Logu i Bjeshkeve

Logu i Bjeshkeve, the highland gathering, is held each August at Lepushe in the Kelmend region in the far north of Albania near the Montenegrin border, and it began in the 1990s as a revival of older summer gatherings in the mountain pastures. It runs over a weekend with traditional dress, lahuta and polyphonic singing, dancing, wrestling and shepherd competitions, food from the surrounding villages, and a contest to choose a Miss of the Mountains, which is the part that gets reported and which is treated locally as a straightforward part of the day. It draws people from across the northern highlands and from the diaspora. The setting is alpine pasture at around a thousand metres with the peaks of the Prokletije around.

What you actually see

• Highland traditional dress - worn by participants across the gathering.
• Lahuta and polyphonic singing - the northern musical traditions performed.
• Shepherd and wrestling competitions - the contests of the day.
• Alpine pasture setting - the meadows below the Prokletije peaks.

When to go

Early August, on a weekend that shifts each year, so confirm the date locally. A day, better overnight since the roads are long. Accommodation in Lepushe and Vermosh is very limited and books out.

Honest expectations

The date moves and is announced late. Accommodation in the valley is a handful of guesthouses that fill immediately. The mountain roads are long and rough. It is a local gathering, not a tourist event, and the crowd is largely Albanian.

Nearby

Vermosh is north; Theth and Valbona lie south-east over the mountains.