Gjakova Activities: Bazaar, Hikes and Festivals
Start in the Bazaar
Gjakova rewards slow wandering. Its Old Bazaar stretches for about 1 km and counts around 500 shops, one of the longest and oldest in Kosovo. After fire destroyed about 430 buildings in 1999, the whole quarter was rebuilt from the 2000s onward. The old trades survive in its lanes: felt caps called qeleshe, silver filigree, cradles, tailoring, leatherwork and gunsmithing. Pause at an open workshop door, watch for a few minutes and ask permission before taking pictures.
Eat and Drink
- Ku Zine, Sylejman Hadum Aga Street 51: samun filled with suxhuk sausage, from about 1 EUR.
- Ambient (no. 40) and Old Barrel: coffee and drinks on the same pedestrian street.
- Hani i Haraçisë: a 16th-century inn with a wing added in 1901, a museum and restaurant since 1984. Order tavë Gjakovare in the courtyard or the upstairs room. Mains cost about 5 to 10 EUR.
On the Trails
Pashtrik rises to roughly 1,987 m along the Albanian frontier. The local hiking club, SHBA Pashtriku (Sylejman Hadum Aga Street 101), welcomes visitors on its open Sunday hikes for about 2 to 7 EUR. Cyclists can join a mountain-bike day to Pashtrik and Kunora Peak of about 6 hours, starting at the Superbike shop on Ismail Qemali Street; confirm the meeting point first.
Remoter parts of Kosovo still contain landmines and unexploded ordnance. Keep to marked paths, take a local guide onto the ridges and do not cross the Albanian border away from a border post.
Wine
Two cellars are open to visitors. Risons Wine & Distillery sits in Qerim, on the road from Pristina, and takes tasting bookings. In Rahovec, Stone Castle is Kosovo’s biggest winery and welcomes anyone to its tasting room. More details are on the Stone Castle site .
The Calendar
| When | What |
|---|---|
| March | Gjakova Film Festival (short films); Sultan Nevruz on 22 March at the tekkes, a religious observance rather than a show |
| July and August | Days of the Albanian Festival, free, on weekends |
| Early to mid August | Fshajt Bridge diving contest on a Sunday, watched from the banks |
| September | Komedia Fest in the bazaar; Gjakova Trail Run, about 15 to 25 EUR, in the second half |
The Fshajt contest began in 1954, stopped in 1998 and 1999 when the bridge was damaged, and returned in 2014. Divers leap 22 m into the White Drin, 11 km east of town. Spectators gather free of charge on the banks.
Planning Notes
Gjakova lies in south-west Kosovo, far from the north, where governments advise extra caution; check your government’s advice before you travel. The airport at Gjakova is a Kosovo Security Force base without passenger flights, so land at Pristina and ride the bus, which takes 1 h 15 to 1 h 30. Everything is priced in euros.
Read more: sightseeing in Gjakova for the mosques, tekkes and bridges.
Official advice is on the UK government Kosovo page , further venue listings are on Wikivoyage , and local tours are sold on Viator .