Waterfalls & a Hippie Van: the perfect day trip from Pristina, Kosovo
I've always wanted to ride one of those old Volkswagen hippie vans: I actually have this dream of driving one coast to coast in the United States, but that will have to wait...
Anyway: I was looking for information on what to do in Kosovo, and I stumbled across Buffalo Backpackers hostel website, which offers day trips on - guess what!- a Volkswagen van!
READ ALSO: 8 Epic Road Trips in the Balkans
No need to read further, I was sold.
Public transportation in Kosovo is limited: unless you rent a car or join an organized tour, moving around will prove difficult unless you stick to the main towns, hence my joy for these day trips.
The Buffalo Backpackers day trips are only open to hostel guests, so my friend and I booked a night at the hostel.
I must admit I've become a bit pickier about my accommodation lately, and I usually try and stay in private rooms when it's affordable enough, but the hostel was perfectly fine for the night... AND I WAS GOING TO RIDE THE HIPPIE VAN!
We left in the morning after breakfast, with no rush: nope, you don't have to wake up at some crazy times like it's usual for organized tours, and that's a big plus.
It was the two of us, plus another two english girls, Klarrisa, a girl volunteering at the hostel, and Xili, our driver for the day.
Xili is the Kosovarian half of the couple who runs the hostel, and proved to be a great guide for the day. Got any questions about the complicated history of Kosovo?
Just ask, he will happily answer.
THE DRINI WATERFALL
First stop: food! I mean, we gotta be ready for our hike to the waterfalls, right?
And not in any place, but in a really cute restaurant right by the river called "Ujvara e Drinit".
After all that meat I had in the Balkans, it was nice to switch to fish for once... and the prices?
Kosovo must be the cheapest country in all of Europe.
A dish with grilled fish plus veggies for 5 euros? YES, PLEASE!
From there, it was just a 5-minute walk to the waterfalls: a really nice walk, I must say, and I really appreciated being able to get away from the August heat for a while.
PIN IT!
The waterfall was nice, but there were quite a few other tourists around.
It was not a hidden gem like the ones we were going to next: the Mirusha waterfalls.
We stepped on the van again, and we drove for a while in direction of Peje.
At one point the road ended, and it was a few kilometers on a dirty tight road: we were literally snaking in the middle of nowhere, surrounded only by cows, yellow fields, and the occasional farmer who would look at us clearly thinking "what the heck are they doing here?".
Almost an hour of stop and go and tight turns we finally arrived.
THE MIRUSHA WATERFALLS
A crystal clear water running past few levels to be then poured into a calm lake down below.
Around us, the vegetation was fully green, and a calm blue sky seemed to have just landed upon our heads.
I really felt like I could spend the rest of the day lying down like them, watching the water falls as the time is passing by.
But we were just at the beginning of a long way up the rocks, because our guide invited us to climb the rocks to go beyond the waterfall.
The 20 minutes ascent was quite a complicated one for me: there was no way to avoid looking at the emptiness down below.
... okay okay, I'll admit it: I was terrified.
I'm afraid of heights and to put it bluntly, I was scared for my life a couple of time.
I kept thinking "OH MY GOD, I'm going to fall down and die".
But, ahem, that was just me! Everyone else was really enjoying the hike, so I guess I'm a chicken... [blush].
[dropshadowbox align="none" effect="raised" width="600px" height="" background_color="#ffffff" border_width="1" border_color="#dddddd" inside_shadow="false" ]- The Info Box -
Buffalo Backpackers hostel is conveniently located in Pristina, Kosovo.
A bed in a 6 bed dorm costs €12 , including breakfast.
Book through HostelBookers.
The day trips are only open to the hostel guests.
Rates for the day trips are usually between 10 and 20 €, depending on the lenght and the distance. Our trip to the waterfall was €15 per person.[/dropshadowbox]
I didn't get compensated in any way for this review: I was just a normal paying guest at the hostel, and I loved the trip!
looks a perfect day. There is something magic about a VW camper. Would love to see more of Kosovo, just did a (very long) day trip once from Tirana. I haven't added Kosovo as a country visited yet until it is part of UN - did you feel you were in Kosovo, Albania or Serbia? It felt like an extension to Albania when I visited. Wilbur.
Hi Wilbur, sorry for the late reply! It did feel like an extension of Albania most of the times, people call themselves Albanians, not Kosovars.
But it was interesting to visit Gracanica, right outside of Pristina, which is a Serbian enclave where people speak Serbian indeed and use the Serbian currency, not the euro!
We've been searching for activities in Kosovo and the Mirusha falls is something that keeps popping up.
Did you get driven there, or was it just use of the van?
Hi Chris, it was a complete tour so the hostel owner was driving the van.