Mirusha waterfalls, a canyon of stepped pools in central Kosovo

Kosovo has no coastline, so in summer people go looking for water wherever it is. Mirusha is probably the best-known natural spot in the middle of Kosovo, and with good reason. A small river that, at the end of its course, cuts into a canyon and drops in steps from pool to pool. That’s why it’s among my most beautiful places in Kosovo.

A monument with its own plan

What sets Mirusha apart is that an official document describes it in detail. The Institute for Spatial Planning, part of the Ministry of Environment, published the monument’s spatial plan in 2013. It records that the Government of Kosovo declared Mirusha a natural monument of special importance on 23 May 2012, covering 598.4 ha, and that it’s managed by Kosovo’s Environmental Protection Agency (AMMK), the same body that runs Gadime Cave.

The protection goes back further. In 1975 Rahovec and Klina municipalities declared it a special nature reserve of about 190 ha, and in the early 1980s they upgraded it to a regional nature park. Today the monument takes in land from three municipalities, Klina, Malisheva and Rahovec. The village it’s named after, Mirushë, belongs to Malisheva and had 691 people in 2024, according to ASK.

How many waterfalls are there?

Twelve waterfalls and sixteen pools, all within roughly 650 m, according to the plan. The pools fall into three groups. The upper ones, 1 to 8, start small and shallow. The middle ones, 9 to 12, sit deeper between rock walls. The lower ones, 13 to 16, are the biggest and most accessible.

The figures in the document are precise. The tallest drop, 21 m, falls between pools 8 and 9. The deepest pool is number 10, at 9 m. The longest is number 8, at 56 m. And the largest is the last, number 16, 55 by 45 m and over 5 m deep. The plan also picks out the 8 m fall between pools 15 and 16 as the most impressive, for the way the water drops straight down. That’s reason enough for me.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Prizren on Expedia and filter by area before price.

What you can realistically see

Here’s the important caveat. The 2013 plan admits there were no footpaths inside the monument and that, apart from the last pool and its waterfall, reaching the others was very difficult, almost impossible. I have no later official source saying that’s changed, so I’m passing it on as written. My plan would be the last pool, taken slowly, without trying to scramble up the canyon without experience or kit. Think of it less like a Yorkshire Dales walk with a path to every force and more like a gorge you admire from its mouth.

The document also mentions caves in the canyon walls and plant life that includes endemic species. I take that as a good reason to stay on the beaten track.

Getting there

According to the plan, the M9.1 national road between Klina and Gjakova runs along the monument’s western edge, with the Peja to Prizren railway beside it, and vehicle access down to the canyon was on unsurfaced tracks. There are no official bus timetables for the site, so I’d drive from Prizren or Peja, on the right, and do it as a day trip. For Kosovo’s other falls and caves, see caves and waterfalls in Kosovo.

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

Before you go

Ticks spread Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever in Kosovo, where British travel advice calls it endemic and places most cases around Malisheva, Mirushë’s own municipality. I’d wear long trousers and repellent and check myself afterwards, especially in summer. The same advice warns of wildfires from April to October. As for swimming in the pools, no official source regulates or recommends it, and with pools up to 9 m deep I’d be careful. Your GHIC won’t help here, so make sure your travel insurance is in order. More health advice is on healthcare in Kosovo.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Prizren on Booking.com and filter by area before price.