From the Bovilla Reservoir to Gamtit

The unpaved road is easy to follow for a few more switchbacks until a flat gravel surface of darker material appears on the right. This is where we begin our hike. The steep rock face of Gamtit already towers above us, from here the mountain looks almost impregnable. At first we still follow the gravel road (although we can shorten it a little here and there) until we come to some fences and a T-junction. Now keep to the left and walk along relatively level ground above a beautiful vegetable garden. The track runs off and ends at the terraced olive grove below the rock face. Here we bear north and work our way pathlessly up the slope between the trees - turning regularly to enjoy the view over the lake!

Further up, small paths become increasingly visible, it is best to simply follow one, most of them unite to form a shepherd's path that leads into the increasingly dense vegetation. From here on, the most strenuous part of the ascent begins: you have to fight your way through the increasingly overgrown vegetation, sometimes considerably, and in addition, goat paths branch off to the left and right again and again and the right path is not always recognisable. The only thing that helps here is trial and error and not losing courage. For the most part, the trail continues at the same altitude (approx. 650 metres) in an almost straight line to the north. Relatively surprisingly, at some point we come to the edge of a considerable (albeit overgrown) rock step. We follow the edge a little further north until the path leads up the slope to the left.

Now it becomes increasingly steeper. At first through dense vegetation, then over a small scree field and up a steep, sometimes somewhat slippery gully. The path here is relatively clearly recognisable, but a GPS device helps immensely. Here and there you can even make out old markings (red and white), which you can trust. After an arduous half hour, we reach a slope overgrown with waist-high farms, which is very pretty to look at, but makes it virtually impossible to recognise the way ahead. Here, just optimistically follow the path, which is still easy to recognise at first, and roughly keep to the right upwards - you can actually find your way back to the path quite reliably in the upper part. The last hundred metres of altitude are again between bushes and trees on a now much more recognisable path up to the ridge.

Once you reach the top, you can enjoy the view from the top.

On reaching the top, we enjoy the first views and the now clearly thinner vegetation. Further progress is no longer a problem: on the left, the ridge runs more or less straight up to the summit. We follow the path to the flat, vegetation-free summit and enjoy magnificent views over Lake Bovilla, the surrounding hills, the plain and Tirana, as well as the Adriatic coast and Durres on clear days. 

On the descent we follow the same path.