Due to its wilderness, harsh climate and dangers caused by wild animals, especially bears, lynxes, wolves etc, cattle breeders named this mountain range “Proklete planine (Accursed Mountains)” long time ago, and later on people started using the name Prokletije, because of its easier pronunciation.

The area from Hajla to Čakor, alongside Mokra and Smiljevica conjures the north branch of Prokletije, which belongs, as well as the complete mountain system of Prokletije, in terms of orography to Dinaric Alps.

An interesting story on formation of these mountains circulates: Prokletije, as well as the complete Dinaric Mountains, was formed by the folding resulting from the collision of the African and European plates – “the crash of the titans”! This tectonic collision produced a soil deviation, thus creating an unusual zigzag shape of Prokletije range.

As a consequence of this crash, different forms of relief can be seen: tectonic, volcanic, glacial, fluvial, karstic, denudation and others. According to Jovan Cvijić, the Pleistocene glaciation of Prokletije was more intense from the one in today’s Alps. And so, the basic feature of the physiognomy of Prokletije is given by fossil forms of glacial erosion and accumulation. Nowhere in the Balkans have glaciers left so deep and distinctive marks of its activity as in Prokletije.

Because of these turbulent processes in the past, Prokletije as a whole, including its northern branch, is considered one of the largest centers of biodiversity, especially the floristic diversity, in Balkans, but also in Europe, by many biologists.

This “European nature pearl”, as Prokletije is sometimes called, is distinguished in European conditions for its unsurpassed variety of flora, fauna, vegetation, biocenose, and ecosystem as a whole.

Even though some important people explored Prokletije, such as: Jovan Cvijić, Josif Pančić, Ivo Horvat, Branislav Gušić, Milorad Janković and others, a lot is left to study, discover and present to the world…

Some even say that Prokletije is one of the last unexplored parts of the planet. And why is that? Up to 20 years ago, no mountaineer, researcher or any curious person went through this area. It was the area of “dead watch” and military forts in the times of SFRY and during the rule of Enver Hoxha in Albania. In short, Prokletije was a “forbidden mountain”.

This period lasted for decades, but in the last ten years, the mountaineers, biologists, researchers, or shortly, all nature lovers have started discovering the charms, beauties and wealth of Prokletije.

So, you have no other choice but to embark on this road from Hajla to Čakor, to peek into the “wild beauty” given to us by the Nature, and to nurture the soul by observing the meadows teeming with edelweiss, aster alpinus, Nikolina violets; or by going through the forests of Bosnian Pine and Macedonian Pine listening to the call of western capercaillie (grouse); or by fearing of running up against a wolf or brown bear.