hiking north Albania

Hellow!

My boyfriend %26amp; I are flying to albania at 3-17 of September and planing to traveling in north albania

Were thinking to do a trip shkodra- Razëm - Bogë - Theth - Vermosh and back to Razëm.

We will love to know if this beautifull trip is possible by foot?( we wont rent car there)

We also will be very happy for every kind of information about the western- northern Alps:

where to go (again- by foot), Is there forguns in the secondary roads between shkodra and Razëm?

Any information will be happly accepted!

Thank you,

Lee %26amp; Nir

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Check out with www.outdooralbania.com

These guys are the gurus of these trips here... And they perfectly know the areas...

Have fun!

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Hi there.

I asked few albanian friends who are experienced travellers in those areas. I dont know how much experienced hikers or trekkers you are but I dont think you can do on foot those distances you say. if you are extreme hikers that maybe you can do on foot Theth-Vermosh (about 14 solid hours) but you would definitely need a guide. From Shkoder to Razem it takes about 45 min to 1 hour by van or car, from Shkoder to Theth is just about 70 km, but it takes 4 hours by a four-wheel drive because you have to go slow as the road is not good. My suggestion is this: Take a van from Shkoder to Theth ans stay there for few days, you will have a chance to hike all over Thethi. The villagers can host you in their houses and they would charge 20-25 Euros full board (accomodation and very genuine food). A suggestion would be Mehill Carku%26#39;s house. Otherwise you can set up your tend somewhere, I belive you can make other friends who camp there. From Thethi you can hike to Vermosh but this is a challenging walk. To go by van to Vermosh, this means you have to go back to Koplik (close to Shkoder) then take the way to Vermosh. In total this means 8 hours drive. Last thing to say is that September would the latest time you can travel to Thethi because that area gets covered by snow since October or November.

Thats all I can suggest.

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Hey guys!

thanks for the detailed answers!

the final track will be taking a ferry up the valbone river to from Fierzë to Komani , then take a furgon to bajram Curri. Then wi%26#39;ll take a texi to the village Rrogam. from there wi%26#39;ll walk through Valbona Pass down to Boga and then Kopliku.

just two more questions:

1. how much we need to be concerned from beers? We read there lots of beers (is it true?) Is the albanian beers population ever attack humans?

2. Is it easy and common finding a lucal guide who%26#39;ll take us through the vally? what will be the price on average?

Again%26#39; thanks a lot! you do strongly verified the comman saying about the albanian people%26#39;s kindness and willing to help you out!

Lee and Nir

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i meant bears offcourse...

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Hi

I did the hike over the weekend (2-3 August) in the opposite direction (Theth to Rrogam and then down the valley to Valbone and Bajram Curri)

No sight of a bear - a local boy in Theth said I might see one but (unfortunately?) it was not the case

The start of the track might be a bit difficult to find in the village of Rrogam but then it%26#39;s pretty clear where to go - steeply up the valley (to the right of the valley bottom going up), then after about 90 - 120 mins walk through a beech forest the track turns left until reaching a vertical rock face, then comes a horizontal walk to the right under the face to the Qafa Valbones / Valbona Pass

The path is quite clear on the way down to Theth

Beatiful strenuous hike, great scenery!

A day with a local guide could cost some 30 - 40 EUR

Enjoy!

Adam

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Shalom Lee..

i%26#39;ll be delighted if you could point me to where you got all your knowledge about the northern region of Albania.

i%26#39;m planning a trip as well. around late august. with a friend, but can%26#39;t find anything regarding north Albania.

(except this article... ^^)

and i would really thank you, if you could link me up to a good map of Albania.

one that has all the important villeges in it..

I live in Modiín, if you%26#39;re close. maybe we could chat before your flight.

regards..

Ofer

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Hey Ofer!

All of our knowlege is actually from the net, lots of searching and deeply digging.

We also got an Albania map (by Reise)1:220,000.from one of the duty free shops, its an ok map- 8 euro.

Nir%26#39;s mail is nireshed2@yahoo.com

send us your mail and we%26#39;ll send back some usefull information : a couple of maps and some links we bumped into.

we live in kfar yuval, way up north, so i dont think well bw able to meet, but if youre around here your more then welcome to drop by

:)

Lee%26amp;Nir

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Ok Lee %26amp; Neir,

If you start your trek from Rrogam and go through Valbona peak, then you will have to go through Thethi before going to Boga. I would suggest you sleep in Thethi overnight, is worthy and you should not miss it. It would be a good idea to stay there for a couple of days, you have some options where to go, like the big waterfall, blue eye (this is in Kapre, you can stop in Nderlysaj at the house of Ded Nika and ask him to guide you to Blue Eye), there is a cave you can visit, the lock-in tower etc. Then next day you can advance to Boga. Bears are hard to be found though there might be some. You have to understand that all wild animals have very sharp ears and sight so they might see or hear you, but you can NOT see them. Normally all wild animals would leave as soon as they hear people rumors, so the chances you will see any are really slim. Plus you are not going through virgin paths, you will use paths that people have been using from centuries so you are safe from wild animals. Just take care of any snake, that could be your only concern.

When we talk about guides different people might charge different prices, this all depends on the distances you want guidance but in general they are very reasonable.

Thats all, hope this helps.

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hey Rozefa

Thanks a lot for the tips.

We are planing to stay atleast a week in this area so spending a night or more at the villages sounds great. We%26#39;ll search for Ded Nika

I%26#39;m more then sure that we%26#39;ll have an amazing trip and cant wait until will be in this beautiful country, walking through this breath- taking places and meeting the people..

Nir and Lee

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Ded Nika could be your guide to Blue Eye, but I am not sure if he hosts people in his house. My suggestion would be to stay at Mehill Carku%26#39;s guest house, very good food (everything is home made), full accomodation with very very little money. You will have a chance to see how a Thethi family lives, traditions and culture.

If you have a tent then you have to look for a place where to put it (behind their house is an option).

Best :)