The Balkan Peninsula is the southeasternmost European peninsula. The name “Balkan” was introduced at the beginning of the 19th century by the German teacher, scholar, and publicist August Zeune. It is located in the southeastern part of Europe and almost entirely falls within the area that is politically and culturally perceived as the Balkans. Its territory is occupied by the following modern states:
- those traditionally considered Balkan: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Montenegro;
- states that are also assigned to other regions: Slovenia and Croatia (to Central Europe), Romania (to Eastern Europe), and Turkey (to Western Asia);
- small parts of states that are not Balkan in a political and cultural sense, such as Italy and Ukraine.
In physical‑geographical terms, the Peninsula is bounded to the east, south, and west by the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara, and the Mediterranean Sea with its subdivisions: the Aegean, Libyan, Ionian, and Adriatic seas. The northern boundary of the peninsula is taken to be the Danube River from its mouth at the Black Sea to the mouth of the Sava River at Belgrade, Serbia, and from there westward along the course of the Sava to the line of the Krka and Vipava rivers in Slovenia and the Isonzo in Italy, to the latter’s mouth in the Adriatic Sea.
There are also other hypotheses for the northwestern boundary of the Balkan Peninsula along the following river lines: Sava–Kupa (the southernmost option), Sava–Sora–Soča (Slov.)/Isonzo (It.), or Sava–Pišnica–Soča/Isonzo (the northernmost option). On the map below, the Sava–Krka–Isonzo variant is preferred.
With the geographical contours of the southeasternmost European peninsula outlined in this way, it becomes evident that three of its four extreme geographical points fall within Ukraine and Italy, which are non‑Balkan in political and cultural terms. In addition, a state traditionally regarded as Balkan, such as Romania, remains almost entirely outside the geographical boundaries of the peninsula. This latter fact calls for reconsideration, if only because the Lower Danube Plain represents a single geographical and geological unit (the so‑called Moesian Platform), whose northern boundary—from the Iron Gates Gorge of the Danube along the crest of the Carpathians to the line of the Milcov, Putna, and Siret rivers to the mouth of the Danube—should be regarded as the actual northeastern boundary of the Balkan Peninsula.
Map of the Balkan Peninsula with the highest peaks (triangles with numbers indicating elevation in meters). The highest peak, Musala, is marked in red, while the others are in dark blue (the higher ones) and light blue (the lower ones), the extreme points (red diamonds), and the hypothetical northeastern boundary (red line). Author: Ivan Vasilev. The base map is from an open‑access image on Wikimedia Commons.
The following are the extreme continental points of the Balkan Peninsula according to the area outlined above. In addition, some other commonly accepted points are mentioned:
To the south – the undisputed southernmost point is Cape Tenaro (Matapan), Peloponnese, Greece – 36°23'07.3"N 22°28'59.0"E.
To the north – if the northwestern boundary of the Peninsula follows the line of the Sava–Krka–Vipava–Isonzo rivers, its northernmost point is the bend of the Vipava River before its confluence with the Isonzo River, Italy – 45°54'07.4"N 13°33'56.6"E.
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| Vipava River before its bend and confluence with the Isonzo River, Italy. Photo: Google Maps.
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If we consider as a border the northernmost possible line Sava–Pišnica–Soča/Isonzo, then the northernmost extreme point of the Balkan Peninsula will be at the beginning of the Sava River, at the confluence of the Sava Dolinka and Pišnica rivers in the Karawanks (Kranjska Gora), Slovenia – 46°29'19.5"N 13°48'16.2"E.
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| The Sava River shortly after the confluence of the Pišnica and Sava Dolinka, Slovenia. Photo: Google Maps.
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To the east – the mouth of the Potapovsky Canal in the Black Sea (the Danube Delta) on Gneushev Island, Ukraine – 45°27'44.9"N.  |
| Gneushev Island and the Potapovsky Canal in the Danube Delta, Ukraine. The easternmost point of the Balkan Peninsula is marked with a red diamond. Photo: Google Maps.
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To the west – geography shows that this should be the bend of the Isonzo River after its confluence with the Fiume Torre River near the town of Pieris in Gorizia, Italy – 45°48'34.3"N 13°25'37.7"E. More popular, however, is a more “Balkan” point – Cape Lako in Bašania on the Istrian Peninsula, Croatia – 45°29'12.5"N 13°29'23.6"E.
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View of the bend of the Isonzo River from road SS14, Venezia Giulia, Italy. Photo: Google Maps.
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| View from Cape Lako towards the nearby lighthouse at Cape Savudrija, Croatia. Photo:Levante Beach Bar |
The highest peaks of the Balkan Peninsula are:
The photos used below are freely accessible images from Wikimedia Commons. |
1 - Mount Musala, Rila, the highest peak of Bulgaria and the Balkans (2925 m).
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2 - Mount Mytikas, Olympus, the highest peak of Greece (2918 m) and the second-highest peak in the Balkans.
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| 3 - Mount Vihren, Pirin, Bulgaria (2914 m). The second-highest peak in Bulgaria and the third-highest in the Balkans. |
The twenty highest summits on the Balkan Peninsula are all located in the three mountain ranges mentioned above: Rila (in Bulgaria), Olympus (in Greece), and Pirin (also in Bulgaria). Among them are four additional Balkan peaks that rise above 2900 m: Skolio Peak (2912 m) and Stefani Peak (2909 m) in Olympus, Kutelo Peak in Pirin (2908 m), and Malka Musala Peak in Rila (2902 m).
However, if we focused only on Rila, Olympus, and Pirin, we would overlook many other important mountains on the Peninsula. To give a fuller geographical picture of the Balkans, the article will therefore go beyond just these three ranges. It will include the summits of the highest Balkan mountain ranges and the highest points of each Balkan country. They all will be presented in descending order of height. This way, the reader gains both an understanding of where the very highest points are and a broader view of the key “roof” summits across the entire Balkan Peninsula.
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4 - Mount Golem Korab/Maja e Korabit, Korab, the highest peak of Albania and North Macedonia (2764 m).
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| 5 - Mount Golem Turčin (Titov Vrv), Šar Mountains, North Macedonia (2747 m). |
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6 - Mount Maja Jezercë, Accursed Mountains (Bjeshkët e Nemuna/Prokletije) in the Dinaric Alps, Albania (2694 m). The highest peak of the Dinaric Alps and the second-highest peak in Albania.
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7 - Mount Gjeravica/Đeravica, Accursed Mountains (Bjeshkët e Nemuna/Prokletije) in the Dinaric Alps, the highest peak of Kosovo (2656 m).
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| 8 - Mount Smolikas, Pindus, Greece (2637 m). The second-highest peak in Greece. |
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| 9 - Mount Pelister, Baba, North Macedonia (2601 m). |
10 - Mount Moldoveanu, Southern Carpathians (Transylvanian Alps), the highest peak of Romania (2544 m). If we consider Wallachia as a geographical part of the Balkan Peninsula, the peak lies on the border of the Peninsula with Transylvania.
The highest peaks in other countries on the Peninsula are:
Slovenia
Mount Triglav, Julian Alps, the highest peak of Slovenia (2864 m). This peak lies in the Alps and geographically does not belong to the Balkan Peninsula. Nevertheless, it is often included among the Balkan peaks because it was the highest peak of former Yugoslavia. It is also regarded as a Balkan peak by supporters of the hypothesis that the northwestern border of the Peninsula runs along the Sava–Pišnica–Soča/Isonzo line.
Montenegro
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| Mount Zla Kolata/Kollatë e Keqe, Accursed Mountains (Prokletije/Bjeshkët e Nemuna) in the Dinaric Alps, the highest peak of Montenegro (2534 m). It is located on the Montenegrin–Albanian border.
Mount Bobotov Kuk, Durmitor in the Dinaric Alps, Montenegro (2523 m). It is sometimes cited as the highest peak in Montenegro, disregarding the border peak Zla Kolata (2534 m). |
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Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Mount Maglić, Maglić, the highest peak of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2386 m). The peak is the second-highest in the Maglić–Bioč–Volujak–Trnovački Durmitor–Vlasulja mountain range in the Dinaric Alps, whose highest peak is Veliki Vitao (2396 m), Bioč in Montenegro.
Serbia |
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| Mount Midzhur/Midžor, Stara Planina (Balkan Mountains), the highest peak of Serbia (2169 m). It is located on the Bulgarian–Serbian border. The highest peak in Stara Planina is Mount Botev (2376 m), Bulgaria.
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Croatia
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| Mount Dinara (Sinjal), Dinara in the Dinaric Alps, the highest peak of Croatia (1831 m). The highest peak of the Dinara mountain is Troglav (1913 m) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. |
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