Top of Albania (Tomorri) and Gjerbes Loop
Fotos de la ruta
Autor
Estadístiques de la ruta
- Distància
- 73,69 km
- Desnivell positiu
- 2.897 m
- Dificultat tècnica
- Moderat
- Desnivell negatiu
- 2.887 m
- Altitud màxima
- 2.386 m
- TrailRank
-
69
4,9
- Altitud mínima
- 278 m
- Tipus de ruta
- Només anada
- Temps
- un dia 3 minuts
- Coordenades
- 1546
- Data de pujada
- 15 de juliol de 2014
- Data de realització
- de juliol 2014
a prop de Pronovik, Berat (Albania)
Vista 28366 vegades, descarregada 1079 vegades
Fotos de la ruta
Descripció de l'itinerari
This 4WD tour leads to the highest point in Albania that you can reach by car - 2379 meters high. It is not even very difficult, and is done by hundreds of cars every year especially around the Bektashi feast of Abbas Aliu.
For the Bektashi the Tomorri mountain is a place of pilgrimage, they call it Baba Tomorr. On the lower south summit is the mausoleum of Abbas Aliu, raised in 1620. A sign on the outer walls of the mausoleum quotes the poet Naim Bey Frashëri (1846-1900):
Abaz Aliu zu Tomorë / Erdhi afër nesh / Shqipërija s'mbet e gjorë / Se Zoti desh. (Abbas Ali captured Tomor / came close to us / Albania didn't stay poor / so God willed it)
Abbas Aliu Tomorri is said to have traveled to Albania on his horse from Karbala. According to history, he died at the battle of Karbala in 680 AD and wanted to be buried here. Karbala lies in the present-day Iraq and is one of the sacred places for Shi’ites worldwide. Abbas Ali was a half-brother of Husayn, the grandson of the Prophet Mohmed. Similar to Shi’ites, the Bektashis admire Ali, the son-in-law of Mohammed who died in 661. Abbas Aliu is believed to have stayed five days at Mount Tomorri before he went to stay on Mount Olympus.
The Bektashi require to celebrate the 20-25th August, a multi-day festival on the Tomorri, which is usually attended by some thousands of pilgrims. See also https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tarikati-bektashi/476262345731676.
On the Kulmake pass, between the south summit and the Mali i Kulmakes, is a also a Tekke.
There is a guesthouse on Kulmake pass, and its grounds are getting bigger every year. It is possible to stay the night; there are eight bunk beds and communal bathroom and kitchen facilities. We are not sure about the rules for staying; there are no fixed rates, as this is a place of pilgrimage, and one is encouraged to give to the best of one's abilities. We slept well there. During the celebration of Abbas Aliu, many tents are set up.
The road from the guesthouse to the summit is 7 kilometer long, climbs 800 meter and takes about half an hour one way. It is in good condition, but has tight switchbacks.
For those inclined to decry the construction of roads to outstanding summits, just consider that roads, even asphalt roads, are routinely built to high summits - such as Mount Washington and Mount Evans in the USA. Mountains do not belong to hikers and climbers only, and we find it ok that opportunities exist for everyone to enjoy the views from a high summit.
In the case of the south summit of Tomorri, the primary purpose of the road is to give access to a place considered holy by the Bektashi faithful. For the mountaineers among us, the main summit of Tomorri is a little higher, almost 10 kilometers to the North - see wikiloc #3293303.
Our trail, before reaching the guesthouse, has a short excursion to the trailhead of Maja e Kulmakes, a summit which we climbed the next day. The shown length of the 4WD trip includes an overnight at the guesthouse and the climb to the top of Kulmake (see separate trail).
Having been to the southern top of Tomorri, we continued the road to Gjerbes and around Mali i Kulmakes to Corovode. The trail is not very difficult, but fairly long. It offers great views down the valley of the Tomorri River, and across to Gramsh. The roundtrip, including the trip to the mountain top, is certainly one of the highlights for the 4WD enthusiast in Albania.
For the Bektashi the Tomorri mountain is a place of pilgrimage, they call it Baba Tomorr. On the lower south summit is the mausoleum of Abbas Aliu, raised in 1620. A sign on the outer walls of the mausoleum quotes the poet Naim Bey Frashëri (1846-1900):
Abaz Aliu zu Tomorë / Erdhi afër nesh / Shqipërija s'mbet e gjorë / Se Zoti desh. (Abbas Ali captured Tomor / came close to us / Albania didn't stay poor / so God willed it)
Abbas Aliu Tomorri is said to have traveled to Albania on his horse from Karbala. According to history, he died at the battle of Karbala in 680 AD and wanted to be buried here. Karbala lies in the present-day Iraq and is one of the sacred places for Shi’ites worldwide. Abbas Ali was a half-brother of Husayn, the grandson of the Prophet Mohmed. Similar to Shi’ites, the Bektashis admire Ali, the son-in-law of Mohammed who died in 661. Abbas Aliu is believed to have stayed five days at Mount Tomorri before he went to stay on Mount Olympus.
The Bektashi require to celebrate the 20-25th August, a multi-day festival on the Tomorri, which is usually attended by some thousands of pilgrims. See also https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tarikati-bektashi/476262345731676.
On the Kulmake pass, between the south summit and the Mali i Kulmakes, is a also a Tekke.
There is a guesthouse on Kulmake pass, and its grounds are getting bigger every year. It is possible to stay the night; there are eight bunk beds and communal bathroom and kitchen facilities. We are not sure about the rules for staying; there are no fixed rates, as this is a place of pilgrimage, and one is encouraged to give to the best of one's abilities. We slept well there. During the celebration of Abbas Aliu, many tents are set up.
The road from the guesthouse to the summit is 7 kilometer long, climbs 800 meter and takes about half an hour one way. It is in good condition, but has tight switchbacks.
For those inclined to decry the construction of roads to outstanding summits, just consider that roads, even asphalt roads, are routinely built to high summits - such as Mount Washington and Mount Evans in the USA. Mountains do not belong to hikers and climbers only, and we find it ok that opportunities exist for everyone to enjoy the views from a high summit.
In the case of the south summit of Tomorri, the primary purpose of the road is to give access to a place considered holy by the Bektashi faithful. For the mountaineers among us, the main summit of Tomorri is a little higher, almost 10 kilometers to the North - see wikiloc #3293303.
Our trail, before reaching the guesthouse, has a short excursion to the trailhead of Maja e Kulmakes, a summit which we climbed the next day. The shown length of the 4WD trip includes an overnight at the guesthouse and the climb to the top of Kulmake (see separate trail).
Having been to the southern top of Tomorri, we continued the road to Gjerbes and around Mali i Kulmakes to Corovode. The trail is not very difficult, but fairly long. It offers great views down the valley of the Tomorri River, and across to Gramsh. The roundtrip, including the trip to the mountain top, is certainly one of the highlights for the 4WD enthusiast in Albania.
Punts d'interès
Intersecció
277 m
01-Fork
12-JUL-14 16:58:31
Riu
1.277 m
04-Ford
13-JUL-14 7:27:19
Punt d'interès
1.359 m
05-Trailhead Kulmake
13-JUL-14 14:10:19
Intersecció
1.493 m
06-Fork to Bektashi Shrine
13-JUL-14 14:27:58
Refugi de muntanya
Cim
Intersecció
1.047 m
11-Fork
13-JUL-14 14:58:24
Mina
Pas de muntanya
Pont
Punt d'interès
282 m
16-Corovode
16-Corovode
Comentaris (6)
Si vols, pots fer un comentari o valorar aquesta ruta.
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A lot of dedication was necessary to build this road making use of the extensive quarry road system. It cannot be missed and has no technical difficulties. Just the distance involved for the entire loop is considerable, as this is really remote "hinterland".
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I recommend this trip. Road is not difficult. It is able to m make it by every 4x4 car. Views are really amazing, especially from the top - Abbas Aliu mausoleum.
The "guesthouse" is muslim pilgrimage house. It is possible to say the night. Do not expect luxury conditions. There are bunk beds, kitchen, toilet and shower. People in guesthouse doesn't speak in any foreign language but are very hospitable. There is no price list. We paid 1000 lek for night and delicious cofee for all family.
Polecam ten track. Droga nie jest trudna i można ją zrobić każdym autem z napędem 4x4. Widoki spod mauzoleum Abbas Aliu są niesamowite. Na drodze na szczyt można zatrzymać się na noc w muzułmańskim domu pielgrzyma - niesamowity klimat. Warunki bardzo skromne - piętrowe prycze, łazienka, wc, dostęp do kuchni. Ludzie nie mówią w obcych językach, ale są abrdzo gościnni. Cena "co łaska" my zostawiliśmy 1000 lek za całą rodzinę.
More then half of this trail is tarmac. The only little difficult was last aprox. 5 km to the peak. We did it with slighly modified 2WD
YEs, I can see on google earth that the road is now tarmac up to the Bora water plant. The road network is Albania is constantly upgraded and has improved much over the past years - naturally reducing offroad potential but good for the people of Albania.
We did this route only to the top and back in a 4x4. The start is a little off road and half way it gets to asphalt.
Later on it gets stone again. At the top were 2 sedans so it's doable.
The road tot he top is also on Google maps (2024)
Thank you for sharing the trip!
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Nice