Leaving the village of Theth behind, we followed the crystalline river Shala through the lush Grunasi canyon at a leisurely pace.

Grateful for the easier grade than in previous days, we crisscrossed the riverbed looking for berries and the perfect shaded spot for a mid-morning picnic.

A little climb up brought us to Grunas Waterfall (or Theth Waterfall as it’s sometimes called) – a 30m high waterfall fed almost exclusively by the melted snow coming from the mountaintops.

A bit further, a wooden bridge slightly off the hiking trail gave us a nice view over the deep, turquoise canyon.

Back in the open, the valley laid out at our feet, the sun beating down on us… what a marvel to be here and not have to share this superb “day of rest” with anybody else? Incredible that you can still find pockets of solitude in such formidable nature.

We couldn’t stay away any longer from the enchanting blue of the tranquil river and its healing promise. We scrambled down and quickly took off bulky hiking boots and wool socks, filling the quiet valley with our screams of ecstasy as the glacial water soothed our achy feet…

Early afternoon, we reached the first bridge crossing the river and with it the first sign of tourism. Some riverside chalets, wooden lounge chairs, and a sign saying something about agritourism… this seemed like the perfect place for nature lovers to get away from it all (and indulge in the cold plunge trend in gorgeous surroundings!).

Finally on the other side, our “leisure” day continued as we reached the picturesque hamlet of Nderlysaj.

We checked into our guest house to rest before our final ascent tomorrow, settling in for a beer or two in the expansive garden and carb-loading on sweet cakes.

We took off early the next morning before the sun could warm up the valley, on our way to the butt-kicker of the week.

Following the Krapea creek, we got a nice surprise at the sight of the Ndërlysa’s marble pools. The stunning white rock formations have been chiseled by the water over centuries, creating mini pools of the clearest turquoise.

We continued going up through forests and pastures, crossing a few more streams but without dipping our toes this time as we knew the hard climb was yet to come.

An hour later, we arrived at surprise #2 – the Blue Eye.

Not to be confused with the other, more famous Blue Eye in the south of Albania in Saranda, the “Theth Blue Eye” is yes another pretty turquoise pool but this one has a towering waterfall that flows right into it. It’s beautiful especially seen from above and incredibly cold so only the bravest will attempt to dip a tiny body part before skipping away screaming.

Soon after, the unrelenting climb to reach the 1,685m-high Thore pass began . It wasn’t that difficult but felt like a never-ending Stairmaster workout. Deep in the forested slopes of the mountain, there were practically no views to take the mind off your burning calves. First distraction we saw was an old grave so we cheered up big time when the trees finally cleared for a moment and we were able to see the valley from where we had just come that morning…

The end in sight, we pushed without a pause to the top of Thore Pass (which you can also reach by car but where’s the fun in that!).

We finally made it (and crushed it frankly as it wasn’t even noon) and could catch our breath as we admired the views. Not as spectacular as the Valbona Pass but a nice crowning achievement nevertheless. Time for a long and well-deserved lunch before driving the scenic route to Krujë, passing through the Boga Valley.

Sitting on a mountaintop just north of Tirana, the small city of Krujë (or Kruja) became the symbol of resistance against the Ottoman in the 15th century.

Perched above the city, the Krujë castle was the headquarters of Albania’s national hero Skanderbeg (then an Albanian nobleman and military commander) who led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire. The castle fought off multiple massive sieges from the Turks under his command while Constantinople and large areas of the Balkans were falling. Today it contains a museum dedicated to this legendary Albanian leader, chronicling his life and  one of the proudest periods of Albanian history.

You can also see the remains of an Ottoman-era mosque and its minaret in front of the castle, named after the man who finally broke down the castle’s security – Sultan Mehmed Fatih.

The way up to the castle is equally historic as you walk through a 450-year-old bazaar selling traditional crafts and antiques.

With a view as fitting as its name, we ended our adventure at Hotel Panorama with a final traditional meal and an abundance of strong Albanian red wine. We needed to celebrate our steep morning hike and tomorrow’s lack of physical activity save for carrying our gear to the airport…

This day hike in Northern Albania is one of the area’s most celebrated trails and we were giddy with excitement as we bid farewell to Valbona village this morning to start the journey. For centuries this trail has connected the glacial valleys of Valbonë and Thethi, crossing over the 1800m high Valbonë pass, which is only accessible during the summer months due to heavy snowfall. It’s a moderate hike which should take you around 6-7 hours to cover the roughly 9km-12km distance depending on where you start, rewarding you with spectacular scenery almost the entire way.

Rewarding our first uphill section, the Simoni Kafe appeared like a mirage around a bend in the path with its shaded bar and offering of cold and hot beverages.

I went for my usual extra strong Turkish coffee which has been fueling up my hikes these past few days and making me wonder how I’ve trekked without them for so long… (hiking destinations of the world please take note!).

From then on the trail got steeper, leading us towards a large bowl of alpine meadows, framed by rocky slopes that were to take us up to the Valbonë Pass.

About halfway up the valley started appearing to our left with clear, magnificent views as far as the eyes could see.

At times a bit vertiginous, the trail hugged the ridge for a little while, adding a bit of scrambling to our route.

Reaching the Valbonë pass at 1,812 meters under the blazing midday sun was simply glorious.

Views opened up all around us with opportunities to go slightly higher up a few craggy peaks for even better perspectives. Time to take it slow and let it all soak in… accursed or not, these are some breathtakingly beautiful mountains we were lucky to be trekking through.

The Albanian Alps were nicknamed the “Accursed Mountains” supposedly by the Slavic soldiers trying to cross them a while back.

From the pass, it’s now down, down, down all the way to the village of Theth. We passed horses carrying luggage which is the common thing to do here seeing as there’s no direct road between Valbona and Theth – only the pass.

Much of the way down is amid shaded forest with scenic openings appearing with a cafe or sloping meadow to admire the changing vistas.

Soon we got a glimpse of our destination for the night, the famous Theth (or Thethi) village down in the valley.

Theth is legendary, the kind of places you can hardly believe still exists today. In the heart of Theth National Park, the small village stands as the most well-preserved alpine village in Albania and was declared a Protected Historic Centre.

Only a few original families still live in Theth in the summer and a few outsider Albanians are slowly coming up here to open businesses as tourism is slowly starting to grow. The setting is just outstanding. You feel like you’re in this protected little bowl of natural beauty and totally forget for a moment that this is indeed the 21st century.

We walked around the village to explore its unique setting, stone-walled terraces dating back to the Bronze Age, little farmhouses growing veggies and grapevines, glacial streams…

…and a blood feud tower. I had read about them prior to coming here and standing right in front of one was seeing medieval history come to life. This region was famous for blood feuds which have slowly disappeared from modern Albanian life although some other areas have seen this tradition return since the fall of Communism.

It’s totally worth learning more about it but in a nutshell, protecting one’s honor is an essential component of Albanian culture even at the cost of one’s life. Committing a serious personal attack on a member of any family (failure to pay a debt, seducing a woman, violating private property, killing a guest, etc.) could only be redeemed by the killing of the offender or a member of their family in order to salvage one’s honor. 

These fortified towers were used as safe haven for men engaged in blood feuds. Males from the family involved would be able to lock themselves in the tower, until some relative had been killed and it was then safe to come out. It is believed that there are still about 700 Albanian families affected by blood feuds which are passed down generations if the debt is not paid…

The stone-built Catholic Church stands proudly in the middle of it all. Legend has it that the villagers moved here in order to worship in the Christian faith undisturbed. It’s as iconic as the village itself and looked even more stunning as the light started to fade and we settled in for a celebratory dinner, still enchanted by the most perfect of hiking day.

Hikers in search of the last few remaining unspoiled mountain trails have been making their way to Northern Albania lately. The remote Albanian Alps and nearby Balkan ranges are considered some of the last “adventurous” hiking destinations on the continent, and looking at the pace of change in these regions these days, not for long. If you’re into pristine nature and walking to remote villages to see a disappearing way of life then head up here as fast as you can – it’s so worth it. Here’s an inside look into my weeklong journey into the “Accursed Mountains” of Albania…

Getting there is an adventure in itself. If you’re flying into Tirana, you’ll have to make your way to Shkoder first in the north, the last big town before the mountains. From Shkoder it’s over two hours of bumpy ride on mountain roads (some of which were washed out when we passed through from the previous night’s storm) to get to the beginning of a much more pleasant commute – the Lake Koman ferry.

Lake Koman was artificially created in the 1980s as part of a major hydroelectric project which doesn’t take anything away from its breathtaking beauty. Although we embarked under the cover of clouds with a light rain falling, the weather eventually turned around for us to enjoy what is known as one of the best boat trips in the world.

The ride is calm on the small public ferry as you gently glide over the 34 km² expanse of the lake. The roughly 2½ hours journey takes you through a wonderful moving panorama of untouched landscape along the Drin River.

Once the sun finally showed up, the technicolor switch turned on and with it the spectacular sight of the emerald lake with green rolling hills in the background.

Always twisting and turning, you cruise from wide open views to narrow passageways with towering cliffs on each side, reminiscent of the fjords of Norway or even the Philippines. The walls get higher and higher the further north you go, a sign that you’re soon arriving at your destination.

The ferry drops you off in Fierza and then it’s an hour long (and quite stunning) drive through the Valbonë Valley, deep into the Albanian Alps with the glacier-fed Valbona river rushing to your left.

Valbona is a sleepy little village for now but it sure won’t stay that way forever seeing the number of hotels currently being built. On the positive side, I didn’t notice any big resorts and it means you have a plethora of choices among the many family-owned stone houses and alpine chalets. Wherever you stay, you’ll get a warm welcome, a quiet room overlooking the dramatic scenery, and a home cooked meal which is all you can dream of after a long day in the mountains.

The location can’t be beat with many trails starting right from the village and the arresting views all around you of towering limestone cliffs.

Right after dropping our bags we were off on our first late afternoon hike, following the only road out of the village.

A gentle climb through the forest gave us glimpses of the changing sky and the kind of golden hour magic 19th century impressionist painters were always chasing after.

Also, I’m usually not the superstitious type but anyone else seeing the devil’s eyes shining bright on the “Accursed Mountains” below?? I swore they were looking right at me…ominous sign for tomorrow’s big hike?

Thankfully the skies cleared once again and the Albanian evil spirit gave way to flowery meadows and pastoral scenes all the way back to the village.

If the bucolic alpine landscape could easily have you fooled and thinking you’re in Switzerland or Italy, the sight of a few bunkers by the side of the road is confirmation that you’re indeed in Albania (I explain a bit more about the bunkers in a previous post if you’re interested in their origin).

We settled in for the night with a traditional meal washed with the local beer and obligatory post-dinner shot of their homemade raki.

Waking up to a glorious sunrise casting a deep reddish light over the Accursed mountain range, we set off on foot after breakfast (typically bread, local cheeses and jams) to explore these jagged landscapes right in front of us.

Following a shepherd’s path up took us through beech and pine forests to one of the remotest areas of the eastern Alps of Albania and we eventually reached the quaint little hamlet of Kukaj.

A quick stop at a refuge for a strong cup of coffee gave us fuel for the climb ahead and some very fine views.

Out of the woods (and after a period of rain) we finally get dramatic views of the surrounding rocky domes and the ideal spot to unpack our lunch by a shepherd’s hut.

Back in Valbona by mid-afternoon in time for some local herbal tea and a relaxing night at the inn.

Next day, we drove this time towards the Montenegro border, spotting carved busts of historical local leaders along the mountain roads.

We arrived at the secluded village of Çerem, populated mostly by shepherds during the summer season but otherwise left uninhabited due to poor weather conditions during the winter. We started on foot from the village up into the mountains, crossing lush forests and meadows.

Horses were seen roaming and grazing on our left as we climbed higher and higher.

As we had now become accustomed to (and absolutely loving), we soon reached a small shepherd’s hut to rest for a bit.

The daughter of the local shepherd was there to offer us not only deliciously strong Turkish coffee but also her homemade yogurt and freshly picked wild blueberries. She’s currently studying at the university in Tirana and spends her summer and time off here helping her parents and welcoming hikers to the mountain.

Honestly couldn’t have dreamed of a better mid-hike snack!

Other animals soon joined us as we neared the highest grazing meadows and top of the mountain range.

We made it to Bori Pass which marks the border with Montenegro. Shepherd families were split with this added border in the 1950s so you’ll find the closest village to the Bori Pass on the Montenegro side to be populated by ethnic Albanians, cousins of the shepherds from Çerem.

From there we turned around and made our way down the winding slopes of Mount Sqapit, all the way back to the village.

This was turning out to be quite the food highlight day – after this morning’s blueberry yogurt I found ketchup-flavored chips in the village to accompany my local beer… the Canadian in me was really happy! (if you know you know) 🙂

A small town surrounded by gorgeous nature is what most visitors see as they hurriedly pass through Shkodër on their way to the mighty mountains in the north of Albania. Whether transiting from Tirana or from right across the border in Montenegro, few extend their stay in the getaway to the Albanian Alps. The lucky ones in the know add a few days to take in one of Albania’s most historical towns and recharge in its blissfully peaceful center. I fell somewhere in between – squeezing less than 48hrs which wasn’t enough to do it justice but just enough to name it my Albanian gem… Do better if you go! And catch a glimpse of the magic I was able to capture below.

Like in Tirana, Shkodër isn’t short on memorable cafes despite its small size. A lightly rainy afternoon was my perfect excuse to cozy up in the verdant EKO Club for a few hours.

Lush, warm, covered in books and vintage textiles, gathering locals with a community vibe and eco-conscious ethos… how can you not want to spend the day in here and dream up stories or next year’s plans? Like any true Albanians (I had been in the country for a few weeks at this point), I started with a strong coffee followed by a beer because that’s also a lovely feature of these wholesome cafes to evolve as the day goes by.

They also make sure your time in the restroom keeps you entertained or at least opened to new perspectives…

That welcoming feeling extends way beyond friendly cafes as Shkodër is noted for its religious diversity and tolerance too with mosques and cathedrals built side by side. Albania has the second largest Muslim population in Europe (60% of Albanians) after Kosovo and it’s impossible to miss Ebu Bekër Mosque at the nexus of the historical district’s main arteries.

Locals and the few tourists that linger here flock to the pedestrian Kole Idromeno Street – an Italian style promenade lined with restaurants, cafes, and a few small shops.

Adjoining paved streets have a distinct Mediterranean flair and are dreamily empty on a weekday afternoon.

You can’t help but slow down to admire the ornate pastel houses next to crumbling stone walls, unhurried with no cars passing by. The only movement coming from the locals merrily gliding by on bicycles, their preferred mode of transport in this flat town.

There are artful scenes around every corner and vestiges of the old town’s very distant past – Shkodër was founded in the 4th century B.C!

Laidback cafes like Goje Gaditese make ideal vantage point to enjoy the atmospheric old town and immerse yourself in the real Albania, a glass in hand.

Around the corner down a dead end alley stands the bright yellow building of Arti’Zanave.

The traditional Albanian restaurant is as warm as its façade and is the place to go for a taste of local cuisine in unpretentious surroundings.

Its popularity led to makeshift tables being laid out in the quiet alley in the true spirit of the place – you come here for the food.

First timers are recommended the plate of mixed traditional Albanian dishes to get a little taste of it all with a very generous pour of strong local red wine. This Mediterranean feast loaded with grilled vegetables, cheese, lamb and potatoes goes down like a dream and feels like you’ve just been invited to an Albanian’s Sunday dinner.

As the sun sets, the pedestrian promenade fills up quickly with locals looking to unwind with a glass of wine and a cig (Albanians are heavy smokers).

For a nice dinner option, I can’t recommend enough the Atelier Restaurant attached to the boutique hotel of the same name.

Set on the ground floor of an old family house from the late 18th century, the setting with the stone walls, wood beams, and open kitchen is as superb as the food.

Dishes were outstanding – probably my favorite meal in Albania – and beautifully showcased contemporary Albanian cuisine.

That’s all I could fit in my short stay and I wish I could have extended it to explore nearby lake Shkodra and the Rozafa Castle…so many gems around here! Now off to the mountains – stay tuned.