27 December 2010 - Brezovica is definitely a little rough around the edges, but it, nonetheless, offers amazing value-for-money skiing.
As you stare across the mountainsides around the Brezovica ski station, the immense potential of the place is all too obvious, even to the untrained eye.It will, undoubtedly, become a major skiing destination at some point in the future, but even today it is a great place to catch some, cheap ski action and revel in some après-ski fun.
The most important ski resort in Kosovo is the Brezovica Ski Centre, located in the far south of Kosovo, in the northwest part of the Shar Mountains, between Kosovo and Macedonia.
The resort covers altitudes between 900 and 2,500 metres and claims to have the best snow record in the Balkans.
A popular skiing destination in the former Yugoslavia, it was chosen as an alternative site for the Sarajevo Winter Olympics of 1984.Slopes for slalom and giant slalom have been officially registered by the Federation Internationale de Ski.
But the resort has seen little investment since the conflict of the late 90s and a series of privatization bids have been held up because of inter-ethnic politics.Brezovica and the surrounding municipality of Strpce are a Serb-majority area and attempts by the Pristina authorities to sell the resort have been blocked.
Skiers will find five chairlifts and five ski lifts, which are connected to 16 kilometres of slopes with an average length of 3,000 metres.
But a lack of investment means that just two chairlifts and one t-bar lift are actually working.But the pistes are wide, pleasant and varied and you can still enjoy some great skiing and this bargain basement resort.And if you can make it up on a sunny weekday, you will have the place virtually to yourself.
The resort boasts snow cover for almost 128 days per year, from December until the end of April, and offers good off-piste action.The seasons here tends to start a little later than other stations in the Balkans as extra snow is needed for the slightly rough slopes to be in good condition for skiing.
Ski passes cost from 10 euro for a one day pass to 400 euro for the whole season.The ski season is expected to start imminently with the arrival of heavy snow this week.Keep your eyes pealed on www.njeri.net or www.brezovica-ski.com or information.
And, if you want to check out the snow or whether the lifts are working, it is worth visiting the IPKO webcam at www.ipko.net Where to Eat, Drink and Rest Your HeadRestaurantPizzeria Tina Tel. +381 63 61 39/86, igor_nikolcevic@ yagoo.com.
A Brezovica institution, combining great food and extremely friendly staff. It offers a very wide selection of dough-based delicacies, with just about every imaginable topping, and excellent salads.
Soak up the sun at its pleasant outdoor area, which is usually buzzing on sunny days. It’s just a shame that the view is the concrete base of a ski lift.
The pizzeria is a great source of information and help to find flats or houses to rent in Brezovica. Signposted from the main road, up a steep and often treacherously slippery path. Open 09:00 - 24:00.
Hotels
The Mountain Motel Tel. +381 638 16 52 56/+381 638 57 68 41.
The best budget option in Brezovica offers small, modern, clean rooms and suites equipped with a kitchen.
The restaurant is one of the best in Brezovica, serving up typical, hearty mountain fare from the Strpce region, strong local brandy and some of the best vistas in the resort.
Don’t be put off by the owner’s curmudgeonly demeanour - Ivan is a very affable and helpful chap.Find it just beyond the chair lifts. 9 rooms (6 doubles 20 euro, 3 suites).
Woodlands Hotel Tel. +377 44 44 44 48/+386 49 44 44 48, info@woodlandhotel-ks.com, www.woodlandhotel- ks.com. The new Woodlands Hotel is by far the most comfortable and stylish option, although the prices are relatively steep.
All rooms include modern bathrooms, flatscreen televisions and comfortable beds; apartments have a jacuzzi and sleep up to four people. The hotel is just a few paces from the slopes.
Your bags are delivered to the rooms by snowmobile. The restaurant has more of the trendy urban feel than rustic mountain lodge and serves Balkan specialities as well some international dishes, a rarity in this part of Kosovo. 21 rooms (12 doubles 70 euro, 3 triples 90 euro, 4 quads 120 euro, 2 apartments 150 euro).BarFox Pub Tel. +377 44 98 08 36/+377 44 38 11 11.
This venue is by far the coolest place to hang out in Brezovica. With a selection of card games, Connect 4, snacks, decent cocktails and even a pet iguana, there’s not much missing for après-ski fun.
At the weekend it gets smoky and packed, as the young and cool listen to DJs or warble out karaoke numbers. It also serves the best macchiato in town. Next to Pizzeria Tina.
Open 08:00 - 02:00.These reviews are courtesy of the Prizren in Your Pocket guide, providing the best run-down of skiing in Brezovica. Released earlier this year, it is available online at www.prizren.inyourpocket.com, as a free PDF download and as an iPhone app too. Hard copies are on sale for 2 euro at Dukagjini bookstore, Dit e Nat, the airport and street kiosks. Companies, institutions and hotels can order complimentary copies for staff and visitors via prizren@inyourpocket.com.
Kosovo’s ‘Alternative’ Outdoor Sport Destination – Boge
Although it doesn’t offer quite as spectacular views as Kosovo’s main skiing destination, Brezovica, Boge has a friendlier feel and almost all its facilities are handily gathered around the ski lifts.
It also has a better range of accommodation close to the lifts, including two venues which offer beautiful log cabins, perfect for a weekend retreat with a group of friends.
A ski pass will set you back 10euro a day, giving you access to the village’s sole lift and around 1km of slopes, with three different paths.The options aren’t particularly varied or challenging for competent skiers, but it’s a great place for learners and those wanting to practice their rusty descent skills before braving the more difficult terrain at Brezovica.
The lift is open from 9am to 4pm every day.Good quality equipment can be hired at Rudi Group and lessons can also be organized from this outfit and a few others around the lift.The slopes also offer good sledging opportunities, although you have to negotiate the often crowded foot of the hill, which is usually swarming with people enjoying a barbeque, even in the freezing weather.
This area is lit up at night, so you can enjoy nocturnal sledging, if it takes your fancy.
The cabins offered by Rudi Group and Relax Rugova book up well in advance for weekends, so plan ahead.They offer great accommodation in fourto-six people cabins, which include small gardens, kitchens and living rooms. The Relax Rugova cabins are a couple of minutes drive from the village, whereas those of Rudi Group are a few feet from the ski slopes, in the middle of the village.
If you can’t secure a log cabin, the hotels are mostly basic but comfortable. Hotel Burri, for example, offers small but clean rooms for 25euro a night with good views across the valley, 24-hour electricity and shared bathrooms.The food at Burri is a bit hit-and-miss, although this is made up for by the cozy feel of the place. It’s an excellent venue for some warming glasses of Raki after a bracing day on the pistes.
The restaurant attached to the Rudi Group is right next to the ski centre and offers cheap, tasty food, and a healthy dose of mountain spirit.Boge is around a 45 minute drive from Peja, although travel times can vary widely depending on the weather.
The road which snakes through the Rugova Valley is often snowy at this time of year, but is pretty well asphalted and cleared regularly.Some 22km along the route from Peja you will reach a T-junction, with one road leading steeply up to the very pleasant summer resort of Guri i Kuq and the other to Boge.The road to Boge is unpaved and becomes very slippery at this time of year, so a fourby- four is recommended.
If you don’t have one, snow chains are a must, although some attempt the route in regular saloon cars. This invariable ends with numerous stops as the cars or minibuses become stuck in the snow.It’s worth trying to arrive early, as there are few passing places along the route and it gets very busy on good ski weekends.
Altitude of the resort -1,400mTotal number of lifts – 1
Kopaonik, Serbia
At just a two hours drive from Pristina, if you have the correct stamp, Kopaonik offers great skiing at decent pricesSerbia’s biggest ski resort, Kopaonik, offers tourists everything they could expect from a perfect skiing holiday.
A range of improvements have been made to the ski centre over the summer, including increased capacity of the lifts and the opening of two new pistes.The resort is surrounded by a beautiful national park and the area is renowned for its stunning Flora in Fauna, as well as its 200 days of sunshine which have earned it the nickname of the mountain of the sun.
You’ll be hoping however that most of the flora is underneath the snow and with around 160 days snow cover each year, you should be in luck.Kopaonik has been the top destination for Serbs for some time but since 2004, when the last landmines were removed, foreign tourists have returned too.
In the 70s and 80s this was a popular budget skiing destination and in the last few years has been trying to catch up with the foreign competition. The resort lacks nothing that its French or Italian counterparts – from the quality of the well groomed slopes to, these days, the fairly stiff prices.
Although your ski pass at 15 euro a day (10 euro for kids) compares favourably to the French Alps, where a day in Chamonix would cost you 40 euro (30 euro for kids), Serbia’s biggest ski centre is an expensive option because of the price and standard of accommodation.
If you don’t mind staying in an apartment or hotel room that looks exactly the same as it did in its 70s heyday and you are not the type of person that cares an awful lot about a dedicated service team, then there are certainly options in Kopaonik.There is a wide variety of hotels and apartments available for rent, at prices starting around 40 euro per night per person, but quality is often variable.
Take a recommendation from a friend or do some thorough research before accepting a budget deal.This season many European travel agencies have dropped Kopaonik from their skiing catalogue, so perhaps this will have freed up some space and you may just find a bargain.
One of the most popular destinations for locals remains the Grand Hotel, (036 71037), located just a few metres away from the beginning of one the main lifts up the slopes and with it’s own ski-rent facility and ski shop.
The hotel offers an indoor swimming pool (accessible to non-residents), jacuzzi, sauna and fitness centre.Prices start at about 40 euro per person per night in a shared room for 3 people, but will be much higher at peak times.
The resort will not impress experienced thrill-seekers but provides enough of a range to keep intermediate skiers and beginners happy.If you are in for adding a bit of excitement and still have the energy after a long day of skiing, then night skiing on the Malo Jezero slope will be just the right thing for you.
The slope is open between 7pm and 10pm and costs around 10 euro.One of the newer additions to the resort is the snowboard park where boarding fans can build their own jumps.
In a sign that Kopaonik is trying to become more ‘hip’, it has started hosting a snowboard and music festival staged by the organisers of the infamous EXIT festival.Ski rental is available widely and costs about 50 euro for a week or around 8 euro per day, with discounts available for children.
Mavrovo, Macedonia
It is just one hour’s drive from the capital, Skopje, on motorways and well maintained roads. Drive time from Prishtina is likely to be in the region of 3 hours.
The Zare Lazarevski ski centre in Mavrovo has been recently renovated, increasing the capacity of the ski lifts, and offers good quality accommodation and great views.
The ski trails start at 1960m and end some 700 metres or so down in the town.
The 5,000 metres of pistes provide opportunities for beginners and advanced skiers alike and a short section of the trails is lit up some evenings, making night-time skiing possible.Skiing is cheap with around 17 euro securing a day pass and 100 euro a weekly ticket.
Close to the slopes, the Hotels Bistra, (www.bistra.com) with 42 rooms, is a good option. It has a rustic feel and offers a restaurant, serving up hearty fare, a heated, indoor swimming pool, sauna and jacuzzi.
The same group also owns two other nearby hotels. The Hotel Makpetrol (+389 23146273) is a short walk from the pistes.The pick of the bunch if you are looking for luxury is the Hotel Radika (www.radika.com.mk).This five-star resort is about as trendy as you get and also offers a full-range of spa options to soothe your aching calves.
Rooms start at 39 euro a night (see advert).One downside of the station is it sits at just 1,250metres, meaning that the quality of the snow at low levels can sometimes be patchy. The ski season opens on December 18.
Popova Sapka, Macedonia
Popova Sapka is located in the northwestern part of Macedonia, and is one of the most popular winter ski resorts in the country.
It is situated in the beautiful Shar Mountain at 1,780 metres above sea level, just 35 kilometres from the capital Skopje. On average, Popova Sapka sees 135 days of snow.
The resort is a little more run down than its neighbour Mavrovo, but has a pleasant, friendlier feel to it.The view from Popova Sapka is superb and opens out towards the neighboring mountains Jakupica and Solunska Glava (2540m), and also towards the Polog valley.
The skiing village includes around 250 to 300 chalets to rent and a smattering of independent restaurants. Ski-schools and equipment hire can be arranged at hotels and in the village.Decent Italian food is served up at Casa Leone in the village, which has amazing views from its terrace.
The none too imaginatively named Hotel Popova Sapka (+389 44361020) is the biggest hotel in the resort with 140 rooms, but the Hotel Slavija, above the Popova Sapka hotel, is perhaps better appointed and has an indoor swimming pool. Rooms in both these hotels are around 20 euro per person per night.
The ski region’s website (www.popovasapka.mk) will be of no use unless you speak Macedonian and read Cyrillic but the site of the Mountain House Granit www.popovashapka13.com.mk, coincidentally a great value place to stay at 15.50 euro per person per night, has some resort information and also, curiously, pictures of all the other hotels in town.
At 11.50 euro a day, the ski passes are a bargain too.
Montenegro
Montenegro's ski resorts might not live up in size to some European destinations, but quantity and quality is not the same thing.
The rugged mountains of Montenegro conceal the deepest canyon in Europe, and they also hide away Moraca, and Kolasin.Kolasin, with its ski centre Jerzerine, is a small resort compared to developments in Switzerland, France or Austria but when you are standing on the top of the mountain, with the white powder snow stretching out below you, you will begin to ask yourself why you have not come here before.
The slopes are perhaps not the most demanding, but the stunning scenery will more than compensate for that.The really rather lovely Bianca Resort, (www.biancaresort.com), is the place to stay here but with prices over 100 euro per person per night for bed and breakfast in peak season, it's not a budget option.If you are up for an adventure and looking for more demanding slopes, make your way over to Zabljak in the Durmitor National Park.Zabljak has everything that you could wish for in a ski resort.
Located deep in a forest with 20 peaks looming up around it, and 18 fairytale crystal clear lakes nearby it is a truly breathtaking sight.The town sits at an altitude of 1456m and if you take yourself up to the top of the pistes at 2,313 then you can enjoy a whole 3.5km of 'black run' downhill skiing.
However, in what must be one of the frankest pieces of PR writing, the Visit-Montenegro website speaks of the appallingly low standard of provision for tourists.So perhaps you may not live in the lap of luxury in Zabljak (athough to be honest our opinion is more positive than the Visit Montenegro website), but the skiing and the scenery are unmatchable.The Montenegro resorts can be difficult to reach from Kosovo in the winter as the Rozaje pass is often closed.
If you have a Serbian stamp or passport, however, it is best to reach the centre passing through Zubin Potok and Serbia.
source: www.balkaninsight.com
