Where to stay in Gjakova, from Ottoman han to town hotel

Gjakova is one of those towns where your room can be part of the trip. I say that because here you can sleep in a former caravan inn or a stone kulla in the middle of the bazaar, rather than on a ring road next to a petrol station.

The beds, by the numbers

ASK, the statistics office, gives hotel capacity only by region. In 2025 the Gjakova region, which includes Deçan, Junik and Rahovec, had 34 establishments, 434 rooms and 828 beds. That is the lowest of the seven regions, as is its guest count, 13,776, of whom 10,635 came from abroad.

Divide its 27,042 overnight stays by those guests and you get an average stay of about two nights. The sum is mine, but it matches what I would do, one night for the town and one for day trips.

Sleeping in the Grand Bazaar

My first choice, without hesitation. The ministry’s DTK register names two historic buildings in the Gjakova Grand Bazaar that now work as hotels. Hani i Haraqisë, next to the Hadum Mosque, was the merchants’ great inn, with an old han and a newer one of 1901, and is now used as a hotel and for events. Çarshia e Jupave is an 18th-century three-storey kulla that burned in 1999 and was rebuilt; according to its record it has a café downstairs, a restaurant and meeting room on the first floor and traditional-style rooms above.

I cannot give you prices or grades, because there is no public official register of them. What I will say is that in a small, little-visited town, sleeping in the bazaar makes all the difference.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Gjakova for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.

What to expect from a han

The record for Hani i Haraqisë helps you picture where you will sleep. The old han, on the west side, has two floors, stone below and fired brick above, with a covered gallery, the hajat, running the length of the building; the new one, from 1901, is to the east. For centuries merchants slept and ate upstairs and left their animals in the courtyard. Do not expect a chain hotel; expect thick walls, timber and a courtyard, which is exactly what I would come for.

Other areas

If you prefer a standard hotel, the modern centre is a few minutes’ walk from the bazaar. And if you are driving and planning an early start for Visoki Dečani Monastery, somewhere on the north side, towards Peja, may suit you better so you do not cross town. In that case, ask about parking before you book.

So you do not lose the morning at the ticket office, browse tickets and tours in Gjakova on GetYourGuide.

When to book

I found no official monthly occupancy data. With so few beds, I would book as soon as I had dates, especially for summer. To compare with Peja, Prizren or Pristina, see where to stay in Kosovo, and if you have a spare day, the Gjakova region page tells you what to do with it.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Gjakova for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.