The hollow trunk
180 centimetres across and open down one side. You can see straight into it, which is the clearest measure of how much fire it has taken and survived.
Destinations
Ballabaneci Plane Tree & Water Spring
A hollowed, fire-scarred plane tree that has stood here for about 550 years, and the spring beside it.
~550 years Age
1 km From the centre
Free Entry
Year round Open
About
Older than almost everything around it.
The tree was already growing when Kruja was fighting off the sieges that made its name. Roughly 550 years later it is still here, a kilometre out of the centre on the left of the road towards Gryka e Vajes, at 450 metres above sea level, registered as a natural monument.
It has not had an easy time. The trunk is 180 centimetres across and mostly hollow now, burnt out by fire more than once. Lightning took the branches first. Later it was neighbours, tipping household waste at its foot. The register lists it today as partly damaged.
What makes it worth the short walk is what happened next. For the past decade or so the tree has been sending up new growth, and those young branches already stand five or six metres tall against the ten metres of the old tree.
Practical Info: One kilometre from the centre, on the left of the Kruja to Gryka e Vajes road. Reachable on foot in about fifteen minutes or by car in a few minutes. Open all year, no ticket and no gate. The tree is fire-damaged and fragile, so keep flames well away from it.
What to see
What you are looking at.
It is a small place. Four things are worth knowing before you go.
The new growth
Fresh branches rising out of the old wood, five to six metres now after roughly ten years. The reason the tree is described as recovering rather than dying.
Kroi i Ballabanecit
The spring beside the tree. Local families have taken it into their own care, which is why both it and the tree are still here.
The name
Ballaban Pasha came to take the castle of Kruja and never got near it. He got stuck here. In the Kruja dialect that is neci, and the place has been Ballabanec ever since.
On the ground
How to make a visit of it.
Fifteen minutes on foot from the centre, so it works best combined with something else rather than as a trip on its own.
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Walk out from the centre
Straight out along the road towards Gryka e Vajes. Flat enough to do in ordinary shoes and short enough that you will not need water.
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Stop at the spring
The spring is the reason people have kept coming here for generations. Worth a pause even if you only came for the tree.
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Pair it with Shkembi i Vajes
Both sit on the road towards Gryka e Vajes, Ballabanec at one kilometre and the cliff at five. One short drive covers the pair.
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Go early or late
The tree stands in the open. Midday sun flattens it, while low light picks out the hollow and the texture of the bark.
Plan your visit
Best time to visit
There is no wrong season here, only better light and easier walking.
Spring
April to May
New leaves on the young branches, which is when the recovery is most obvious.
Summer
June to August
Full canopy on the new growth and welcome shade. The spring is at its most useful in the heat.
Autumn
September to October
The best light of the year and comfortable walking temperatures for the kilometre out.
Winter
November to March
Bare branches, which is the clearest view of the hollow trunk and the shape of the old wood.
Getting there
Getting to Ballabanec.
One kilometre northwest of the centre of Kruja, on the left of the road towards Gryka e Vajes. On foot it is about fifteen minutes on level ground, and by car only a few minutes.
There is no gate, no ticket and no opening hours. Stone steps lead up to a terrace beside the tree, with the spring running out through the wall below it and a few tables in the open air.
One request. The tree has already been burnt more than once and the trunk is hollow. Keep any kind of flame well away from it.
Directions in Google Maps Nearby
More places close by.
Shkembi i Vajes
The cliff above Gryka e Vajes, where Kruja remembers ninety young women who chose the drop over capture.
Kruje Castle
Built in the 5th century, surviving multiple sieges, housing the spirit of a nation.
Kruje Old Bazaar
A cobbled Ottoman market lane that still trades below the castle gate.
See it with someone who knows the story.
Ballabanec is a short stop rather than a day out, and it fits naturally into a wider look around Kruja. Ask us and we will build it into your day.