Europe's mountains get crowded in places, but a fresh round-up of reader tips from The Guardian Travel proves the quiet spots still exist — and some of the best are far from the usual Alpine hotspots.

Take Kosovo. The Sharr mountains national park sits just 40 minutes' drive south of Prizren, reached via the Zhupa valley where the road tracks the Lumbardhi river through a steep gorge. The climb from Prevallë is a proper workout — rocky paths, grassy slopes and a summit that keeps receding — but the views repay the effort, and Hotel Krojet serves reviving raki at the end of it.

Italy offers two under-the-radar options. The Brenta Dolomites, based around Pinzolo an hour north of Lake Garda, see a fraction of the crowds hitting the main range. From Madonna di Campiglio you can do a three-day hut-to-hut trek with via ferrata routes across knife-edge ridges, with Rifugio Agostini singled out for hearty food and window-filling peaks, before descending to an aperitivo by the lake at Molveno. Longer-haul option: the Via dei Monti Lariani, a 125km trail above Lake Como's western shore between Cernobbio and Sorico, past mountain pastures and villages once shaped by cross-border smuggling with Switzerland. Refuges and farm stays along the way dish up polenta uncia and pizzoccheri.

For something shorter, Liechtenstein's own 'Route 66' is a multi-day hike locals love and outsiders barely know, crossing the Drei Schwestern peaks with mountain-hut dinners and elderflower jam along the way. In Ireland, Donegal's north-west — Muckish mountain, the Poisoned Glen, Glenveagh national park — delivers serious scenery minus Alpine crowds, with Atlantic beaches and a pub pint folded into the same day.

Classic Alpine pleasures still get their due. Near Lucerne, Stans funicular and a double-decker cable car with an open upper deck haul you up to marmot-spotting views. Camping Grubhof in Lofer, Austria, between Salzburg and Zell am See, wins praise for immaculate facilities, direct cycle-trail access and cow-bell soundtracks. And the winning tip goes to Rifugio Bertone near Courmayeur, Italy, where sunset over Mont Blanc's glaciers turns into stargazing — and it's affordable.

There's also the French Pyrenees around Luz Saint Sauveur, with Tour de France cols, canyoning and local saucisson; the Spanish Pyrenees near Tremp, where a clifftop guesthouse in Santa Engràcia pairs rafting and canyon kayaking with poolside downtime; and more besides. The common thread: you don't need to queue at a cable car in Chamonix to get a proper mountain holiday.