Shtegu i Ngjyrave (‘The Colour Trail’) is the passage made from Novoseja or Shishtaveci to the village of Grykë Caje, part of the municipality under the same name. Shtegu i Ngjyrave (‘The Color Trail’) is part of the High Scardus Trail, a trail that crosses the border of three countries, Kosovo, Albania and Macedonia, and extends up to 495km. Scardus stands for the Latin name of the trail, which means ‘multicoloured’, due to the fact that along the path you pass through the largest Alpine Pastures in South-Eastern Europe, in which during the spring you can find a variety of flowers. The most special flower that you can encounter during the passage through this trail, is the Albanian Lily (Lilium albanicium), an endemic endangered plant, which is classified as threatened.
Along the trail you can climb Kallabak Mountain at 2174m above sea level, due to the fact that the trail to Gryke-Caja passes just below its peak.
Through the path you can see the Sharri Mountains that stretch from Kosovo to Macedonia, Gjallica, Koritnik, Korabi, as well as the largest Alpine Pastures of South-Eastern Europe, part of which is the trail of passage to go to Gryke-Caje village. From the slopes of these pastures, at the end of the valley, flows Reka e Cajes River. You can choose to follow the path along the ridge that leads to Grykë-Caje village or go down to the valley and follow the Reka River flow up to the Grykë-Caje village.
“Shtegu i Ngjyrave” starts at the place called “Stani i Hoxha” (‘Imam’s Stall) at 1350m above sea level, along the road that leads to Novoseja. After 2 km walk, along the trail is Novoseje Lake at 1500m above sea level. Novoseja Lake is an artificial lake, 400 meters long and 200 meters wide, and is surrounded on three sides by a forest occupied mostly by pines. The trail persists for 5 km to near the top of Kallabak at an altitude of 2174m. The trail, along all this part of the climb, passes through an easily accessible terrain, amidst the alpine pastures. The most stunning part of the trail, which is also part of the High Scardus Trail, is the part from “Maja e Kallabakut” (‘Kallabaku Peak’) to the Grykë-Caje village. This whole part of the trail is 9 km long to the Grykë-Caje village and passes through the Alpine Pastures located on the Albanian territory. The panorama on the other side of the valley, with endless Alpine Pastures, confirms the status of these pastures, as the largest Alpine Pastures in Southeastern Europe.
The path starts in the Novosej village centre, 28 km away from the Kukës city centre, or to “Stani i Hoxhës” at 1350m, which is the most convenient and shortest path. The road is paved and can be done by any type of vehicle.
This passage has 900m interchange and a total of 17km, whether you start the climb at “Stani i Hoxhës”, and at 700m interchange and approximately 21 km whether you the path starts from the Novoseja village centre. The time required to cover this distance is about 7-8 hours.
The path is in good condition and accessible without any issues along its entire distance itinerary and is considered a path of medium difficulty level. Due care must be considered during the winter period because the last part of the ridge to the top, can be frozen, and the descent part of the slope makes climbing highly dangerous, especially for those people who do not have the right equipment for climbing in conditions such, or and have no previous experience of climbing on icy or frosty terrain.
Due to the difference in level and distance that should be covered, this guide is suitable to all those who are in a good shape and fit or to those who regularly practice sports activity during the week.
