Valbona to Theth Hike in Albania

By Roberto (Updated Sep 23)

⏱ 6 min

When we were planning our Albania road-trip, in addition to the Albanian Riviera and old towns, we wanted to do some hiking, so we explored the possibilities. We checked the Valbona to Theth hike and I personally fell in love with the idea of spending 3 days doing a marvellous hike in the middle of the Albanian Alps. I persuaded Ellen to arrange the hotels and… we did it!

In this post, we explain everything – or at least the important things – about the Valbona to Theth hike. Before going, we didn’t find a ton of information about the hike and we didn’t understand why it requires 3 days to do a single 8-hour hike. That’s why we want to provide clear information in this post, for people who want to do the hike.

Explaining the Valbona to Theth hike map

First things first: you need 3 days (minimum) to do the Valbona to Theth hike

Why? Because the hike departs from an isolated village and goes to another isolated village and both require time to get to by bus. Therefore, if the hike is 6-9 hours, it’s practically impossible to do it in two days and absolutely not possible in just one day due to required transportation time.

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When to do the hike

Below there is the monthly average temperature (ºC) for Valbona. As you can see, it’s not extremely cold. We suggest avoiding winter and aiming for April-October to be safe. We went in September and we had a sunny day in the morning and cloudy in the evening. There was some snow only on the top of some peaks.

Valbona to Theth, or Theth to Valbona

Good and important question. We saw more people doing the hike from Valbona to Theth than from Theth to Valbona. Here’s what to consider:

• There are less things to do in Valbona, so people prefer spending 1-2 days in Theth and go to Valbona first.
• It’s better to do the long commute at the beginning of the trip. The day with the ferry and two minibuses sucks. You spend many hours seated, packed with many other people in a small space. If you do the hike from Theth to Valbona, you’ll have to do this long day of commuting after the hike…

• The beginning of the hike in Valbona is quite rocky. If you do this at the end of your hike, when you’re tired and maybe the sun is up, you’ll be exhausted.
• The profile of the hike is quite similar, but the first half from Valbona is more rocky and demanding. We preferred to do this first.

What to bring to the 3-day hike

Once you leave Shköder, think that you won’t have access to buy supplies or food, because there aren’t any stores on the way. Only in Theth, there is a very small store for basic groceries. So bring everything you may need on this trip.

We absolutely recommend going there with a comfy backpack to carry everything in. In case you bring camera gear like me, I suggest you check the Best Hiking Camera Backpacks post. This is the first hike I’ve done with the Shimoda v2 30L, and absolutely loved it. Ellen usually goes with a 32 liters Kathmandu hiking backpack.

Hiking shoes. We saw people with regular trainers or even vans doing the hike but there’s mud, puddles and for a medium-high altitude hike, we strongly suggest hiking shoes or boots.

Consider your water and food necessities. You won’t need a paella, but grab some snacks, protein bars, or fruits for the buses and the hike. In Valbona and Theth you’ll have breakfast and dinner.

Cash. Albania is still behind the times of credit card payments, and Theth and Valbona are no exception. You’ll need to pay everything in cash (including your accommodation bookings, even if you book online in advance). Also – there are no ATMs in these towns so be sure to bring more than enough cash.

The Valbona to Theth Hike

I’m not going to reveal too much about the hike, because we like discovering the views by ourselves and not through the screen. And I hope you are like us 🙂

The hike is 15-16 km long, depending on where you start it, and we would say the difficulty level is medium. You don’t need to be fit or have a lot of mountain experience, but some parts will make you sweat. Just make sure you can walk for 6-9 hours.

Some people do it in 5 hours, others in 10. We spent roughly 6 hours hiking and less than 2 hours resting and chilling. The trail profile is up and down, with an elevation gain of 1000 meters, not bad.

The beginning of the hike – starting from Valbona – is flat and rocky through the riverbed, and gradually goes up. The path also turns earthy.

After going up and up, the earth turns to rock and everything else turns green.

Some minutes later, after a killer hill, there’s the salvation: Simoni Cafe. This is the PERFECT place to stop and have a coffee. We ordered the traditional Albanian coffee and had some snacks that gave us the energy to face the rest of the demanding part of the hike.

The most difficult part goes up in an infinite zigzag until you reach the top of the mountain pass. We had our lunch here, taking advantage of the epic views of the two visible valleys.

Once ready, we descended down the second half of the hike to Theth. The views change a lot, from an open area to a closed green forest. In between this forest, there is another coffee in case you missed the other or want another break. The next path is also less demanding and easier to walk, until you get the last kilometres, which are criminal for your knees… more than 2 km of a rocky zigzag until you reach the final destination: Theth village.

Valbona to Theth Hike Ferry

To get to Valbona, you’ll need to take a ferry which takes 2 hours to arrive at Fierza, and then take another bus. The ferry is 800 Lek – or 7 €. You’ll have to pay in cash unless you book online in advance. You’ll read in other blogs that the ferry experience is amazing! Well… we’re always honest here.

We found the ferry a bit deceiving. It’s true that the landscape is pretty cool, and feeling the wind on the top of the boat feels great after the minibus, yet they have many things to improve. We couldn’t sit on our ferry because they sell more tickets than seats (even during the COVID-19 pandemic). So… you’ll be two hours standing or sitting on the floor. They have a minibar with snacks and drinks on the ferry but don’t expect real food. To give you an idea of the crowded ferry, check this photo below.

About the Buses

Similar to the ferry, we were a bit disappointed with the minibuses. The drivers didn’t speak any English, they stopped randomly to do other businesses and drove recklessly. The buses had 0 Covid-19 measures, and didn’t stop to give passengers a break during the whole trip.

Ellen organised the bus with the ferry ticket purchase linked above. You can only pay for the ferry online – you must email them to organise the bus and pay in cash when you’re there. The buses from Shkoder to Valbona cost roughly 1500 Lek per person. Our host from Guest House Flodisa arranged the return bus from Theth to Shkoder, which was around 1200 Lek per person.

What to do in Valbona

Valbona or Valbonë is a little village in Kukës County. It lays in a valley of the Valbonë Valley National Park, in the Accursed Mountains or the Albanian Alps. There are dozens of guest houses, camping, and hotels, that help visitors discover the area.

The main attraction is undoubtedly the Valbona to Theth hike, but there are other things to visit if you have time. We walked to the Valbonë River and the Old Mill of Valbona. It’s a peaceful 10 min walk and we took this photo.

Another thing to do in Valbona, is a short walk that goes to Xhema’s Lake. We stayed at Jezerca Guest House, a cozy place with clean wooden houses, a homie atmosphere, good food, and very helpful staff.

What to do in Theth

As mentioned before, Theth has more things to offer than Valbona, like the other long hike to The Blue Eye. This is a 5-hour in-and-out hike that goes to a marvellous pool with a waterfall and blue waters. The route appears in Google Maps.

In case you have time constraints like us, we totally recommend walking to Theth’s Waterfall. It’s a short 45-min walk which is flat and easy until the last 10 minutes that head to waterfall. Along the way, you’ll cross the river, while enjoying amazing views of the valley with the peaks in the background.

For an interesting visit, you can visit the stone tower to the Kulla e ngujimit. This tower is also called the Kulla “Vendetta/Blood Feud” Tower because of its history. We didn’t know that there’s an ancient Albanian code of law that stabilises strict rules for vengeance killing. Someone is allowed to kill another person to avenge a previous murder or moral humiliation. Killing women, children, or elderly persons is strictly prohibited. These tower houses worked like a safe house where people couldn’t be touched. Intriguing, eh?

To sum up, we would encourage you to not miss the north of Albania and spend at least three days in this region, as we did. We loved the Valbona to Theth hike and the surroundings of both villages. It’s a matter of time that the buses, roads, and ferries will improve, and we think this was one of the best things we did in Albania 🇦🇱.