Dragash, the mountain corner where Kosovo runs out to the south

On the map of Kosovo, Dragash is the bit at the bottom, the wedge pushed in between Albania and North Macedonia. Hardly anyone puts it on a first trip, and I understand why, but if you’re based in Prizren for a few days and like the hills, it’s the municipality that changes the scenery most in the fewest miles.

A municipality that lives in the mountains

The census from ASK tells the story better than any description. The municipality had 28,896 people in the 2024 census, spread across 36 settlements. The main town, Dragash, had just 1,332. Ahead of it come Brodosanë (2,976), Restelica (2,630), Brod (1,536) and Kuk (1,442).

In other words, life here isn’t in the town that gives the municipality its name but in the mountain villages. The trend shows in the table too. Since 2011 the municipality has dropped from 33,997 to 28,896 residents, and Restelica has lost close to half of its own, while the main town has grown. I have no official source explaining why, so I won’t speculate.

The heritage with an official record

In the state heritage register, the DTK, Dragash has four entries, all of them Ottoman. The Kukli Bey mosque at Bresanë and the ruins of an open-air prayer site at Buzez date from the 16th century. The Mlikë mosque and a fulling mill at Bellobradë, a water-powered machine for working wool, are 19th century. None has published opening times, so I’d see them as stops on a drive rather than as ticketed visits.

The villages they stand in are small, which tells you the kind of visit to expect. Bellobradë had 989 residents in 2024, Buzez 371 and Mlikë 263, the last nearly three times its 2011 figure of 92. Bresanë doesn’t appear under that name in ASK’s settlement table, so I can’t give you its population. These are mountain villages with one old building each, not grand ensembles, and I’d treat them with the discretion you’d show walking into any place where people live their daily lives, the way you would in a Highland hamlet.

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Is it in Sharr National Park?

This is the most common mix-up, so it’s worth clearing up. Kosovo’s Environmental Protection Agency divides the 39,000 ha of Sharr National Park, under the 1986 law, among Prizren, Shtërpcë, Suhareka and Kaçanik. Dragash isn’t on that list. It shares the mountains and the landscape, but not the park’s protection or its management.

Before you go

OpenStreetMap draws the Albanian frontier along the edge of the municipality, and on that line the FCDO records old landmines and asks visitors to use main roads only. I’d take it seriously, all the more if you fancy striking out across country. To get here, drive, since I’ve seen no buses with official timetables. Travel insurance matters too, since your GHIC isn’t valid in Kosovo. For the wider area and the best base to explore from, see the Prizren region.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Prizren and pick one that fits your day.

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