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In plain language

Kukës is a mountain town in the north-east. The old town was flooded when a dam was built, so a new one was built higher up beside the new lake. During the Kosovo war in 1999 the town sheltered many thousands of refugees.

Simple explanation

Kukës is a mountain town in the north-east. The old town was flooded when a dam was built, so a new one was built higher up beside the new lake. During the Kosovo war in 1999 the town sheltered many thousands of refugees.

Inside Kukës

Protected area

Valbona Valley National Park

A broad U-shaped glacial valley of white gravel and beech forest under the Alps' highest peaks.

Kukes
Airport

Kukës International Airport

A small northern airport that opened to commercial flights in 2021, mainly serving the diaspora.

Kukes
Energy site

Fierza Hydropower Plant

The uppermost and largest of the Drin dams, creating a reservoir shared with Kosovo.

Kukes
Road

A1 — the Nation's Road

The Durrës–Kukës–Morina motorway, including the 5.6 km Kalimash tunnel, linking Albania to Kosovo.

Kukes
Town

Kukës

A town rebuilt above a reservoir in the 1970s, and the northern end of the Nation's Road.

KukësiKukes
Village

Valbonë

A wide white riverbed under 2,500 m peaks; the eastern end of the Theth trek.

ValbonaKukes
Town

Bajram Curri

The road head for the Valbona valley, named after a guerrilla leader of the 1920s.

Bajram CurriKukes
Town

Krumë

The seat of Has municipality in the north-eastern hills near Kosovo.

KrumaKukes

More images

Kulla e kosovareve dhe muzeu i qytetit — Kukës County, Albania
Kulla e kosovareve dhe muzeu i qytetit Lori Elezi · CC BY-SA 4.0
Pallati i Kultures "Hasan Prishtina" — Kukës County, Albania
Pallati i Kultures "Hasan Prishtina" Lori Elezi · CC BY-SA 4.0
kukes me gjethe te thara
Kukes me gjethe te thara Melita cengu · CC BY-SA 4.0
Little pieces from a small city
Kukes Skerdicengu · CC BY-SA 4.0

Connected subjects

These are real relationships in the Atlas — places that are near this one, and subjects it genuinely belongs with. Nothing here is a generic recommendation.

Nearby

County

Dibër County

Albania's mountain interior on the North Macedonian border, containing Mount Korab.

Qarku i DibrësAlbania
City

Shkodër

The cultural capital of the north: a lake, a fortress, a bicycle city and a Catholic heartland.

ShkodraShkoder
Airport

Kukës International Airport

A small northern airport that opened to commercial flights in 2021, mainly serving the diaspora.

Kukes
Energy site

Fierza Hydropower Plant

The uppermost and largest of the Drin dams, creating a reservoir shared with Kosovo.

Kukes
Town

Lezhë

Where the Albanian princes swore their 1444 league, and where Skanderbeg is buried.

LezhaLezhe
Mountain range

The Albanian Alps

The limestone wall of the far north — locally the Accursed Mountains — shared with Montenegro and Kosovo.

Bjeshkët e NemunaShkoder
Road

A1 — the Nation's Road

The Durrës–Kukës–Morina motorway, including the 5.6 km Kalimash tunnel, linking Albania to Kosovo.

Kukes
Village

Valbonë

A wide white riverbed under 2,500 m peaks; the eastern end of the Theth trek.

ValbonaKukes

Related subjects

Airport

Kukës International Airport

A small northern airport that opened to commercial flights in 2021, mainly serving the diaspora.

Kukes
Road

A1 — the Nation's Road

The Durrës–Kukës–Morina motorway, including the 5.6 km Kalimash tunnel, linking Albania to Kosovo.

Kukes

Sources

  • WikipediaKukës — English Wikipedia · retrieved 03 Sep 2026
    Used to ground the deep-research section and as a discovery aid; not relied on alone for contested claims.
  • WikipediaKukës — English Wikipedia · retrieved 03 Sep 2026
    Used to ground the deep-research section and as a discovery aid; not relied on alone for contested claims.
  • WikidataWikidata item Q210197 · retrieved 03 Sep 2026
    Source of the population, area and elevation figures shown in Quick facts, each with its own observation year.
  • WikidataWikidata item Q210197 · retrieved 03 Sep 2026
    Source of the population, area and elevation figures shown in Quick facts, each with its own observation year.
  • Wikimedia CommonsPhotographs · retrieved 03 Sep 2026
    Each photograph carries its own creator, licence and file link beneath it. Only public-domain, CC0, CC BY and CC BY-SA files are published.
  • Wikimedia CommonsPhotographs · retrieved 03 Sep 2026
    Each photograph carries its own creator, licence and file link beneath it. Only public-domain, CC0, CC BY and CC BY-SA files are published.

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