Kosovo's prettiest villages, one by one

Kosovo has 1,469 settlements, according to the Kosovo Agency of Statistics (ASK), and most of them hold little for a visitor. I’ve picked eight that do, using a simple test. Either a law or the culture ministry’s heritage database (DTK) recognises something there, or the village sits right in the mountains. Towns are covered separately in cities in Kosovo.

Velika Hoča, the village the law protects

If you see just one, see this. Passed on 20 February 2008, Law 03/L-039, which creates the Special Protective Zones, is mostly about monasteries and churches, with only a few secular sites. It also covers one entire village, Hoqë e Madhe, as the law spells it, with its own article, number 9, laying down the rules. It had 508 people at the 2024 census. It’s in Rahovec municipality, roughly between Prizren and Gjakova, so it fits any route through the west. The same law protects Zočište Monastery, also in Rahovec municipality, so the two make an easy half-day together.

Junik and its tower houses

Junik is both a village and a municipality, the smallest in the Gjakova region, with three settlements and 3,943 people. The DTK protects two of its kullas, the stone tower houses typical of the west, the Jah Imeri tower and the Brahim Hoxha tower. Junik is one of five municipalities inside the Bjeshkët e Nemuna National Park as defined by law, so the mountains rise straight behind the houses. What a kulla is, and where to see more, is in kullas in Kosovo.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Rugova before prices climb.

Bogë and Drelaj, up in Rugova

Driving up through Rugova from Peja you pass two small villages that belong to Peja municipality, Drelaj with 210 people and Bogë with 161. The park law places Drelaj inside its boundary. Bogë is linked with skiing, but there’s no official source on the ski area, so I can’t give you pistes or prices. For a bed in the mountains, see Rugova hotels and guesthouses.

Mamushë and Janjevo, two different stories

Mamushë (Mamuşa in Turkish) is a municipality made up of a single village of 5,607 people, where Turkish is an official municipal language. The DTK records the Mahmud Pasha clock tower there, from the 19th century. Janjevo, in Lipjan, has 1,407 people and no listed sites; I include it because it’s a short hop from Pristina and from Gadime Cave in the same municipality, and I only tell you what can be stated about it.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Rugova and choose by the reviews.

Korishë and Mushtisht, for the churches

The last two are for anyone following the trail of Orthodox churches. In Korishë, just outside Prizren, the law protects two Orthodox sites, St Mark’s Monastery and the hermitage of St Peter. In Mushtisht, in Suharekë, it protects the Hodegetria church and the monastery of the Holy Trinity. As with every monastery here, there are no official opening hours; what I know is in Kosovo monasteries.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Rugova before prices climb.