Albanian Alps Hiking Tour
5 days / 4 nights
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Albania|
Highlights
- Cross the Valbona Pass at 1,795 m, the most walked stage in the Albanian Alps
- Ride the Koman Lake ferry for two and a half hours through a canyon that looks like a fjord
- Sleep in 3-star hotels or B&Bs in Valbona and Theth, each with your own bathroom
- Stand over the Blue Eye of Theth, a spring the colour of glacier ice
- Walk to the Grunas waterfall and canyon on the afternoon of your Theth day
- Warm up on the river path from Dragobi into Valbona, with the pass in view all the way
What’s included in the price?
Self-guided
Are you looking for a good adventure and limitless flexibility? Then you should try out a self-guided tour, perfect for independent explorers who want to set their own pace. Without the need to stick to a group schedule, you’re free to linger at scenic viewpoints while the logistics are taken care of in advance.
INCLUDED
NOT INCLUDED
OPTIONAL EXTRAS
Carefully selected 3-star hotels and B&Bs, all with private en-suite rooms and breakfast included. Expect comfortable, well-appointed rooms with attentive hospitality, typically in convenient and scenic locations — some properties also offer on-site dining.
These are examples of the type and standard you can expect. Actual properties may vary depending on availability.
What to bring to the tour
- Hiking shoes/boots
- 25 to 45-liter backpack
- Base layer
- Sports T-shirts
- Hiking shorts
- Hiking water-repellent pants
- Waterproof jacket
- Midlayer
- Sports socks and underwear
- Leisurewear for evenings
- Down jacket
- Gloves
- Shade hat/cap
- Warm headwear
- Sunscreen
- Sunglasses
- Headlamp
- Hiking poles
- ID card or passport
- Snacks
- Cash
- Water bottles or hydration pack
- Sleeping liner
- Toiletries
- Toilet paper
- Small first aid kit
Valbona to Theth is the hike everyone in Albania talks about; you will hear it called the Theth to Valbona hike just as often. Two valleys, one pass, and this is the short, classic version with a bed every night, for people who want the crossing without a week in the mountains.
You arrive the way the locals do. The Koman Lake ferry is not a transfer but the first highlight, a slow morning between cliffs on jade-green water, and the walk into Valbona that afternoon is a gentle warm-up along the river with the pass in view the whole way.
The crossing is one long day, and we keep it honest. A 4×4 takes you to the end of the vehicle track, so your six hours are spent on the mountain, not on the gravel approach. Two café huts on the way up, a spring on the way down, and the view from 1,795 m is why people cross in this direction: you walk down into Theth with the whole valley in front of you.
Theth earns its two nights. The Blue Eye is an hour's walk from the road at Ndërlysaj, a spring so blue it looks lit from below and cold enough to take your breath; the Grunas waterfall is close enough to the village for a late afternoon. In between you sleep in 3-star hotels or B&Bs, your own bathroom every night, at a published price.
You walk on your own, at your own pace, with your own pack: that is what self-guided means on this route, and it is why the days are kept to one hard one. Our part is everything around it: every bed booked, the ferry and the vans arranged, the route on your phone with our notes, and a support line open around the clock in case the weather has other ideas.
Want more of the Alps? The Accursed Mountains Hiking Tour adds two day-hikes from Valbona and a third night there. Want the sea as well? In September the two fit into one trip, this hike first and the Albanian Riviera Hiking Tour after. Before you pack, check the Theth forecast on yr.no; the pass holds snow into early June, and we watch the same page you do.
Frequently Asked Questions
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