Kosovo's seven regions, explained

Kosovo’s regions aren’t counties with a council and a county town. They’re seven groups of municipalities that the Kosovo Agency of Statistics (ASK) uses to count overnight guests, beds and overnight stays. Even so, they’re a handy way for a traveller to carve up the map, and that’s how I use them. The split of municipalities comes from OpenStreetMap, because ASK doesn’t publish it.

Pristina, the most populous

Eight municipalities and 511,307 people at the 2024 census, including the capital, Fushë Kosovë and Podujeva. No region drew more overnight guests in 2025 than its 261,110, of whom 184,937 came from abroad, and it has 6,206 beds. This is where you’ll find Gračanica Monastery, medieval Novo Brdo, Gadime Cave and Pristina’s old bazaar. All of it is in the Pristina region guide.

Prizren and Peja, the west I like best

The Prizren region has five municipalities and 271,386 people, with the town of Prizren, the Sharr Mountains, Mamushë and the Mirusha Waterfalls. Peja is the smallest in municipalities, just three (Pejë, Istog and Klinë), yet it had the most overnight stays in 2025, 607,127. It holds the Patriarchate of Peć, the Rugova Canyon and much of Bjeshkët e Nemuna National Park. These two are my recommended bases; Prizren is covered in the Prizren region guide.

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

Gjakova, the least visited

With four municipalities (Gjakovë, Deçan, Junik and Rahovec) and 152,216 people, it logged just 13,776 overnight guests in 2025, the lowest of the seven. That seems unfair to me, because it has Gjakova’s Grand Bazaar, Visoki Dečani Monastery, the kullas of Junik and the protected village of Velika Hoča. If you have a spare day in the west, spend it here.

Mitrovica, Ferizaj and Gjilan

The Mitrovica region has seven municipalities, among them the four northern ones for which ASK gives an estimate alongside the census figure; counting that estimate, the region reaches 190,591. In those four, gov.uk warns that protests can occur. Ferizaj, with five municipalities, includes Brezovica and the Shtërpcë and Kaçanik slopes of the Sharr range. Gjilan, in the east, with six, has the longest average stay, 155,562 nights for 34,666 overnight guests.

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

How I’d combine them

On a first week I’d take in three regions, Prizren, Peja and Gjakova, which sit together in the west, plus a day in Pristina for the flight. On a return trip I’d add Ferizaj for the Sharr slopes around Shtërpcë, and Gjilan for its Atik Mosque, 17th century according to the DTK, and for Draganac Monastery. In central Kosovo lies the Dulje Pass, which gov.uk names among the areas with old landmines away from the main roads.

All 38 municipalities, with Albanian and Serbian names, are in municipalities of Kosovo, and the Kosovo map shows how they fit together.

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