Zla Kolata

The trail

Country: Montenegro
Area name: National Park Prokletije
Activity: MTB
Date of the ride: 21-Aug-2012
Length (km): 43.0
Elevation gain (m): 2320
Technical difficulty: ●●●●
GPS tracklog: download

Overview of mountain biking route:

MTB route Zla Kolata is located in National Park Prokletije and in eastern part of Montenegro near the border line between Montenegro and Albania. Due to tradition the official highest elevation point of Montenegro is Bobotov Kuk peak (Durmitor mountain) at 2522m. However in Montenegro at least 3 other peaks have higher elevation than Bobotov Kuk. The name of the peaks are Zla Kolata 2528m, Dobra Kolata (Kollata e Mirë) 2526m and Maja e Rosit 2524m. Zla Kolata peak (albanian: Kollata e Keqe) is at 2528m and this is the highest elevation point of Montenegro. According to some unconfirmed sources Zla Kolata peak is at elevation of 2534m. Check below gallery and my photos why I don’t agree. Zla Kolata is situated on Prokletije (Albanian Alps) mountain just at the border line between Montenegro and Albania. MTB trail starts from Ali Paša Springs in Gusinje at elevation of 930m. I left the bike at elevation of 1800m and hiked to Zla Kolata peak. The downhill ride was done starting from the elevation of 1800m. I visited Ropojan valley too.

Getting there:

Europe, Montenegro, Podgorica, Kolašin, Andrijevica, Gusinje, Ali Paša Springs.

Map of mountain biking route:

Description of MTB route:

The starting point of MTB route is the place named Ali Paša Springs near Gusinje village. From Ali Paša Springs proceed on the paved road to Gornje Vusanje village. At the junction turn left and proceed on the short paved section. The paved road turns into the rocky carriageway section that leads to the south east course. After few hundred meters the carriageway turns into the path. Due to steep ascent I hiked with the bike until reach the elevation of about 1800m. Than I left the bike and turned right from the path and hiked to the south course. After few hundred meters at the end of the plateau there is a labeled hiking path that leads to Zla Kolata peak. Pass near the cave and just before the saddle and border line keep left and proceed on the steep and exposed ascent to the saddle between Zla Kolata and Dobra Kolata (albanian: Kolata e Mirë). At the saddle there is a border line between Montenegro and Albania. From the saddle there are no labels to the peaks but it’s easy to find the way to each of them. From the saddle I visited the sight point of Valbona valley in Albania. I returned back on the same trail. The downhill ride was done starting from the elevation of 1800m. In Gornje Vusanje village I turned left and visited Ropojan valley. From Ropojan valley I rode back to Ali Paša Springs. For more details check above interactive Map and below Gallery & Notes of the route.

Elevation profile of MTB route:

Elevation profile of MTB route on Zla Kolata peak

Notes & references of MTB route:

Best time for MTB ride: summer or fall. Take the passport. Some sections of the trail is not labeled so GPS with uploaded route is a must. Take enough water for the hiking section. Good hiking shoes are needed to climb on Zla Kolata.

Why did I specify the elevation of 2528m for Zla Kolata?

As I mentioned before some unconfirmed sources specify the elevation of 2534m. This value is published on web on many different web sites including summitpost.org and wikipedia. As far as I know none officially confirmed this value. According to VGI Beograd source the elevation of Zla Kolata (Kollate e Keqe) peak is 2528m. Check the image of VGI TK25 map, the elevation label of this point is 2528m. I measured with 2 different GPS units (Oregon 550 & eTrex 30) and used waypoint averaging technique (minimum 5 minutes under the open sky, with and without EGNOS mode). In all cases my GPS units measured the values between 2527 & 2529m. For Dobra Kolata (albanian: Kolata e Mirë) I measured the values between 2525 & 2527m. VGI Beograd is very reliable and official source of former Yugoslavia so I don’t see any reason for 2534m value. At Zla Kolata peak I measured the elevation with Oregon 550 & eTrex 30 using waypoint averaging technique (minimum 5 minutes, with and without EGNOS).

Gallery of mountain biking route: