Welcome to Trail Lynx
Helping you get more out of your trip to the Balkans and Eastern Europe
Trail Lynx is a handy resource to provide inspiration and help you get more from your visit. Bringing together our personal viewpoint along with information on trails, guide books & maps, travel writing, accommodation and a whole host of other sources, we encourage you to learn more about each country and what it has to offer hikers and travellers.
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Our Approach
We believe our approach is a little different. With an independent outlook, we can bring together a diverse range of materials and information sources designed to have broad appeal. Trail Lynx does not aim to be comprehensive or exhaustive, rather we prefer to be selective based on our own experience and findings, and of equal interest to modest walkers and mountain hikers alike.
For example, we appreciate that not everyone wants to "rough it" or forsake all creature comforts, and may want to make use of established tour operators for reasons of simplicity or financial security. That's fine by us, and we are happy to list independent operators with good credentials and suitable expertise in the area in question.
On the other hand, some travellers may want to be more independent and book their own itineraries. So, where known, we are happy to include in-country travel agencies and guides who we know of and who offer English language tours – just in case your fluency in Serbo-Croat or Albanian has got a little rusty.
Also, we include information on maps and guide books of particular relevance to the countries or areas in question, as well as details of classic travel writings that really add to the understanding of an area.
We understand the trepidation some may feel in choosing an unknown destination for a walking holiday. Often, a familiar series of questions arises:
What are the paths like?
Is the food edible?
Is it safe?
Do I need to know the language?
The contents of these pages are intended to quell any nerves and demonstrate that such destinations are accessible by anyone with an urge to try. Most importantly, there are some great walking opportunities and fantastic trails, plus a huge variety of scenery, wildlife, culinary experiences and cultural interactions to enthuse even the most experienced traveller.
Why Trail Lynx?
Trail Lynx is a collection of resources dedicated to the needs of hikers and other travellers thinking of visiting the countries of the Balkans, Eastern Europe and other off-the-beaten-track locations.
The site was founded by passionate travellers and keen walkers Julian and Claire, and was created in order to highlight some of the region’s best trails, itineraries, writings and experiences. There are plenty of websites and books from which to gather information about a particular trip or destination, but as we have been fortunate enough to have travelled to all the areas described, sometimes on multiple occasions, we wanted to bring that personal angle to the site and add a touch of opinion too.
And it is because of our personal experience that we felt it valuable to bring a variety of different strands of information together in one place, to showcase each destination and enable you to consider your trip from a number of different perspectives before deciding.
One key concern in putting this site together is the matter of responsible travel, and of being aware what travel and tourism can bring to a county, both positively and negatively. The adage "take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints" chimes well with our belief that trips should make as little environmental impact as possible yet also maximise any contribution to the local economy, and we look to reflect that in our recommendations.
The beautiful but critically endangered Balkan Lynx is symbolic of the wild nature and remote ruggedness of the region, a world only accessible to those prepared to make the journey on foot.