Rugova Canyon

The Rugova Gorge (Albanian Gryka / ë e Rugovës; Serbian Rugovska klisura / Руговска клисура ) is an approximately 25 km long gorge in the west of Kosovo. It is located west of the city of Peć in the Albanian Alps, near the Montenegrin border. The gorge is formed by the upper reaches of the PECKA Bistrica River, a tributary of the White drins.

Location and accessibility

Through the gorge is a road that leads on to Čakorpass and to Montenegro. However, the border is closed as a result of the Kosovo war in 1999 and blocked the road at the border. The reopening of the road link was planned for 2011 but not yet implemented in September 2013.

Tourism

The Rugova Gorge is one of the most famous tourist attractions of Kosovo. The planned reopening of the border to Montenegro would probably pull a tourist boom after themselves. As of August 2013, the Montenegrin side of the transition, however, is asphalted, impassable. At the end of the canyon, about three kilometers west of the city of Peć, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Patriarch Monastery Peć.