UKH

Wondering if anyone can advise on purchasing camping gas in Plav. I have sent emails to the Tourist Information Centre in the town who helpfully sent photos of pierce top and screw top canisters saying I could buy them in Plav. They suggested trying the EKO petrol station. However, I have emailed the three likely looking places (EKO petrol station, Voli supermarket, and Idea supermarket) asking if they sell gas, and what type … and the only one to reply was EKO who said their place in Plav didn’t sell any camping gas.

I’d be most grateful please if anyone can advise if either of the supermarkets do sell gas, and what type. Or perhaps who else I could ask. My travel arrangements are such that I won’t be going in to Podgorica where research/other forum advice suggests I would get gas fairly readily, but that's not an option for me. Or maybe available in Theth where I will be on second day of the hike ? 

Quite a specific query, sorry, but thanks in advance for any help.

I did this trek a couple of years ago and had the same problem; camping gas isn’t easy to come by unfortunately. It tends to be sold in dedicated gas shops (along with large butane bottles etc) rather than supermarkets and petrol stations, so it is only really found in large towns.

I don’t remember seeing any in Plav, but it would be worth emailing some of the tourist accommodation places to see if they know of anywhere. I’m pretty certain you can’t buy gas in Theth, it only has one small shop and a couple of bars. However lots of people finish their treks there and it is fairly busy, so if you ask around you may find someone with a leftover canister.

That said, most people don’t bother taking camping stuff as it is very easy to find guesthouses and homestays along the trail. I only camped a couple of times and that was through choice rather than necessity. I picked up some gas in Shkoder before the trek and gave it back to the same guy afterwards as it was barely used! 
 

Feel free to drop me a message if you need any more advice about the trek, it is a wonderful part of the world and a beautiful walk.

The only 100% source used to be Okov home hardware stores in Montenegro (closest one in Podgorica).

https://www.okov.me/mn/proizvodi/rezer-boca-sa-punjenj-30propan-70butan-230...

I seriously doubt Theth would have any EN417 canisters – where would they buy them and why? Most people eat in guesthouses. Importing them from Podgorica or even further from Tirana? Unlikely, and I haven't seen any in the few closer Albanian supermarkets I visited, though there might be some home hardware store in Shkodër that I missed.

We hiked higher alternate routes where we simply had to camp most of the time, and it was quite a chore to find out that Okov sells them (in the soldering section, even!), back then, even though I speak the language a bit. Nobody knew, as EN417 cans aren't really widely used for camping there, so even when I asked in my semi‑passable Montenegrin, everybody just pointed me to their local incompatible cans.

You might get lucky with other hikers leaving a half‑full one at a guesthouse (it's good manners).

You could buy online in Okov and have it delivered to your place of stay in Plav, but that sounds quite challenging, unless you have the language skills to arrange it all.

You could buy a local gas stove that is compatible with local canisters. Around 20 quid, available in many more places, often even in street markets.

The local stoves look something like this https://www.okov.me/mn/proizvodi/plinsko-kuvalo-sa-zastitom-od-vjetra and use those single‑use canisters https://www.okov.me/mn/proizvodi/rezervna-boca-sa-butanpropan-punjenjem-190...

Mind you, once you install the canister, it absolutely mustn't be removed til empty, as it's pierced, not screw‑in.

But don't despair yet – I had a look through Montenegrin retailers (always interested in updating my personal notes on gas canister availability in foreign places I visit) and found out that VOLI now offers normal, EN417 screw‑in canisters: https://voli.me/proizvod/3496

Though that's only on their online shop, you'd have to check the local VOLI in Plav for their in‑store availability. I suggest calling them, preferably having some prepared phrases to ask (Google Translate is your friend).

A timely post. I'm off to do the same trek and will also need gas. I'm starting in Tirana, are the standard screw type gas cylinders are available there?

If you are stopping off in Shkoder you can definitely buy screw-in camping gas here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/5fsuGbtWi3Tmp7Az9?g_st=ic

Nice to know, it's just a few minutes from where all buses to Skhodër stop.

"Paisje gazi riparime" is not the shop's name, but a description – it translates as gas equipment & repairs, which might be a helpful phrase to know if looking for similar shops elsewhere in Albania.

Though I do wonder if the screw‑in canisters there were refills or new? Not that it matters that much.

Thanks Church and Frank- the position seems to be fairly definite that will be able to get gas in one of the supermarkets in Plav (prob Voli as you say Frank, but I have emailed both supermarket chains in the town and neither have replied yet) but might be puncture top/fixed burner. And as you both say, worst case no gas I eat in guesthouses even if I am camping. However, my plan is to hike the whole trail, with side trips where I will definitely be camping (Buni Jezerce lakes, Talijanka/Grebaje Valley) which explains the hunt for gas in Plav ! And good luck with the hunt for gas in Albania Tom !

If you camp at the Jezerces lakes, just FYI the first day we pitched camp right on the "nice beach", we were quite surprised by some local equivalent of biting midges en masse later in the evening. Better to pitch on a rise in the first place and not have to ignominiously retreat from Balkan midges like us!

And the last clean and flowing water source is the trough way below, near the hut in the valley (something like a 0.5 km vertical, 4 km slog) and even much further away when coming from other directions, so if going stove‑less, some purification pills and filters would be quite handy for the lake water. Might depend on the season, of course, as in all seasonally dry karst landscapes.

Oh, and don't eat all the giant berries if in season – leave some for other travellers

Haha thanks for the tip, being Scottish I've got my midge hood - wasn't planning on bringing it but will now !

I don't think it was ever as bad as highland midges, as likely pitching our tents anywhere just a bit higher up would have helped a lot, but the biting suckers trying to ruin our dinner is all I remember from otherwise a rather beautiful camping site, so do make your own decisions

(to be fair, the swarms were likely pretty seasonal as well, might have been just really unlucky)