A new 2,000-kilometre trail through the Western Balkans opens in 2024, which will allow adventurous cyclists to pedal through eight Balkan countries, and get up close and personal to local life.
The Trans Dinarica trail, set to open in 2024, links eight Balkan countries – Slovenia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, Albania and Kosovo – and showcases the region’s natural diversity. Cyclists can expect to experience the rugged mountains of Montenegro and North Macedonia, the lush forests of Slovenia, the stunning coastlines of Albania and Croatia, the national parks of Kosovo, and the clear rivers of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Travellers will be aided by detailed information to help cyclists plan each stage of the trail with UNESCO sites, cultural stops, national parks and prime places to stop, as well as details on the accommodation and food services along the way.
The Trans Dinarica promises to bring cyclists a combination of adventure travel and culture, and hopes to spread a culture of sustainable tourism through the region, ensuring that rural and otherwise overlooked communities benefit from being on the trail. In fact, the Trans Dinarica is more than just a route; it aims to be a full-service route-development project; the team at GoodTrail, which is one of the main organisers of the trail, is involved in everything from onboarding local guesthouse owners to creating GPS data sets to connecting with cycling guides who know the roads well. The team is also working on signposts to mark the trail and help you navigate without your mobile phone.
Some gentle reminders if you plan to ride the trail: when it opens in 2024, it will be in beta stage, so you will be providing feedback to the GoodTrails team, who will use it to constantly refine the route. Expect some dirt routes and rough pavement along the way, so a sense of adventure is essential alongside big wheels on your bicycle. The circuits are winding in each country, and you will certainly not be able to do the 100 kilometres you would expect to cycle a day on a regular road, so plan accordingly.
Source : Femina
