I hope you rested well cause day 2 is a big day. There are two routes you can take today, the summer route over Prosllopit Pass, or the winter route which follows the road around. If you have good weather, I highly recommend going over Prosllopit Pass if you can. That’s the route that we took and what I have detailed below.
We started walking straight after breakfast at around 0800 and I would recommend that you do the same if you want to avoid the heat whilst climbing. The distance covered today may be shorter than average, however both the ascent and descent are very steep which slowed us down a bit.
After walking along the road for a few minutes, we got to the base of the pass and immediately began the climb up. Majority of the 1,330 meter ascent is in the next four kilometers making it an average gradient of between 15° and 22° so take it slow and don’t forget to look back and enjoy the view.
Once at the top of the pass you will be able to see incredible views ahead of Montenegro and even some of the track that you will be walking on the last two days. This is a great spot for a rest and some lunch where you can watch the shepherds as they herd their sheep through the valley. If you are feeling up to it, you can then leave your bags here and continue up to the summit. It’s another 415 meters up, but the view is arguably one of the best across the whole Peaks of the Balkans trek.
After another rest we began the slow decent down. It starts off gentle with a small dip in the pass. After a few minutes we passed Ledena Pecina, a really freaky ice cave. If you stand at the mouth, you will immediately feel the cool breeze coming out of it. For is this was a welcome escape from the 30-degree heat. We were short on time so didn’t explore the cave, however if you do, I recommend exercising caution. A shepherd later that day told us that due to the steep decent I the cave, many people get stuck in there and need rescuing.
Next comes the steep part of the decent, with bit of scrambling down the rocks. The path is well marked and as long as you take it slow, this is actually quite enjoyable as you descend into the Montenegro countryside. After walking through farmland for a few kilometers there is a lovely “café” where we stopped for a rest. They sell cool drinks but the women there also brews a lovely blueberry tea from wild blueberries collected from the countryside which we opted for.
From here there are only four kilometers left of relatively gentle descent until you reach Çerem. We stayed the night at Guesthouse Afrimi and were really impressed by the level of hospitality there. We had out own room and the food was amazing. We also finally met a couple of others who were also doing the Peaks of the Balkans trek, so it was great to hear from them what to look forward to in the coming days.