don't be discouraged thinking the main summit is still very far when you've reached the 2344m point. From there, you're not yet arrived, but you're not that far.
All the way, the trail is very good.
From the main top, another summit north west is just a little bit lower (7-8m) - probably not easily accessible- but don't worry, you're indeed on the main top!
I checked 2757m with GPS (and 731.3 hpa barometric pressure, quite consistent with official altitude of 2764m, but sometimes one reads 2754m.
bruno baschung
Andrew Rankine - Aug 7, 2015 9:10 am Date Climbed: Jul 22, 2015
.
Drove from Skopje to Strezimir in the morning, took three hours. The road that goes to Nichpur and Strezimir is dirt. Still we managed to get by in a passenger car-- a Škoda Octavia. We passed by a police checkpoint and were required to show our passports. The guy there was concerned about snakes and showed us a bunch of dead snakes they had killed... good to note but we have seen worse in Arizona. Otherwise no problems. The second police station was at Strezimir, where we parked. The police officers were friendly, and having them there made us feel better about keeping the hubcaps on the car.
From the tower we hiked up, passing a few shepards, who said they were Albanian and spoke little English. The trail was of excellent quality, for this part of the world. A little overgrown but nothing to gripe about. The ascent took much longer than expected, and while we thought we could see the peak and it would be a straight shot to the summit, we followed the path and continued along ridges for a long time, unsure when we would see the peak. Also lots of bugs and hot weather. Still the views were great. 19.3 km roundtrip, 1396 m gain.
justahiker - Jul 18, 2015 2:39 am Date Climbed: Jul 6, 2015
Ascent from Albanian side
We started from Radomire village, where we arrived from Kukes (about 2 hours of drive on very windy, but paved roads). The only last 5-6 kilometers to the village of Radomire was unpaved, but still decent road. In the village there is a small private accommodation place, like a guesthouse or hotel run by guy called Haxhi Hima's. Price is 2500 ALL per person or 20 EUR (whoever needs a contact feel free to send me a message).
The trail to Korab starts there and is sign-posted, with red and yellow symbols (apparently some Polish guys did that some time ago, Thank you). The South-Western approach route is the easier one (the one we took), but also circular trip possible (anybody needs GPS track, feel free to contact me).
The trail is very pleasant and rewarding with views, particularly on sunny day as it was when we were there.
highpointa - Jun 18, 2013 9:27 pm Date Climbed: Sep 16, 2011
Splendid isolation
A great double bagger. Started out in Mavrovo, parked the car at Strezimir, then enjoyed the solitude of this wonderful hike.
atavist - Sep 14, 2012 5:41 am Date Climbed: Sep 11, 2012
Climbers without Borders
I took morning bus from Skopje to Mavrovo and got dropped off at the bridge where the bus continued to Debar. I was lucky to get picked up and dropped at the first police checkpoint. From there I walked to Strezimir tower. From there I left at 1:45pm. It was a very pleasant walk and become steep in places. The trail was easy to follow.
Throughout the afternoon, even before I reached Strezimir, there were bouts of rain and dark clouds were ever present. As I climbed higher the rain became frozen and there were loud bursts of thunder nearby. I took shelter beside some cliffs and watched. Finally I made the first ridge but still couldn't see the main peak. As I turned a corner the back country changed starkly from yellow grassland to snow covered alpine terrain. When I finally saw Korab I was blown away. It was much more magnificent than I had expected. I trudged through 3-4 inches of wet snow to the summit. Enjoyed the summit then hiked down, back to Strezimir by 7:45pm. I slept under the open sided shelter then hiked back to the main road the following day.
(By the way, all trash from summit to the derelict outpost on Macedonian side has been cleaned as of 9/11/12)
nothingmaster - Jan 19, 2012 6:45 pm Date Climbed: Dec 5, 2009
Early winter accent.
We were glad to see so much snow there. Four people in a place with alpine landscapes, majestic and pristine.
Route Climbed: Albania - from Radomire via Panair Date Climbed: 24 July 2005
Along the way given by Albinfo. Also reached the second (Albanian) summit, we thought it might even be as high as the main one or just slightly lower. Report will follow.
Robert-Antonio - Feb 15, 2024 1:14 pm Date Climbed: Jun 24, 2023
Ascend from StrezimirI've arrived from the Macedonian side. The police outposts at Nichpur and Strezimir are closed and abandoned now. But this also means the road in Radika valley is very bad state, full of potholes and fallen stones. Although still passable by passenger car, the last 12 km took almost one hour.
To the contrary, the trail from Strezimir is very well marked by red-white poles, you can't get lost there.
bobbyfm - Jun 27, 2019 6:44 am Date Climbed: Jul 15, 2017
From StrezimirWe slept in tents at Strezimir and started early in the morning to avoid the rain in the afternoon. No problems with the route, it's pretty straight forward.
casetrain_ - Apr 10, 2019 8:25 am Date Climbed: Jul 21, 2017
Korab from Albanian SideWe climbed from Radomirë to to Golem Korab and back.
bruno baschung - Jul 2, 2016 8:40 am Date Climbed: Jun 26, 2016
ascent on macedonian sideNormal route from Macedonian side.
I climbed Korab from Steizimir (1465m), A nice, easy, but long hike, nature is beautiful there, so much wild space in the region!
Access with a bit of care is possible up to 1465m with an normal car (13.3 km away from main paved road), plus 10 km up to the top, so one can think about the real distance to urban life!
On a further attempt, i even saw a bear on the access road.
Be careful when following the well marked path around 2250m, one can easily miss the path going left. From there, one can see straight away in distance an old (different) path making a switchbak on the right just Under the ridge (foresummit) coming from the summit.
Just follow the red and White marks (basic rule : if you happen to lose these marks at a certain point, you've lost the track, so turn back and find one again and try to search).
Early in the season, it's quite possible some marks disappear Under snow, making orientation and keeping on the right track a bit of an issue above 2250m, so be cautious especially when the weather is not so fine.
The trail actually goes "left" up to 2344m (little Korab) from where it loses slowly just 30 m over 1.5 km in distance going west. The summit of Korab will be seen a bit later on the right, after walking these 1.5 km, so don't be discouraged thinking the main summit is still very far when you've reached the 2344m point. From there, you're not yet arrived, but you're not that far.
All the way, the trail is very good.
From the main top, another summit north west is just a little bit lower (7-8m) - probably not easily accessible- but don't worry, you're indeed on the main top!
I checked 2757m with GPS (and 731.3 hpa barometric pressure, quite consistent with official altitude of 2764m, but sometimes one reads 2754m.
bruno baschung
Andrew Rankine - Aug 7, 2015 9:10 am Date Climbed: Jul 22, 2015
.Drove from Skopje to Strezimir in the morning, took three hours. The road that goes to Nichpur and Strezimir is dirt. Still we managed to get by in a passenger car-- a Škoda Octavia. We passed by a police checkpoint and were required to show our passports. The guy there was concerned about snakes and showed us a bunch of dead snakes they had killed... good to note but we have seen worse in Arizona. Otherwise no problems. The second police station was at Strezimir, where we parked. The police officers were friendly, and having them there made us feel better about keeping the hubcaps on the car.
From the tower we hiked up, passing a few shepards, who said they were Albanian and spoke little English. The trail was of excellent quality, for this part of the world. A little overgrown but nothing to gripe about. The ascent took much longer than expected, and while we thought we could see the peak and it would be a straight shot to the summit, we followed the path and continued along ridges for a long time, unsure when we would see the peak. Also lots of bugs and hot weather. Still the views were great. 19.3 km roundtrip, 1396 m gain.
justahiker - Jul 18, 2015 2:39 am Date Climbed: Jul 6, 2015
Ascent from Albanian sideWe started from Radomire village, where we arrived from Kukes (about 2 hours of drive on very windy, but paved roads). The only last 5-6 kilometers to the village of Radomire was unpaved, but still decent road. In the village there is a small private accommodation place, like a guesthouse or hotel run by guy called Haxhi Hima's. Price is 2500 ALL per person or 20 EUR (whoever needs a contact feel free to send me a message).
The trail to Korab starts there and is sign-posted, with red and yellow symbols (apparently some Polish guys did that some time ago, Thank you). The South-Western approach route is the easier one (the one we took), but also circular trip possible (anybody needs GPS track, feel free to contact me).
The trail is very pleasant and rewarding with views, particularly on sunny day as it was when we were there.
highpointa - Jun 18, 2013 9:27 pm Date Climbed: Sep 16, 2011
Splendid isolationA great double bagger. Started out in Mavrovo, parked the car at Strezimir, then enjoyed the solitude of this wonderful hike.
atavist - Sep 14, 2012 5:41 am Date Climbed: Sep 11, 2012
Climbers without BordersI took morning bus from Skopje to Mavrovo and got dropped off at the bridge where the bus continued to Debar. I was lucky to get picked up and dropped at the first police checkpoint. From there I walked to Strezimir tower. From there I left at 1:45pm. It was a very pleasant walk and become steep in places. The trail was easy to follow.
Throughout the afternoon, even before I reached Strezimir, there were bouts of rain and dark clouds were ever present. As I climbed higher the rain became frozen and there were loud bursts of thunder nearby. I took shelter beside some cliffs and watched. Finally I made the first ridge but still couldn't see the main peak. As I turned a corner the back country changed starkly from yellow grassland to snow covered alpine terrain. When I finally saw Korab I was blown away. It was much more magnificent than I had expected. I trudged through 3-4 inches of wet snow to the summit. Enjoyed the summit then hiked down, back to Strezimir by 7:45pm. I slept under the open sided shelter then hiked back to the main road the following day.
(By the way, all trash from summit to the derelict outpost on Macedonian side has been cleaned as of 9/11/12)
nothingmaster - Jan 19, 2012 6:45 pm Date Climbed: Dec 5, 2009
Early winter accent.We were glad to see so much snow there. Four people in a place with alpine landscapes, majestic and pristine.
PUCHMAN - Nov 19, 2011 5:43 pm
Macedonia tripmust come back when met soldier in Mavrovi :( try to get permission in Gostivar Police witout success.
WranglerX - Feb 24, 2010 8:11 am
Danger??I read that there are landmines around, is this true?
Did you hear of any speak while climbing?
starybaran - Aug 29, 2009 10:40 am Date Climbed: Aug 17, 2009
From RadomireFrom Radomire 4 hours up. Meet few shepards on a way, they were very helpful with showing a right direction.
kamil - Aug 21, 2005 4:24 pm
Route Climbed: Albania - from Radomire via Panair Date Climbed: 24 July 2005Along the way given by Albinfo. Also reached the second (Albanian) summit, we thought it might even be as high as the main one or just slightly lower. Report will follow.
albinfo - Jun 25, 2005 12:38 pm
Route Climbed: Albania via Panair Date Climbed: 21 June 20056 hours up without any problems. The weather wasn't too good, but good enough. Further details will follow soon!