Waking in the Cursed Mountains

Kosovo: Rugova. I have woken to a breathtaking vista of pine forest covered mountains. A cock is crowing and a cow bell is clanging. We are staying in a cabin near Kuqishte in the Rugovë mountains, part of The Cursed Mountains. The air is crisp and cool, albeit heavily infused with the pungent smell of cow manure. We arrived here around 10.30 last night after our week of delivering the Kosovo Change Makers Program to around 15 young people in Peja. Our co-facilitators have joined us for this one-night getaway. After breakfast, we will hike to and swim in Lake Leqinat, at an altitude of 1,970 metres. Perfect soul tonic!

[Name] and I arrived in Kosovo a week ago. On Monday, we visited the magnificent Sleeping Beauty cave just outside Peja. It is located near a lovely river walk that leads to a waterfall. The cave has four galleries, each with spectacular limestone formations and displays of stalagmites and stalactites. Archaeological remains suggest that humans may have inhabited the cave 6,000 years ago. Today, it is home to four species of bats. Interestingly, they have found a bat cemetery – a part of the cave where the bats go to die.