Brod Voyage Tips and guide

Contents

Brod is a village in Kosovo.

Brod is populated by the Gorani people. The Gorani have a total population of roughly 50,000 people. They are primarily sheep and cattle herders, but also have a cartel network of dessert/sweet shops. They live in a very geographically small mountainous area of the most southern part of Kosovo, in and near the city of Dragash just south of Prizren.

The Gorani have their own language and are generally Muslim. Their language, which is a Torlakian Slavic language, is related to Serbian and Macedonian, with Albanian and Turkish loanwords.

The village of Brod has a population of perhaps 8,000 people. It lies in a high mountain valley/ravine. It has a rough elevation of 1,200 meters, but the mountains above it reach 2,200 meters. As the people have been living and herding cattle there for hundreds and hundreds of years, the surrounding mountains are completely over grazed and deforested (in a beautiful way). For the people to have some means of heating in the winter, they pack the manure from their cattle and goats on the sides of their houses so that it will dry. Most of the manure is dry, so the village doesn't smell.

The building materials for the houses are all taken from the immediate area, so everything is made out of mountain rocks. Several mountain springs run through the village on their way down to the flat plains of Kosovo.

From Prizren, take a combi to Dragaš. From Dragaš, you will either have to take a taxi (for probably a lot of money) or start walking. The hike to Brod is about 8 km up a small road. Ask a local which way to go. If you hitch hike, the first or second car will probably pick you up, although cars only pass once every 30 minutes.

By horse.

It is worth your while to walk around the town and see what it is like. It is completely unique.

Ask the locals if they will take you for either a one day or overnight horse trip up to their pastures in the mountains. They should charge you only €10 per person plus food for the adventure. You'll end up on a mule going through some of the most beautiful nature you'll ever have the opportunity to see in your life.

• Hiking (Kosovo Tourist Guides Association), [email protected], ☏ +38349372639, [email protected]. Hiking can be done on your own. If you however wish to engage a local guide, GuideKS is the umbrella organization of tourist guides in Kosovo. They will put you in touch with a local guide suitable for your activity. (updated May 2022)

Have the guy at the one pub in Brod serve you up something.

There is one pub in the whole town. If you're lucky, there will be a game of bingo going on. It's for men only (at least as far as locals go) and they all claim they are Muslim and don't drink, but wait until they get away from their wives up in the pasture.

Ask the locals for a place to stay. Somebody will put you up for the night (at a cost, probably €10).

• Prizren
• Ferizaj
• Sharr Mountain National Park