By admin Our eight night Albania itinerary included three days on the beach, a night each in the towns of Gjirokastër and Berat, and three days in the Alps, also known as the Accursed Mountains. I’ll be honest that I found the beaches a bit disappointing (read more here); they were undoubtedly beautiful, but rocky and crowded with lots of families. I was ready to switch gears and get into the mountains for some trekking. It worked out well that we had planned the Alps at the end of our visit to Albania, as this ended up being the highlight of our time in the country. It was hands down one of my favorite hiking trips to date–I highly recommend!
A Few Preliminary Notes on Logistics
We decided to tackle the hike between two of Albania’s most famous national parks: Valbona and Theth. The trail is long enough (we hiked 15km, over 9 miles, one way) that the vast majority of people plan to start in one park, hike to the next park over the course of a day, then end with an overnight stay (or longer) in the other park. The trail can be done in either direction, but we decided to start in Valbona and end in Theth.
We used the city of Shkodër as a home base for our rental car and luggage for the two nights we were off trekking; in total we reserved three nights for our time in northern Albania: one night in Shkodër, one night in Valbona and one night in Theth.
One final note: the trail between the two parks is only open during the summer, so I’d plan for a visit between June and September to ensure that you’re able to complete the hike. We visited in late July and experienced ideal weather conditions.
Day in Shkodër
Shkodër is a small city in northwestern Albania with origins dating back to the 4th century B.C. Located in the foothills of the Alps and bordering Lake Shkodër, the city is a standard first stop for anyone who plans to hike between Theth and Valbona National Parks. While you can drive to either Theth or Valbona, there is no road between the two parks, so most people hike from one to the other, spending at least one night in each place, and using Shkodër as a temporary storage unit for necessary items like luggage and a rental car. While Shkodër may not have been high on our list of Albanian cities to visit otherwise, it was a must-do once we decided to tackle the Valbona-Theth hike. The convenience factor was impossible to beat.
We chose to stay at Hotel Tradita Geg & Tosk, a modest and affordable guesthouse known for having a fun live music scene in the evenings. Just like all of our other Albania accommodations, we had to book through booking.com; however, the vibe at Hotel Tradita was a lot more traditional than the places we stayed on the beach and it was also less expensive (~$50/night). The young woman working at reception was efficient and competent; she effortlessly arranged all of our transportation to Valbona (van, ferry, another van) the afternoon we arrived in Shkodër. Oh, and she also hooked us up with an auto repair shop when Reuben accidentally scratched our rental car’s rear bumper trying to back out of the hotel’s tight parking lot. Oops. Fortunately, they were able to paint over the scratch while we were hiking for a very reasonable cost of $15. We didn’t even have to drop the car off at the shop!
I had read good reviews for the hotel’s restaurant; they often have traditional live music in the courtyard in the evening, and the scene sounded quite lively and fun. We opted to eat lunch there since our room wasn’t yet ready when we arrived. It was decent, but just more of the standard Albanian fare.
Later, we drove ten minutes through town to check out the city’s main historical attraction: Rozafa Castle. There is a disturbing legend about Rozafa, who was allegedly sacrificed and buried in the walls of the castle. I do not wish to recount the whole story here, so feel free to look it up if you’re curious. Like most castles, Rozafa Castle was strategically built on a hill, with beautiful views overlooking Shkodër Lake and out toward the Alps.
For dinner we were able to walk from the hotel to a bustling pedestrian street full of bars and restaurants. As Albania’s fifth-largest city, Shkodër felt more urban than anywhere else we stayed in the country, yet it’s home to less than 100,000 residents. We chose a restaurant that seemed to have good reviews, then headed back to the hotel where we were able to catch some of the live music act. Fortunately the performance didn’t last too long as we needed to be up early to catch our van to the Lake Koman Ferry, but it was fun to listen from the comfort of our room.
Preparing for the Hike
We chose to start the hike in Valbona and end in Theth for a couple reasons:
1) Getting to Valbona from Shkodër takes longer. We had to take a van for two hours to the Lake Koman ferry, then ride on the ferry for nearly three hours to Fierze, then take another van for thirty minutes to our guesthouse in Valbona. We figured it would be better to get all of this over with and then just have the two hour van ride from Theth back to Shkodër the morning after the hike.
2) Theth has a bigger “village” with a market and a restaurant, whereas Valbona is just a sprawl of guesthouses. We thought it would be nice to have somewhere to hang out after finishing the hike.
As I mentioned previously, many people hike from one park to the other; of course another option would be to visit just one of the parks and do different trails or to even do an out-and-back hike if you’re impressively ambitious. I was initially a little anxious about leaving our car and luggage in Shkodër and relying on last minute transportation bookings to get around, but this concern turned out to be unfounded, especially during summer 2021, when tourism still wasn’t back to pre-pandemic levels. The guesthouses and the ferry company (Berisha) coordinate the logistics for guests daily throughout the summer, and everything ran like a finely tuned machine for us.
It was fine to book everything the day that we arrived in Shköder, although this recommendation may not hold as the world continues to open up. Regardless, I’d at least suggest booking guesthouses in the parks a couple weeks in advance if you are picky about where you want to stay. We waited until the last minute and found that the most highly rated places were fully booked. It’s hard to say how the accommodations compare as amenities are similar across the board (no four or five star properties in the Albanian Alps–yet). However, I thought we could have done better. Our Valbona guesthouse was a bit of a drive to the trailhead (fortunately, the manager gave us a ride at no additional charge) and our Theth guesthouse had a couple technical issues (the wi-fi in our room didn’t work and the power went out in the evening).
I had actually never had to hike with gear for an overnight stay, let alone two nights, but it ended up being quite easy to pack light since we were staying at guesthouses rather than camping. Reuben delighted in packing the bare minimum of items, but I let myself pack whatever I wanted to feel comfortable and it was no problem with a day pack. The weather was mild so we didn’t need a bunch of layers and the trail was (mostly) smooth enough that basic running shoes were sufficient. There was one section where hiking poles would have been nice to have, but we survived without, albeit moving very slowly.
Now let’s get to the main event already!
First, the Koman Lake Ferry
We were up by 5:15am to grab some coffee before our scheduled 6am pickup time from Hotel Tradita. One thing we had observed about all our Albania accommodations: no matter the size or cost of the place, every hotel and guesthouse had a high-end commercial espresso machine. I relished my cappuccino each morning and very much appreciated the value that Albanians placed on having high quality coffee.
After finishing our coffee we left our car keys and luggage at reception, picked up the packed lunches included in our hotel rate, and boarded the van along with two other couples also staying at the hotel. The ride was pretty relaxed as we drove out of the city and gradually ascended the hills while the driver blasted Albanian pop music. Reuben had been eager to find local music on the radio throughout our stay, but I’m not sure the cheesy hip hop songs and love ballads were exactly what he had in mind.
Finally, we were at the ferry. It was pretty crowded but we were able to squeeze our way into a spot along the edge up top so we could enjoy the views. You can drive on to the ferry as well; we noticed a group of travelers pulling onboard with a couple pimped-out Toyota Land Cruisers. They were all wearing matching T-shirts that explained their purpose: an overland expedition from Croatia all the way through Greece. In general, the tourists in the Alps were a bit more diverse than those at the beach. We saw a lot more Western and Central Europeans in the Alps, while the beach towns seemed to be primarily populated by Albanians.
I had high expectations for the ferry ride as my friend Johnny had raved about how amazing it was. The scenery was absolutely beautiful. Craggy, forested cliffs rose dramatically up from emerald green water, contrasting sharply against the bright blue sky. We cruised through the gorges for nearly three hours; I would’ve been much happier with a ninety minute ride, but of course the distance and the speed weren’t up to me.
It was breezy atop the ferry and I found myself wishing I had a fleece, even in the sun. At one point, a gust of wind hit me by surprise, knocking my baseball cap off my head and sending it into the lake. Guess I’d be hiking hat-less the following day. Then we sat down to eat our lunches and I realized I had been given a meat sandwich even though I had requested vegetarian. It probably wasn’t the hotel’s fault, as I guessed that someone else had unknowingly grabbed my veg sandwich, but it meant that I was ravenous by the time we reached our Valbona guesthouse.
I hadn’t been to Norway (yet) but that sounded about right.
Finally, we reached Fierze, where we all shuffled off the ferry and found another minivan waiting to take us to Valbona. Fortunately, our driver stopped at a market so we could stock up on snacks for the hike, as there really wasn’t anywhere to shop in Valbona. Sustenance, yes! Noshing on my protein bar, I admired the views out the window as we drove into the park. Jagged, snow-capped peaks gradually came into view and we passed a rushing river of glacial water a mesmerizing color of turquoise. I was starting to get really excited about the hike.
Night in Valbona
We stayed at Villa Dini for our one night in Valbona. It was simple but clean, and offered incredible views from the deck. Breakfast was included in our rate, and we also ate lunch (much-needed after my meat sandwich fail) and dinner onsite. The menu was the same for both meals: traditional Albanian fare. However, I wasn’t complaining as they at least had vegetarian options. And wine.
It was a quiet evening for us as we were on a schedule of early mornings for this portion of the trip–regardless, there really wasn’t anything to do at night in Valbona.
Hiking from Valbona to Theth
We (especially Reuben) were up well before breakfast was served at 7am in the morning. While Villa Dini was technically walking distance to the trail, we didn’t need to start the day off with an unnecessary additional 6km along the road. Fortunately the manager, Ariel, offered to drive us to the trail in the morning. One other couple staying at the guesthouse was also doing the hike, so we all hopped in Ariel’s car together after breakfast. The sun had already risen, but at 7:45am was still blocked by the steep mountains in the area. The valley was shady and cool, but the brilliant blue sky beamed overhead, promising warmth later in the day.
The first 3km from the main road to the trailhead was actually a rocky, dried-out riverbed. We had read that some people hire taxis to skip this section of the hike to start from Rrogam. Reuben tried to convince Ariel and the other couple to continue along until the “official” trailhead, but he got no takers. Even I was interested in walking along the nonexistent river; it was flat and supposedly one of the easiest parts of the hike, plus the views looking up to the Alps from the bottom of the valley were nothing if not impressive.
After making it past the flat riverbed, we found the start of the trail that gradually twisted up into the mountains. There were also a couple more guesthouses, and we eventually came across the first cafe, a very casual outpost that offered the essentials: fresh water (free), yogurt, beer and raki (all not free).
This is where the trail started to get amazingly beautiful. I can’t even put it into words. Check out my pictures and then consider doing the hike yourself!
The ascent from Valbona was definitely my favorite part of the hike. The views kept getting better and better, and we only saw a handful of other people along the way. While the trail wasn’t exactly short, it wasn’t particularly steep, so we never felt like we were over-exerting ourselves, but we also never got bored.
A couple hours in, we reached the summit. OMG MIND-BLOWING. I absolutely recommend spending some time up there, admiring the views from different angles and taking all the pictures and videos that you want. We ran into a handful of other people, but mostly had the entire area to ourselves, which only added to the magic of the experience.
Eventually we decided to tear ourselves away and start the descent toward Theth. There were still a number of photo opps, but this part of the trail was generally more sheltered (actually a good thing in the afternoon, another reason why it made sense to start in Valbona and walk toward Theth!)
The last 30-45 minutes of the trail were my least favorite. The steep hill was covered in loose gravel and it was hard to not slip. While the hike was not technically difficult, hiking poles would have definitely come in handy for this section. I fell on my butt not once, not twice, but three times–and I was tip-toeing down the rocks, which slowed us down considerably at the point when we were ready to just be done.
Night in Theth
Finally, we made it!! Once we reached Theth, we decided to stop for a much-deserved lunch at the only restaurant in town before checking in at our accommodations for the evening: the family-run Guest House Flodisa.
After that, there wasn’t much to do. We took showers and changed into clean clothes, then napped (well, Reuben napped and I attempted to sleep briefly, if you could call it that). The owner at Flodisa helped us to book a minivan back to Shkodër the following morning, and then it was back to “town” to explore, aka look at the other guesthouses, see what was happening at the restaurant, and check out what was on offer at the market. We decided to buy a bottle of wine and some salty snacks that would have to suffice for dinner. Fortunately lunch had been quite filling.
One final comment: the restaurant did seem to be quite happening with the backpacker crowd at night. It wasn’t our scene, but affirmed my research stating that Theth has more action that Valbona. While the competition wasn’t stiff, if you’re hoping to get any kind of nightlife in the Albanian Alps, I’d say Theth is your place.
Returning to Shkodër
We enjoyed one last traditional Albanian breakfast the following morning (complete with doughnuts and great coffee, of course), then climbed into our minivan for the return drive to Shkodër. When researching the trip, I had found a number of blogs and Youtube videos denouncing (or celebrating, depending on your perspective) the road from Shkodër to Theth as one of the most dangerous in the world. Hairpin turns, steep cliffs without railings, narrow, unpaved, one-way stretches of road… Reuben was pumped and wanted to do the drive in our own car. Well, unfortunately for him, that turned out to be massively inconvenient given our desire to hike from Valbona to Theth. And it turns out that a brand new road had just been finished that cut the drive time nearly in half (it took us about two hours with traffic) and made the experience much safer. It was still stunningly beautiful, however.
We got back to Hotel Tradita in the late morning, where our luggage and car were waiting for us safely. Our rental Dacia Duster looked as good as new with a fresh coat of white paint on the rear bumper. We had actually left the night open as we weren’t sure if we’d feel like spending an extra night in Theth or Shkodër or somewhere else… but we ultimately decided we were ready to get out of Albania. The Alps has been the literal and figurative peak of our visit to the country and it was time to continue on to our our next destination: Montenegro.
