Past the border village of Hani i Hotit, the landscape of the Hoti region opens into a dry, stony country of low hills, olive trees and rocky ground, with the great wall of the Prokletije, the Accursed Mountains, rising to the north. This is Hoti land, the home of one of the old Albanian mountain tribes, whose people lived on both sides of what became the Albanian-Montenegrin frontier. The area is thinly populated, with scattered houses, stone walls and small plots of vines, and the name Leqet e Hotit, the Lakes of Hoti, belongs to the region as a whole more than to any single shore, and the wet months bring water to every hollow.
The old tribal society of northern Albania was governed by a code of customary law known as the Kanun, which regulated everything from hospitality to blood feuds. Its traditions survived long after the rest of Europe had moved on, and guests, by the rules of the Kanun, were sacred. You will still find the habit of hospitality alive in the villages, in the offer of coffee, raki and something to eat.
The riding here is a different matter from the high Alps. The roads are generally flat to rolling, and the corners are gentle, but the surface can be worn, with potholes and patched asphalt. Traffic is a mixture of cars, vans, tractors and the odd horse cart, and livestock use the road with confidence. Border queues can build at the nearby crossing in summer, so allow time, and carry all your documents, including vehicle papers and insurance. In the distance, the peaks of the Prokletije, snow-capped well into spring, form a dramatic backdrop to the day.
The nature of this area is rugged. The limestone hills are covered with scrub oak, juniper and wild pomegranate, and the air smells of dust, thyme and sage on hot days. Birds of prey circle above the ridges, and the nearby Skadar Lake, one of the largest lakes in southern Europe, is a haven for pelicans and herons. Summers are very hot, often above thirty-five degrees, and winters are mild but wet.
Services here are limited. Tuzi and Koplik, each about eighteen kilometres away, have fuel and shops, and Podgorica, the Montenegrin capital, is about twenty-five kilometres off and has everything. Fill up before heading north into the mountains, and carry water on hot days.