16 August 20225 min read
If you have already visited Albania you already know what I am talking about “the Albanian coffee ritual” and if you are going to visit Albania it is better to know a little bit about the deep connection that Albanians have with coffee culture.
Table of Contents Toggle 1. Little History & Overview 2. How to get there 2.1 Valbona valley 2.2 Theth valley 3. The hike from one valley to the other 3.1 Hiking from Valbona valley to Theth valley 3.2 Hiking from Theth valley to Valbona valley 4 Our suggestion for you. FAQ about this activity 4.1 How to get to Valbona valley from Shkoder 4.2 How to get from Shkoder to Theth valley 4.3 The best timing to hike from Valbona to Theth 4.4 How long is the hike? 4.5 Things to bring with you! 4.6 Water/Money/packing/food 4.7 Accommodations & where to eat Conclusion Valbona valley & Theth valley are one of the Top destinations currently in Albania. As locals, we hope to give you as much useful information regarding the hike from Valbona to Theth. 1. Little History & Overview For thousands of years, Albanians inhabited those valleys almost undisturbed by foreign invasions. Truth be told, Albanian language and heritage survived because remote places such as Theth valley or Valbona valley, where the invaders didn’t dare venture but rather preferred to vassalize local chief clans. The locals followed their own laws based on Christian doctrine and ancient Illyrian heritage; those laws known today with the term “kanun” are still strong despite the centralization of power by the Albanian government. The first foreigner to visit the valley worth mentioning is the English traveler & journalist Edith Durham , and she will dedicate her life to the support of the Albanian right to self-determination. In her books, Durham will speak about all these places that she visited and also about what made them unique 100 years ago. Today when people hear about “clans” the first thing in mind is Scotland, no one knows about the Albanian clans in the highlands and their ancient laws. The communist regime almost destroys this heritage and modernization and migration are doing the rest. But the new threat is over tourism! Unfortunately yes this is the case. In early 2000, if you visited those valleys they would have welcomed you for free giving you “the right of Hospitality” according to the Kanun laws and treating the guest as a king. Today the story is different, and from the hundreds of visitors in 2005 we have moved to over 120 000 in 2019, only during summer times. For this reason on other blogs, we will present other villages less known but definitely worth visiting with picturesque views. Winter is a different matter and spending winter in Theth (often isolated because of the snow) can get very challenging since most of the time you will not have electricity or wi-fi connection but you will rely on wood for heating and storage of food. Winter can be very long and never-ending in the Albanian alps where you are on your own with almost no support. 2. How to get there Both valleys are located in remote arias of the country surrounded by a network of mountains and the best starting point is definitely the city of Shkoder. There are people that start this from Tirana very very early but this makes the trip longer and tires you before even starting the hike. Prizren can be considered another starting point to rich Valbona, the drive is approximately 2 hours and a half. Shkodra is considered the best option because every morning from 06:00 to 08:00 there are plenty of vans that will take you to Theth. With the newly paved road, the trip from Shkoder to Theth with a break at “Qafe Thore” for the view should take you little more than 2 hours. Alternatively, if you want to head for Valbona you can take the van for Komani lake and once there at 09:00 you will get the ferry from Koman lake to Fierza lake another thing considered Must Do in Albania. Open arrival in Fierza at 11:30 other vans will be waiting for you to take you to Valbona. You start in Shkoder around 06:30 and arrive in Valbona at 13:00. 2.1 Valbona valley Valbona is one of the most beautiful valleys in Albania, surrounded by sharp & high mountains almost in all directions. I have seen this in all four seasons and all of them provide a fantastic powerful view. From est is the only paved road that will bring you to this valley by car, a long serpent road that follows the Valbona river in the valley and ends there. Valbona river starts from the springs up high close to Ragam mountain. There are at least 5 small villages that can be considered part of Valbona valley and they are located on the path toward Theth or Cerem. Apart from the Valbona – Theth hike there are plenty of daily hikes to do in Valbona itself such as Gropat e Hotit, Cerem, Mali i Thate & Kukaj, Shemtina e Shales waterfall, and more. 2.2 Theth valley The Theth valley is completely isolated from all sides with mountains, and when you raise your head to see the sky it looks like the mountains touch the sky. The recently paved road comes down from a path from the west part of the valley. The difference with the Valbona valley is that the Theth valley is a little narrower than the Valbo...
