Burrel Travel Guide

Our AA map of Europe showed a lake near Burrel, and when we realised Burrel was our destination, we thought, "at least we can stop and have a swim". However, being so traumatised after surviving the mountain dirt track from Kruje, getting as far away from those hateful mountains was our priority no.1.

The only way to travel in, to or around Burrel is in the driving seat of a Land Rover Defender 110 Hard Top. Make the mistake of travelling in anything else and you'll propably end up travelling on a pale horse at some point in the very near future. The LR is essential as is where you sit. If you make the mistake of sitting in the passenger seat, bring a supply of immodium and plenty of Prozac, as those mountain "roads" (i.e:mud tracks and sheep trails) and the sheer drops to certain death barely an inch from your wheels can be quite frightening.

Oh dear. Ha ha ha. Well, where do I start? The Kanun of Lek Dukagjini, the law of the mountains, as featured in Ismail Kadare's novel "Broken April". Primarily, I must warn those not familiar with Kanun law that if you walk into the courtyard of a house without calling the owner by name 3 times, under Kanun law he will burn your vinyards to ashes, requisition your beehives and your family will be dishonoured for seven generations. Also, it pays to remember that "a woman is a sack, made to endure".

If you survive the trip to Burrel you are doing well. If you survive the trip home you are really pushing your luck. The "roads" are so so horrific! It's just not believable unless you visit, and its really not worth going on the Kruje-Burrel mountain road just to see how easy it can be to die.

Probably the only tourist traps in the Burrel area are the fields of unexploded ordinance (i.e: land mines).