Shkodër and the Albanian Alps: the back story

About Shkodër and the Albanian Alps: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Tirana Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Two hours north of Tirana, Shkodër lies between its great lake and the mountains. North of the city rise the Albanian Alps, the Prokletije, whose valleys of Theth and Valbona are linked by one of the finest day hikes in Europe.

Shkodër

Shkodër is one of Albania’s oldest cities and its northern cultural capital, with a pedestrian street of restored houses, a cycling culture rare in the Balkans, and the Marubi National Museum of Photography, home to the archive of a dynasty of photographers.

Rozafa

Rozafa Castle stands on a rock above the meeting of rivers and the lake. Legend tells of a young wife walled into its foundations, who asked that one breast be left free to feed her baby.

The Prokletije are also called the Accursed Mountains.

The Alps

The Albanian Alps are limestone peaks of over 2,500 metres, with deep valleys, stone towers and villages that empty in winter. They are the most dramatic mountains in the Balkans.

Theth and Valbona

Theth is a scattered village in a valley of meadows, with a church, a lock-in tower and waterfalls; nearby is its own Blue Eye pool. Valbona, to the east, is a broad valley of guesthouses. A trail over the Valbona Pass links the two in a full day’s hike.

Lake Koman

Lake Koman, a reservoir in a narrow gorge, is crossed by ferry in summer, one of the great journeys of the Balkans and the classic way into the Valbona valley.

When to go

The mountains are best from June to September; outside that season roads, guesthouses and passes may be closed by snow. Shkodër is good all year.

Our advice: give Shkodër a day for Rozafa, the Marubi museum and the lake, then go into the mountains for at least two nights. Hike Theth–Valbona in summer with an early start, and take the Lake Koman ferry for the journey. Check weather and transport locally.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Shkodër and the Albanian Alps: the back story before you go.