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Priske Mountain and Erzen Gorge

Summary: A perennial favorite for many people in and an around Tirana. The hike starts at the south end of Priske Mountain (the mountain south to Dajti, or left from Dajti when seen from Tirana). It climbs the south-end of the mountain, which affords good views towards Pellumba Cave which also is a worthwhile outing). From the op of the mountain, it descends on the east side, towards a basin (sometimes empty) formed by the Erzen River. The Erzen River is followed downstream along a a dysfunct irrigation channel, which means there is not much up and down for a while. Finally, the trail climbs back up to where you left your car. The hike is easy to reach, not far from Tirana, but it feels like much farther away.

Maximum altitude:	732 meter
Minimum altitude:	282 meter
Cumulative height:	456  meter
Cumulative length:	7.79  kilometer roundtrip
Difficulty	moderate
Time:	3.5 hours roundtrip
Date of this record	March 2011
Download GPS info:	Erzen

General location and approach: The greatest difficulty is finding the trailhead. Leave Tirana on the the Elbasan road. Before crossing the Erzen River on a wide bridge, in Mullet, turn left and as you approach a cemetary, turn right. Follow this road antil it leaves the last houses and climbs up the hillside towards Priske Mountain. Where you have a good view across the Erzen Gorge towards Pellumba village, park at an obvious wide spot next to the road (there is space for almost a dozen cars)

Other Information: Follow the tarmac road for a short while, before the trailbranches off to the right to climb over sandstone and eventually reaches an old church. This is a trail often used by mules, and it should be fairly obvious, but pay attention to the GPS track as it is easy to get lost on secondary trails used by the local people to cut wood in the forest. Eventually you reach the saddle between the the south-tip of Priske Mounatin and is larger body to the north. You may keep going straight on and down the other side, but it is worthwhile and recommended to keep right and appraoch the edge of the cliff which affords excellent views across the gorge. Although the path seems to to disappear, keep on going down in the same direction, and you eventually reach the artifical lake of the Erzen river. Turn right and follow the irrigation channel, which is easy walking. Beware some steep drops. Eventually, clearly marked tracks lead back up to the car park

GPS and trailmaps: The map and trailinformation is generated by www.wikiloc.org, based on GPS information collected from the actual hike. Waypoints can be downloaded to a GPS device from Wikiloc. If necessary, use GPSBabel to convert GPS data to different formats. For more hike descriptions by Palmtreetreeproduction, browse this website or visit Wikiloc and search for "Palmtreeproduction". You may also find nearby trails from other authors.

Google Earth: You may also view the trail in 3D by clicking "view in Google Earth" when on Wikiloc. You need to have Google Earth installed on your computer.

Images: Click the button at the end of the page to view the slides in full screen