The Albanian Alps: Theth, Valbona and Lake Koman

In the north of Albania, two mountain villages, Theth and Valbona, at the foot of great limestone walls. A six-day loop from Shkodër, over a pass, on a ferry across Lake Koman and through Kosovo.

Albania

Passes, waterfalls and a lake between the cliffs

The Albanian Alps begin an hour from Shkodër. After Bogë, the road climbs in hairpins to the Thorë Pass (Qafa e Thorës), at around 1,700 metres, then drops into the Shala valley to Theth, a village of stone houses scattered across the meadows. A few years ago, the road was still only a track for 4×4s.

In Theth, you walk: the Gjeçaj waterfall a short way from the village, the Grunas canyon, then the Blue Eye, a turquoise pool an hour’s walk from Ndërlysaj.

To reach Valbona, you take the Lake Koman ferry. It loads a few cars at the foot of the dam and sails for more than two hours up a gorge of the Drin, between cliffs that drop into the green water. The way back goes through Kosovo, with a possible stop in the old town of Prizren, below its fortress. You then reach Kukës, on the shore of Lake Fierza.

The ramparts of Rozafa above the rivers and the Shkodër plain.

Shkodër and the legend of Rozafa

Shkodër is the big town of the North and the gateway to the mountains. Rozafa Castle stands above it on a hill about 130 metres high, over the Buna and the Drin. Most of the walls you see today are Venetian. According to the legend, three brothers were building the fortress, but the walls fell down every night. A wise old man told them to wall up whichever of their wives brought them their meal the next day. It was Rozafa, the youngest brother’s wife. She asked them to leave one eye, one hand, one foot and one breast free, so that she could go on feeding her son.

Below the castle, the Lead Mosque dates from 1773; its domes were covered in lead. Further on, the Mes Bridge, built around 1770 over the Kir, stretches thirteen arches across 108 metres.

The Marubi Photo Archive (Fototeka Marubi) holds the archives of a photo studio founded in 1856, with many portraits of mountain people. St Stephen’s Cathedral is a reminder that Shkodër is a Catholic town. In 1967, Albania declared itself an atheist state and the cathedral became a sports hall. It reopened in 1990.

She asked them to leave one eye, one hand, one foot and one breast free, so that she could go on feeding her son.

The Kanun and the tower of Theth

For a long time, the mountains of the North lived by the Kanun, a customary law passed down orally and, by tradition, attributed to Prince Lekë Dukagjini, in the 15th century. It rests on besa, the given word, and on hospitality. It also governs blood feuds: one killing calls for another, sometimes for generations.

In Theth, the lock-in tower (kulla e ngujimit) is one of the few still standing. A man threatened by a blood feud shut himself inside while the families negotiated. The Englishwoman Edith Durham, who came in 1908, nevertheless describes in “High Albania” a Theth of about 180 houses, with almost no blood feuds.

A restored stone house in Drisht, below the castle hill.

Drisht Castle

Shkodër, Shkodër County · 15 minutes from the Mes Bridge

A fortified medieval village and former bishopric, perched above the Kir valley. Its ruins keep dry-stone walls and the traces of a dozen or so houses. The last part of the climb is on foot.

Practical notes

When to go: June to September. The Theth road is often impassable in winter, until April. The Koman ferry runs mainly from April to October: check the dates with the operator.
Getting there: Shkodër is about an hour and a half from Tirana airport.
Access: The Theth road is tarmac, but narrow and winding, like the Koman road. You reach the ferry quay through a single-lane tunnel, limited to 3.75 metres in height.
Sleeping in a van: Campsites on the shore of Lake Shkodër, and in the gardens of guesthouses in Theth and Valbona. The Theth road and the ferry are not suited to large motorhomes.
Worth knowing: The ferry leaves Koman at 9 am; cars must book. For Kosovo: written permission from the rental company and border insurance. Few cash machines: bring leks.
Allow: Six days for the loop; five if you come back by ferry, without going through Kosovo.

Lake Koman winding through its gorges, seen from above.

What not to miss

1The Thorë PassHairpins above Bogë, then a sudden view over the Shala valley.
2The Grunas canyonA waterfall at the end of a narrow canyon, half an hour’s walk away.
3The Blue Eye of ThethA turquoise pool at the foot of a small waterfall, icy even in August.
4Lake KomanA gorge of the Drin flooded by a dam completed in 1985, to travel by boat.
5ValbonaHouses below the peaks, and the trail that crosses a pass to Theth.
6Peca CastleRuins on a peninsula in Lake Fierza, which flooded old Kukës in 1976.

The Albanian Alps in pictures

The Blue Eye of Theth, a turquoise pool at the foot of a small waterfall.

Peaks still under snow, seen from the Thorë Pass in spring.

A traditional house in Valbona, below the limestone peaks.

The Blue Eye of Theth, a turquoise pool at the foot of a small waterfall.

The Albanian Alps table

In the guesthouses, dinner comes from the farm: lamb, cheese, yoghurt, honey, and trout in the Valbona valley. Flija, thin layers of batter and cream, cooks for hours under the saç, a lid heaped with embers.

In Shkodër, people eat carp from the lake. Raki, a plum or grape brandy, is offered when you arrive.

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