Restelica, a mountain village that has shrunk by almost half

Some villages make sense in a single photo, and Restelica is one of them. The houses press together on the slope, roof against roof, with the mountain rising behind. With a few days in Prizren and a wish to see the remotest corner of southern Kosovo, this is one of the places I’d put on the list.

The big village that has half emptied

The census numbers from ASK are the most striking thing I can give you. Restelica had 4,698 residents in 2011 and 2,630 in the 2024 census. That’s a fall of over 40%, the largest among the bigger villages of Dragash and far steeper than the municipality’s own 15% drop. Even so, it’s still the second settlement in the municipality, behind Brodosanë, and nearly twice the size of the main town, which is one of the few places in the municipality that has grown.

Why people have left isn’t explained in any official source I’ve read, and I’d rather not fill the gap with guesswork. What I will say is that the picture of a tightly packed village and the population figure together tell a story worth approaching with some respect.

What’s there, and what isn’t

Restelica has not a single entry in the DTK, and no official website lists accommodation, restaurants or waymarked routes. So I won’t promise you a monument or a trail. What you’ll find is the village in its setting, the mountains around it and, in winter and spring, snow on the summits, as you can see in the photo above.

It isn’t part of Sharr National Park either. Its 1986 law leaves Dragash out of the share-out of hectares. For the protected mountains, the place to start is Sharr National Park.

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When to go

There’s no official weather data for Restelica, because ASK’s tables only cover Pristina. So I go by what the sources do say. The FCDO warns about wildfires from April to October and altitude sickness in the mountains. I’d go between late spring and early autumn, with long days and no snow on the road, and in winter only if you’re confident driving in snow, because no official source publishes the condition of these roads. Pack for changeable mountain weather, much as you would for a day in Snowdonia.

Getting there and pairing it up

You reach it by car from Prizren via Dragash, and I’d only go in good weather, as it’s a mountain road and I found no buses with official timetables. Since the municipality meets Albania, where the UK Government records old landmines, I’d keep any walking to clear paths.

My approach would be a day trip from Prizren with two stops, Restelica and Brod, returning through Dragash town. The wider area is covered under 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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