#fierze

Trekking Adventure in the dramatic Albanian Alps

This region of the Albanian Alps, called the Accursed Mountains is situated on the northern part of Albania and is also called the Malesi (Highlands). According to local legend, the Mountains got their name when two brothers out hunting one day met a beautiful fairy. When asked which one she preferred, she replied “I love one of you for strength and bravery, the other for good looks and a gentle disposition”. The brave brother became enraged and killed his handsome sibling and took the fairy home; but when his mother found out what he had done she cursed the fairy, her remaining son, and the mountains for ever.

It is truly a spectacular, dramatic and remote wilderness, an undiscovered gem, with wolves, bears, snow-capped mountain tops and isolated alpine communities of rustic farms and lonely villages along the borders of Kosovo and Montenegro where farmers still live and work the way their ancestors did and where donkey is the main means of transport. This range of rugged, majestic mountains (rising to its highest point at Jezerca at 2,694m) is part of the southern Dinaric Alps extending from the Julian Alps in Slovenia to Mt Korab on the border between Albania and Macedonia.

Here, you can experience wild Albania by hiking through two breath-taking national parks, the Valbona and Theth National Parks, taking one of the world’s most scenic boat rides on Lake Koman and staying in the beautiful village of Theth with its traditional wooden houses and impressive stone “lock-in” tower. Isolated from the outside world for so long, this part of Albania is a superb adventure travel destination offering stunning mountain scenery, fascinating history and lovely mountain villages left untouched by the 21st century and inhabited by some of the most welcoming people of Europe, the Malesori (Highlanders).

The Malesori are the Albanian mountain community whose legendarily warm hospitality originates from a set of 15th century Albanian laws called the Kanun, believed to have been evolved from ancient Illyrian tribal customs. The code has four pillars – honour, hospitality, right conduct and kin loyalty – and they apply to both Christian and Muslim Albanians; this is what makes this rarely-visited region so welcoming as well as what permits honour killings among the villagers. These “blood feuds”, as they’re called, have led to generations of feuding families forced into isolation in fear of being killed. They definitely haven’t done anything good for the country’s reputation.

The Accursed Mountains are truly spectacular, unspoiled and virtually impenetrable, except for a series of high passes and well-established trails between the valleys and villages that link the few farmsteads to the outside world. Here, you can have a truly special European trekking adventure compared by some to the less frequented parts of the Himalayas; ideal for those seeking something refreshingly pure and different.

Most visitors usually come here to complete the unbelievably scenic hike between two remote mountain hamlets, Valbone and Theth. The tour usually starts at Shkodra from where you can take a minibus to Lake Koman (a 2-hour journey), a river valley flooded in 1978 by Albania’s then communist government to create hydroelectric power. The Lake is set in a breath-taking natural environment, surrounded by limestone gorges and heavily forested slopes. From here, you can take one of the most impressive European boat trips to the tiny, lakefront settlement of Fierze, which is about a 3-hour ferry ride. From Fierze, there are buses running to Valbona through twisting, unsurfaced roads that run alongside beautifully-coloured mountain rivers.

Valbona lies in a gorgeous setting, on a wide plain surrounded by towering mountains. Here, all you can find are only a few guesthouses and campsites. Apart from the trail to Theth, there is a wealth of other excellent hikes to do in the area, about which you can get information in the guesthouses as well.

The hike from Valbona to Theth is an absolutely spectacular one, which takes about 5 to 6 hours to complete. It is worth getting a lift to the trailhead, situated a couple of kilometres from Valbona, as it’s a tiring and monotonous walk along a dry riverbed. The well-marked trail runs through the wide Valbona Valley and up a steep ascent to the Valbona Pass at 1,759m before it descends through a thick forest into the Theth Valley. The views throughout are magnificent and there are also a couple of places to stop by on the way to enjoy some food and drinks while soaking in the mind-blowing scenery around. It’s also possible to hire a mule in Valbona to carry your bags and you can also hire a guide for the tour. For the night, you can stay either in Valbona or Theth in simple guesthouses run by locals who provide traditional food as well.

After arrival in Theth, you can take the afternoon minibus back to Shkodra. The village of Theth, unlike the more recently developed Valbona, is an ancient settlement with fine Ottoman houses standing along the River Theth that cuts through the village. There is also an impressive stone church at the entrance of the village and a fortified, “lock-in” tower (Kulle) used as a safe haven for men involved in a blood feud. Nowadays, Theth is a popular spot for hikers and nature lovers with amazing countryside all around.