Seven Serpents Illyrian Loop

The Illyrian Loop is the Albanian chapter of Seven Serpents, the series Italian ultra-distance rider Bruno Ferraro set up in 2021 after racing Badlands, the Transcontinental and TransIberica, because he felt the off-road scene needed more demanding events. The series rules apply in full: the clock never stops, there is no outside help or private resupply, and riders live off village shops and cafés. The organisers ask riders to leave no trace, stay humble and, in their own words, use their brain before their heart or their legs.

The loop explores the north of the country. It climbs from Shkodër into the Albanian Alps towards Theth, where a stone church sits below sheer limestone walls, drops back towards Drisht and the Vau i Dejës reservoir on the Drin, and spends a long stretch around Koman Lake, whose steep green slopes rise straight from the water. Further east it reaches the old town of Peshkopi in Dibër and passes the lake at Qafë Mollës before turning back towards Shkodër.

This is not one for beginners: the organisers recommend wide tyres, very low gears and possibly a suspension fork. Previous editions ran in late summer, so the move to April brings a different mountain season, with cooler days and the high country only just waking up.