Velika Rudoka

Velika Rudoka — the Great Rudoka, also called Rudoka e Madhe or Maja e Njeriut — stands on the Kosovo–North Macedonia border in the Šar Mountains. Peakbagger records it at 2,660.3 m, and countryhighpoints.com's Eric Gilbertson measured the summit at 2,660.34 m ±0.07 m (EGM2008 geoid) with a Trimble DA2 DGPS unit in July 2025, making it the highest point of Kosovo.

For decades Đeravica (Gjeravica, 2,656 m, in the Prokletije range) was widely recognised as the highest point of Kosovo and of Serbia's claimed territory. That changed after a resurvey of the Serbia–Macedonia border placed Velika Rudoka on the border, and Matthew Gilbertson's 2018 DGPS work measured Djeravica at 2,656.7 m ±0.8 m and Velika Rudoka at 2,660.4 m ±1.0 m — Velika Rudoka being about 3.7 m taller. countryhighpoints.com now lists Velika Rudoka, not Djeravica, as the country highpoint, and Serbia's Statistical Yearbook corrected the figure from Djeravica (still listed in the 2020 edition) to Velika Rudoka from the 2021 edition onward.

Its political label depends on the list being followed. The UN does not recognise Kosovo's independence, so by the UN member-state list Velika Rudoka is the highest point of Serbia; if Kosovo is counted as a country in its own right, it is the highpoint of Kosovo, and Midžor (2,169 m) becomes the highest point of Serbia excluding Kosovo. Either way, the summit on the ground is the same.

The mountain can be approached from Brod in Kosovo or from the North Macedonian side near Gjurgjevishte. The latter route passes Crno Ezero — Black Lake — before continuing over broad alpine meadows to the border ridge. The walking is not technical in summer, but paths above the lake can be faint or absent, so reliable offline navigation is important.

June to September is the usual season. Snow can linger in the high basins into early summer, while the rounded summit ridge gives wide views across the long grass-covered ridges and glacial lakes of the Šar range.