Local Village House Trek Albanian… (trip)

Log in or Register

Local Village House Trek Albanian Alps

  • Tirana Airport, Tirana, Albania
  • Active & Adventure
“Despite their extreme isolation (or maybe because of it) the northernmost villages of Albania are growing in popularity. This region… ”
Albania, Europe

To check availability or book,
contact Outdoor Albania:

Period offered: May-October. The provider (view their profile) can provide you with specific departure dates, final prices, and other information.


privacy notice
Your email address is safe from marketers! The address you provide will be used to contact this provider just like a regular email message. No third parties will be given access to your email address, nor will we ever sell it to them. TravelDragon hates spam too!
Do you want a brochure/catalog?
How should the provider respond to you?


from €300* per person5 DaysMay-October
Simple accommodations Exertion level: 5
Operator: Outdoor Albania 12 people max
This tour is for adventurous travelers with open minds who like staying in the traditional houses of the native Albanian highlanders, the "malesore". The tour covers some of the most scenic parts of Albania and includes a ferry trip on the spectacular Lake Koman, a trek through the beautiful Valbona Valley, and a visit to the Valley of Thethi. You will hike about 6 hours per day and all overnight stays are in local guesthouses. You will get to experience the best of rural Albania, set high in the Albanian mountains, and admire the spectacular view of one of the largest lakes in Europe from the ruins of the Rozafa Castle.

Loading map, please wait...

Locations visited/nearby

Albania, Europe

1 testimonial about this trip

  1. Reviewer: Cynthia Ord located in Denver, Colorado USA
    Despite their extreme isolation (or maybe because of it) the northernmost villages of Albania are growing in popularity. This region is well worth the hours of rocky commute required to get there. The landscape is a three dimensional postcard of jagged alpine peaks, thickly vegetated valleys, and the idyllic wood-shingled dwellings of the scant population.

    Because of the travel time involved in reaching this remote area, there’s no fast way to do it. Outdoor Albania’s five-day trek is great span of time to see enough of the region and even absorb some its local culture and flavor. The first day was dedicated to reaching Valbona via a furgon (minibus) to the ferry that passes through the dramatic Drin canyon. Accommodations were welcoming village guesthouses, where a local family cooked simple, traditional dishes using the fresh ingredients from the land.

    The next three days were all strenuous days of mountain trekking. The group of 9 followed shepards’ paths through alpine meadows carpeted with wildflowers. Day three was the on-foot passage from Valbona to Thethi, with mountain horses to carry our packs. Day four was spent in and around Thethi, where a well-marked riverside path leads to a gushing waterfall.

    Day five was spent in transit from Thethi back to Tirana via Shkoder, a northern city with a lunch stop at Tradita restaurant. Trip highlight: the hammock at the Carku guesthouse in Thethi, where the family’s kids thought it was fun for some reason to rock me as I relaxed after three days of serious hiking.

0 testimonials about the provider, Outdoor Albania:

Comments from Facebook

Special information

  • This is a custom departure, meaning this trip is offered on dates that you arrange privately with the provider. Additionally, you need to form your own private group for this trip. The itinerary and price here is just a sample. Contact the provider for detailed pricing, minimum group size, and scheduling information. For most providers, the larger the group you are traveling with, the lower the per-person cost will be.

Itinerary

Day 1: The Koman Dam and the river Drin.
At 5.00 in the morning we will drive to the ferry of Koman, which passes through the spectacular canyon of the Drin River. The lake was created after the construction of the Dam of Koman in the 80's. The trip will continue by car along the beautiful valley of the Valbona River, to the charming village of Dunishë, where the group will stay overnight.
Dinner and accommodation are in a village house in Dunishë the best starting point for all kinds of hikes in the surrounding mountains. The lovely little lake behind the house is an ideal spot to rest after a long day.

Overnight: Guesthouse in Valbona
Dinner: Home-cooked meal by a local family

Transfer information: Tirana (0km) – Koman (150km) – Fierza (2.5h ferry) – Valbona (43km)
Duration: 8h

Day 2: Trekking to the village of Kukaj
Trekking will start from the house toward the village of Kukaj (900 m). From there, a shepherd's path will take the group to the remote landscapes of the Eastern Alps of Albania to reach Qafa e Rosit (2000 m; approximately seven to eight hours of walking). The path climbs smoothly amidst green meadows, with gorgeous views of the Jezerca Mountain and Rrethi i Bardhë, the White Circle. At the end of the day, the tour will rest in the same place as the previous night. (750m).

Overnight: Guesthouse
Dinner: Traditional dinner at a local family

Hike information:
Gradient: 1100m ; - 1100m
Duration: 7 hours

Day 3: Over the pass to Thethi
After breakfast, the group will drive 10 km to the village of Rrogam (900m), where the next round of trekking will begin. The journey will peak at the Pass of Valbona (1966 m). This is the classic route through the Albanian Alps, which for centuries has linked the two valleys of the area, Valbona and Thethi. Mules/horses will be used to carry luggage to the next resting area. The Albanian highlanders commonly use the path from late spring to the first snow of winter. Participants can enjoy the refreshing natural springs along the way, and the peaks of Jezerca and Radohima. The group will start the descent towards the village of Thethi (850-900 m), where they will rest overnight after about eight hours of walking. Thethi is the best-preserved Alpine village in Albania, with typical houses still roofed with wooden tiles amid stunning surroundings. The group will stay overnight in one of the traditional houses and enjoy extraordinary hospitality.

Overnight: Guesthouse Thethi
Dinner: Traditional dinner at a local family

Hike information:
Gradient: 1300m ; - 1400m
Duration:7 hours


Day 4: Discover Thethi
Thethi is one of the best-known villages of Northern Albania, because of its stunning beauty and traditional houses. The group will walk down from the house (850m) and visit the attractions near the village, including the Church (750m), the Kulla e Ngujimit (a tower house used in the past by men as a shelter against ongoing vendettas), the Thethi Waterfall (820m) and the Grunasi Canyon. The group will also visit the Cyclopean stonewalled terraces dating from the late bronze era, but discovered only in 2007. Travellers will retire to the same house as the night before.

Overnight: Guesthouse Thethi
Dinner: Traditional dinner by a local family

Hike information:
Gradient: -150m ; 150m
Duration:4 hours

Day 5: Shkoder and Tirana
We will leave Thethi to start our last day of spectacular trekking in direction of the village of Boga. During this day we will walk along Shtegu i Dheneve - the Path of the Sheep, which is another classic way of the Albanian Alps that connects the villages of Thethi and Boga. After Pass (1830m a.s.l) and the stunning views it offers of Bjeshket e Namuna – The Accursed Mountains, the walk will continue downhill along the side Radohima mountain range until we reach the village of Boga (900m a.s.l).
We will have lunch in this picturesque village surrounded by vertical slopes with peaks above 2000m high, and than leave through the Boga valley towards Shkodra and than Tirana (120km – 3hrs).
You can either decide to stop your trip in arrival in Shkoder or in Tirana.

Transfer information:
Distance: 160 km
Duration: 2,5 hours

Hike information:
Gradient: 900m ; -900m
Duration:7 hours

More information from Outdoor Albania: