Albania? Nah, Alp-Mania!

Our grand finale in this gorgeous country was something we had been planning right from the start. In fact, it was one of the reasons we’d come to Shqipëri in the first place, as everyone we had spoken to before coming had listed it as a highlight. ‘It’, being a stunning adventure through the crazy alpine region in the country’s north. Though every part of the trip is awesome in its own right, the highlight is a full day tramp from one mountain village all the way over an alpine pass and down into the next village.

Getting there in the first place was an adventure in itself. We headed off from Berat with heavy hearts, saying goodbye to our new Albanian family at Hanna’s Hostel, but excited to get on the road again. And quite literally too. We’d heard so much about Albania supposedly being the world’s greatest hitchhiking mecca, so we figured what better place for Milly to have her first go at hitching, and we stuck out a thumb. It turned out everyone was completely right. Within about two minutes we had our first ride, from a kind Albanian man who took us about 20 minutes down the road from Berat. Not the greatest ride, but every kilometre closer is a win. Next was the hardest wait, on the side of the road, with no shade in the hot sun. That said though, it was only about 10 minutes, a good wait by most other countries standards! A nice couple from Stuttgart picked us up and took us a good chunk of the way further, before dropping us at a petrol station.

Hanna’s Hostel

We had a quick water break, then got straight back to it. Within about five minutes, the finest example of Albanian hospitality trundled along, in the shape of an Opel Corsa 1.2. Two guys helped us load our bags and we were off. One was a middle aged scaffolder, and the other a young, recent Physiotherapy graduate. The older bloke spoke almost no English, but with the younger guy translating, and a bit of google to grease the wheels, we had some phenomenal chat. We talked about religion, politics, Albanian culture. The best and worst parts of the Balkans. There was nothing taboo to these guys, and they were so friendly. They asked us how much of a rush we were in, and since we had the whole day to travel, they took us on a detour. First they played tour guide and took us to their favourite beach, just outside of Durrës. After a good look around, they decided we were parched, and shouted us a round of coffee at their local cafe. Once we got back on the road, they decided to spare us from hitching the rest of the way and took us to the bus stop. Not only that, but they hung around to make sure we got on the right bus and even went so far as to pay for our ticket. We tried to refuse of course, but these kind souls simply insisted. It was one of the most heart warming displays of generosity I have ever experienced, and one of those travelling moments that makes everything worth it: the money spent, the long hours on busses, the lack of privacy every night. A real human connection that left an Albanian shaped stamp in our hearts.

Our Shqiptar friends showing us their favourite spot

With that, we arrived in Shköder, a city at the foothills of the mountains that serves as the ‘base camp’ for any further exploration. We spent a couple nights here, enjoying the beautiful lake and vibrant streets. There was a really nice vibe about the place, every seems to get nicely dressed and just head to the street to mingle with all their mates. It was even one of the few places we have seen that was safe for cyclists on the Albanian roads. There are rental shops everywhere, and we got some bikes for 5€ for the day, and hooned around town, not really going anywhere in particular, just taking in more than we would’ve on foot. We made it a decent ways around Lake Shkodra, which serves as the border between Albania and Montenegro. Shköder is also where you sort out transport to the mountains, so with tickets for the days ahead booked, we got an early night.

Shköder and the view from our hostel rooftop

We started at the hostel we booked our transport with, as they let you store bags there while you’re gone. Unless you’re camping, there’s no hostels in the two mountain towns you stay, only guesthouses. They’re a bit expensive, but most provide breakfast and dinner (some even packed lunches too), so you only need very minimal gear, and the rest you leave behind. A true relief, the thought of an alpine crossing with the traditional backpacker double front and back backpack set up was not ideal. Most of them seem to also be available via messaging them directly on Whatsapp, which isn’t the most ideal but it works. A true relief, the thought of an alpine crossing with the traditional backpacker double front and back backpack set up was not ideal.

We got picked up early the next morning by the minibus, and the trek into the mountains got underway. The first leg was a 2.5 hour bus ride up to Lake Komani. It’s only about 80km I believe, but every 10km you travel, your average speed drops by about 10km/h too. By the end, typical of Albania, the road is so windy and bumpy, it feels like you’re coming in for a Jetstar landing at Wellington airport. Once you arrive in Komani, congrats! You’re nearly halfway to Valbonë.

We all climbed out of the van, a bit shaky and motion sick, and are confronted with the smallest, but perhaps also busiest ferry terminal I have ever seen. A bunch of river boats are all pulled nose up to a dam, and the mass of tourists frantically tried to figure out which boat they’d booked. Luckily, everyone was really helpful, and we were quickly loaded onto our ferry. Ours didn’t, but some other boats had cars on board, packed in to the absolute seams. I don’t know much about boats, but some certainly looked like they were sitting a lot lower in the water than they should. The craziness continued as we got underway too. As we’re chugging along, occasionally a little tinny with a disproportionately large outboard would hoon up alongside our big, slow, river boat, and then two Albanian guys would help some helpless tourist jump the gunwales, and transfer over to our ferry. Then 20 minutes later they’d come back with another. I have to say though, most travel companies would laugh at you if you missed your ferry, so it was so refreshing to see people helping these sorry tourists. That’s Albania for ya.

Seemed like we were the only ones on the ferry who weren’t Australian or British

Anyway, the ferry ride is beautiful. You’re already in the mountains, and sailing between the towering peaks is beyond picturesque. Our ride was accentuated by some English bloke playing his ‘relaxing Coldplay’ out loud on his UE Boom. After about 3 hours, the end of the line arrives, and another minivan takes you on a slightly more comfortable 1 hour final transfer to Valbonë.

I’m just gonna get in right now and say there will probably be many, many variations of ‘the view was very pretty’, or ‘it was so stunning’ in this blog post. Because it all was! That’s kinda the reason we came. Anyway, Valbonë is so stunning. As soon as we arrived, we dropped our bags and went for a walk. The town is nestled right at the foothills of the mountains, which surround you in a complete 360 degrees and climb skywards. We were there in the middle of June and there was still snow sparkling on some of the peaks. The walk took us down along the river to the start of the Peaks of the Balkans walk. This is a more intense, self-reliant version of the hike that we sadly didn’t have the time or gear for. It’s a multi day walk through the mountain passes, crossing various borders into Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo if you like. It’s definitely on the list for us to return to. We walked past the start point only a little bit jealous, and crossed back over the village into town. I never visited the Swiss Alps in the mid 1900’s, but that’s kinda the vibe I got from this place. Cows free on the paddock and street, getting called back in for milking time. All the stock had bells around their neck, the local houses were all cutesy wooden alpine sheds and lodges, and the machinery was mostly ancient Mercedes-Benz stuff. If you ignore the few weird looking new hostels, it could be the Sound of Music.

We were thoroughly knackered after a big day of travel, so we tucked in early again for our big day ahead. We wanted to get going really early in the morning to avoid the scorching heat for the climb, but the free breakfast only started at 8am. We contemplated skipping it to get away earlier, but in the end being tight asses won out, as we had technically paid for it. It was worth it too, when else do you get a nice cooked brekkie with bacon, eggs, sossies, hash browns and more right before a tramp. Proteined up, we laced our boots and finally set off for Theth.

We immediately got kind of lost. Our guesthouse was not near the start of the track at all, and you’d think being the main attraction in this town, there’d be signs pointing the way. Nope. We even asked a local and he had no idea, the map showed up one direction, but we saw people walling the complete opposite. We eventually bumped into some hikers going the other way who pointed us in the right direction – everyone else we had seen was heading up the Peaks’ track. Correctly oriented, we walked to the start, which ended up being another 4km down the road. Not really a big deal, but that was just reaching the start of our 16km tramp, which definitely started to add up. The road ends in a big carpark, and the trail from there was very well marked.

And so the climb started! There was no messing around, it was straight into the elevation. It wasn’t too steep at first, but definitely still up. The mountain we had to ascend loomed up in front of us, was definitely slightly imposing, but we had all day, plenty of water and enough sugary snacks to give a horse a heart attack. We meandered our way up a gravelly old river bed for a while, until the track hit the forest. We walked past cute little farmsteads with animals, and fields of wildflowers. We were stopping every few minutes to go, ‘wow, look at that!’. And of course the mountains never got any less impressive.

Eventually we broke free from the tree line and the climbing got real. It wasn’t too hot a day, but being in the open sun climbing hard out definitely brought the temps up. Not too much to say about it really apart from it was super steep and you just had to keep your head down and keep climbing. There were a few reprieves thought. At roughly half way up, the track skirts past a little drinks bar. It’s little more than a shack, and there’s no fridges, the drinks are just swimming in tubs of ice cold alpine water. They’re definitely overpriced, but on a walk like that, the prospect of a freezing coke is just too good to pass up. After a quick breather, refilling our bottles with delicious and cold spring water (and patting the shop kitten!) we kept on trucking.

The last little bit before you reach the top feels like a proper mountain traverse. There’s bits where the track gets narrow and there’s a rope to hold onto to stop you falling hundreds of metres down the cliff. It’s steep and scrambly in some places, slippery in others. And then when you reach the top.

Holy. Moly.

On the way up you’re locked in the one valley, and then all in an instant, with the final step, you break over the ridge and you get the full view of the whole range. It’s incredible. Peaks and snow and ridges and and and… Again, incredible. There’s a final little climb from the top to an even better view point, which was a slog, but we did, and had the most scenic sandos of my life. Looking at the vista with a salami sanga, watching the little ant people trek their way up, helicopters rise into the valley below us, it was kinda peak human existence really. So good for the soul.

Eventually we had to come back down, physically and mentally. It was much the same as going up, only 10 times easier. We passed a similar little drinks bar on the way down, and enjoyed the shade of the forest once we got ourselves back under the tree line. After many hours we stepped back into civilization, and entered the village of Theth. Somehow, we had yet again booked our accom on the opposite side of town to the trail, so we tacked on yet another few kilometres of walking to the planned distance. At that point our legs and feet were aching for a break – it was slightly torturous walking past heaps of cozy looking homes to the other side of town after the big tramp we’d just done.

It was all worth it when we reached our guesthouse though. It was so homey, the owners spoke barely any English, but they were so welcoming and friendly. We even somehow managed a private room, even though we’d book a shared, which was awesome. The cherry on top though, was the dinner they put on for the guests. Not only was it delicious, but they invite all the guests to sit around one table and have a big family dinner. That night it was just us and an English couple, and we sat around the table for hours having terrific yarns and banter. It felt so nice to sit down over a hearty cooked meal after weeks of hostel meals and cheap street food. And you best believe after 23km, 900m of elevation and a full tummy, we went straight to sleep.

In the morning we explored Theth, as we had arranged to stay an extra night on other peoples’ recommendations. There’s a beautiful pure mountain spring you can visit called ‘The Blue Eye’ that we planned on visiting, but the 6 hour return walk to get there wasn’t so appealing after the day we’d had previously. Instead we opted for the 2 hour option to a waterfall nearby. Again, gorgeous scenery, everyone should go to Albania. On the way back we stopped at this awesome little restaurant that hung over a river for a lunch treat, to celebrate our final full day in Albania. Dinner that night was even more special. Instead of 4 of us, there were 12 at the table. Not only that, but 5 of us were kiwis, which felt strange to be so over represented. But it was fantastic, dinner included fish which was such a treat for the budget traveller, and we laughed and talked around the table for hours.

The next day, sadly, that was it. We loaded into the bus back to Shköder, and after picking up our bags from the hostel we caught the next bus out of town to Montenegro. Just like that, bye bye Albania. It felt weird to leave a place that had become so special to us, but we know we’ll be back as soon as we can. To anyone planning a trip to Europe, Albania should be right at the top of your list. And while you’re there, do the hike from Valbonë to Theth. You can do it either direction, both have pros and cons, but we feel the Valbonë to Theth route is better. You get the big travel day out of the way first, and staying an extra night in Theth after you’ve done the walk was so nice (Highly, highly recommended Zariklis Guesthouse!).

This has been a long one, so thanks for bearing with, and hope you enjoyed!
With tired legs, Finn 🙂