Hiking the Albanian Alps
Hiking & Trekking
Duration
8
days
Ways to travel:
Guided Group / Private Group
Group size:
Ages:
5 – 16
16+
Grading:
Moderate
Trip Code: TNAL
Accommodation:
- 3 nights hotels
- 2 nights guesthouses
- 2 nights mountain huts
Meals:
- All breakfasts
- 6 lunches
- 7 dinners
Hike the best of Albanian Alps and discover the spectacular landscapes.
This amazing country is very unique and one of the most astonishing best kept secret of Europe. Rugged mountains with high raise peaks, valleys and wild landscape are waiting to be discovered. After the collapse of communism in Albania in 1991 people got a chance to visit this hospitable country. Our trip is focused in the Albanian Alps also known as ‘Accursed Mountains’ with most known Theth and Valbone National Parks. We explore the remote regions where agricultural life has remained the same for centuries. Roughed terrain, historical and cultural factors created the right conditions for people to stay somehow in isolation through the history. Here in these lands ancient blood feuds and folklore mark its past.
Trip highlights
- The amazing regions of the Albanian Alps
- Theth and Valbona National Park
- ‘Lock in Tower’ of Theth, the Blood Feud symbol
- Gashi River preserved area, a UNESCO site
- One of the best Ferry rides in Europe
- Historical and cultural sites of Tirana
Key information
- 2 nights in mountain huts, 2 night in guesthouses, 3 nights in standard hotels
- 5 full hiking days
- Group 5 to 16 persons
- Countries visited: Albania
What is included
- All breakfasts, 6 lunches, 7 dinners
- All accommodation
- Group transfers and toTirana International Airport
- Customer and baggage transportation for all the Tour
What is not included
- Flights
- Travel insurance
- Visas and vaccinations
- Snacks and Drinks
- Single supplement
Itinerary
DAY 1
Start, Airport to Tirana
The group will be met at the airport and transferred approximately for 30 min to our Hotel in Tirana. A group meeting will be scheduled in the afternoon for the main briefing. Your tour guide will go with you through all the tour details and tell you all the things you need to know about this wonderful trip in the Albanian Alps. After the main briefing as we go for dinner in one of the traditional restaurants in Tirana we will do a walking tour of Tirana, and we explore the city and its history.
Standard Hotel
Meals included: dinner
DAY 2
Drive from Tirana to Koman Lake, one of the best Ferry rides in Europe, hike to Sylbice
Today we start with a transfer for 2 hours and take one of the best Ferry rides in Europe, in Koman Lake for about 2 hours. This lake is one of three main artificial lakes in Northern Albania build during communism for producing electricity and today producing about 70% of electricity in Albania. For about 2 hours through Koman Lake, we enjoy the breathtaking views of the mountainous surroundings until we reach Fierze where a transfer takes us to Ujeze huts, from here we start our hike with a descent to Tropoja river and reaching Sylbice. For dinner, traditional and delicious food will be cooked for us.
Mountain Hut
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Distance: 8 km Ascent: 300 m Descent: 570 m Activity: 2hrs
DAY 3
Hike along Tropoja alpine pastures near the border with Kosovo, glacial lakes to Doberdol.
From Sylbice the trail starts gently ascending on alpine pastures mostly covered with blueberries, and on the way we can see the beautiful glacial lakes. We take the shepherd trails along the ridge where we can see the Albanian Alps massifs and the Gashi valley. Doberdol is another great valley where locals are known for herding animals and have a special way of life. We can see ‘Trekfufiri, a mountainous natural peak, where Albania, Kosovo, and Montenegro meet in the highlands. We follow the trail descending until we reach the family-run guesthouse in Doberdol.
Optional: After arriving in Doberdol there is an optional hike to Trekufiri peak.
Guesthouse
Meals included: breakfast, Picnic lunch, dinner
Distance: 10 km Ascent: 720 m Descent: 430 m Activity: 5hrs
DAY 4
Hike nearby Gashi Nature Park a UNESCO site, wild nature and shepherds villages to Cerem
Another beautiful hike today as we start from Doberdol following the shepherds trail. We ascend through forest and meadows with blueberries. Characteristic shepherd huts are located nearby the natural preserved area of Gashi and not far from here there is Gashi River Valley a UNESCO site. On the way there is a local bar-café, they prepare food as well. As we take the trail descending to Cerem, we enter for a short distance to Montenegro, where beautiful views are shown on the distance where we see closer the Albanian Alps peaks.
Hotel/Guesthouse
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Distance: 16 km Ascent: 390 m Descent: 1000 m Activity: 4h30min
DAY 5
From Cerem we hike through the mountains with alpine pastures, to Valbone
From here the trail starts gently ascending in the forest and on alpine pastures mostly covered with blueberries, and on the way we can see the beautiful views of Montenegro and the Borit Pass. After the Pass we follow shepherd paths offering us fascinating panoramic views of Valbona Valley and the Albanian Alps massifs. We start descending following the White Circle trail for a while until we reach the Valbona river bed where a car will be waiting for us to drive us for about 10 min to our guesthouse/hotel.
Hotel/Guesthouse
Meals included: breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner
Distance: 14 km Ascent: 950 m Descent: 700 m Activity: 5-6hrs
DAY 6
The best Pass through the Albanian Alps, Valbona to Theth.
This day is one of the most beautiful hikes in the Albanian Alps. Our trail goes up through the forest and alpine pastures, as we follow the trail we reach Valbona Pass, the highest elevations of our today’s hike, from where we take a few moments to enjoy the amazing views of Valbona and Theth Valleys. Picnic lunch with an amazing view overlooking the picturesque Valbona Valley, wide Valbona riverbed that goes along the entire valley, mountainous surrounding areas, alpine landscape and various rock formations. From the Pass we start descending until we reach Theth village, where we stay overnight.
Standard Hotel
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Distance: 10 km Ascent: 970 m Descent: 1050 m Activity: 6 hrs
DAY 7
Explore Theth village and the surroundings, transfer to Shkoder
Today we explore the picturesque Theth Valley, walking through the village we experience local life as locals continue their usual daily activity. On the way we visit Roman Catholic Church built in 1892, Lock-in tower the locals name it “Kulla”, which has a magnificent and unique history of past blued feuds, it is the only one that remained in the area with a strong connection to the “Kanun’ (Highlands Law Code, locally known as “Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit”, codified according to the customary laws in the 15th century). Unused for its purpose for many years, we will be Lock-in tower guests for today. Following a marked path we visit Grunas Waterfall and continue back to the village. Transfer for about 3 hours to Shkoder.
Standard Hotel
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Distance: 8 km Ascent: 270 m Descent: 170 m Activity: 3-4 hrs
DAY 8
End, Tirana
There will be an organized transfer from our hotel to Tirana International Airport.
Meals included: breakfast
Accommodation for this tour
Hotels (3nts), guesthouses (2nts), mountain huts (2nts).
Accommodation can be different than what you are used in your country. Considering that the Tour is organized in the remote regions of the Albanian Alps, you might expect that quality and service might be lower standards that those in the urban areas. We will spend 1 night in mountain hut, 1 night in guesthouse, 5 nights in 3-star en suite hotels. We have chosen this type of accommodation due to limited choices and most important for their location, character and traditional service. On this tour, we use small family-run hotels or guesthouse, except for the start and finish hotels, which are usually larger hotels with better service and quality. In the hiking and trekking regions they do not have elevators, air-conditioning or English speaking staff, but all family-run their business with a lot of traditional character and welcoming hospitality, clean, safe and simple accommodation.
If available, paying for a single supplement will only guaranty a room for single use.
If you request to book additional accommodation in Tirana before and after the tour, please let us know and we will make it possible. Please contact us if you want to extend your trip.
When you book a tour with us as an individual, for the accommodation you will be paired in a room with another traveler.
Due to limited possibilities in the trekking areas for the accommodation, please read this Note.
Note: Single supplements are only available in hotels.
In guesthouses single supplements are limited and sometimes not available; all the rooms are double or triple rooms, with shared bathrooms (triple rooms are not mixed sex).
In mountain Huts single supplements are not available. Here sleeping is on mattresses on the floor, and multi person in a room will apply.
Essential Information
Is this trip for you?
Activity level: Moderate
This trip is focused on the north of Albania in the remote Albanian Alps region and includes hiking and trekking, culture, and sightseeing. On this trip, we enjoy five full-day hikes of different lengths. This trip is suitable for the average hiker who knows the mountain and is prepared for some physical activity. Our itinerary follows good trails, but in Theth and Valbona regions the terrain can be rocky and slippery in parts. You should be confident in your ability to deal with heights as we will encounter some steep ascents and descents. Day hikes can vary from 4-7 hours activity, including stops. To have access in these remote areas there will be some drives (transfers about 2.5 hours long) which are unavoidable in order to complete and have the best for this trip. Some of the areas are very remote; there will be two off road sections, and we will use local transport which in most cases will not have seat belts.
Luggage will be transferred by car and horses during the hikes, as a result hard suitcases are not suitable, only soft bags are useful
Visas and entry requirements
No visa is required for all visitors from EU, USA, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand passport holder.
Health
There are no specific health risks for this tour
Meals
All breakfasts, 6 lunches and 7 dinners included.
Two of these lunches are packed lunches.
During communism, isolated to the world Albania became a self-sustaining country. Albania has a Mediterranean climate which creates the perfect conditions of natural and healthy growing of vegetables and fruits in lush fertile valleys, nowadays they are still a subsistence culture which has not changed for many years. Influences from other countries and a combining of Mediterranean, Turkish and European tastes has made that food in Albania is quite varied. Dairy product like milk, cheese and yogurt are present in almost every meal, and all locally produced. Drinks are reasonable priced and traditional drinks Raki and ‘Scanderbeg’ Cognac are known for its unique flavor and aroma. Local made beers are inexpensive priced at about 1-2 Euro per bottle.
Vegetarians are in the right country, this tour offers a lot of vegetarian dishes with a lot of greens and vegetables, please inform us before departure of any special dietary requests.
Vegan diet should expect a limited variety of food on this tour.
Meals are included in this tour and Tour Leader will recommend different local dishes, in most cases meals can be organized by the leader or if you have other preferences than that you will be welcomed to do so. Reminder to you that in some places it is necessary to order meals in advance and stay organized. Having an experience with hiking areas and especially with the rich and variety of local dishes provided for us while on tour, your leader is the right person who can suggests and if needed choose and order a delicious meal for you. Eating healthy is very important and we pay special attention to this.
Wather
Albania has a Mediterranean climate and it is characterized by warm, dry summer and mild, wet winter. Summer temperatures are on average 25ºC and humidity is low, with temperatures in July and August that can rise to 30 ºC and above. Albanian Alps in the north have an annual precipitation from more than 2,500 mm to less than 760 mm along the eastern border. Winter is with low temperatures and heavy snow In the Albanian Alps. A typically Mediterranean climate shows in the coastal lowlands, and the highlands have a continental climate. Weather varies markedly from north to south. Daytime maximum temperatures in the Albanian Alps can be, but the nights are almost always cool.
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Dates & Prices 2025
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Trip Notes
Click below and request the detailed Hiking the Albanian Alps trip notes, with all the essential information about this trip.
