Valbonë - Dobra Kolata / Kollata e Mirë

Access to the starting point:
The Valbonë Valley is located in the harder to reach north-eastern part of Albania, and is best reached from the west by a long, several-hour drive on a very winding and sometimes bad road from Skadar via Pukë and Bajram Curri. Part of the journey can be made by ferry on Lake Komani (in this case, do not go via Pukë).

In the Valbonë valley there is a place of the same name. The starting point for the climb is at the first left turn in Valbonë. At this turn the valley opens up nicely, you see a huge torrential gravel pit and quite a few houses. On the bend, to the right of the road, there is a concrete bridge. There is a large wooden sign by the bridge marking the start of the route. Park in the small parking lot by the bend.

Path description:
Cross the bridge over the river, turn left after the bridge and after 1 minute (approx. 50 m) turn right up between the boulders (marked, clearly visible). Then follow the markings over the partly vegetated, steeper and steeper slope, some way north. After 2:00 of steep ascent, reach the view balcony (approx. 1500 m).

From there it is still a few minutes to the fork in the trail. At the fork (which is no longer marked! the steel cable is still visible), take the right path (the left one leads to the lookout above Valbona), which takes you past the abandoned mountain pasture, through the forest, and then over a steep unploughed slope to the second abandoned mountain pasture (ca 1800 m). 1:15 to get here.

A flatter part of the route follows, following several steps of the glacial valley, covering only a good 200 m of altitude, but a considerable distance. After some 1:15 we reach the Preslopit saddle (2039 m).

The saddle lies on the Albania-Montenegro border. Here we join the trail from Montenegro. The turn-off to the summit is not well marked.

It is a steep 1:30 walk to the summit. The trail is on the Montenegrin side. The markings therefore change to the familiar shape (red circle with white dot; or just a red line). From the saddle, descend a few metres on the Montenegrin side, then head right upwards. For the first time we see the Dobra Kolata peak. The path leads over the steel cables gently to the left into the summit. We continue zig-zagging gracefully over the passes in the Dobra Kolata slope to the Double Prevoj saddle (the saddle between Dobro and Zla Kolata). From there it is only about 15 minutes of pleasant ridge walking to the summit.

Climbs are also possible to the neighbouring Zla Kolata and the slightly more distant Ravna Kolata. Only the ascent to Dobra Kolata is marked.
The route to Dobra Kolata is not technically demanding. It is a long hike, however, with no significant intermediate water sources. The forks of the trail at the junctions are not visibly marked. The marking method is changed three times. All of the above makes the tour suitable for a well-trained mountaineer with a good knowledge of orienteering.

On the way: sedlo Preslopit / Qafa e Përsllopit (2039m), sedlo Dvojni prevoj / Qafa e Kollates (2430m)

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