Hiking From Valbona to Theth in Albania

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Hiking from Valbona to Theth in autumn? Read my detailed guide and itinerary and start planning!

When you think of Albania, I don’t know if you would think of hiking or autumn colors, but you should.

Hiking from Valbona to Theth in Albania’s Accursed Mountains in autumn was the highlight of my six weeks traveling through the Balkans. Hell, it is one of the hiking highlights of my whole life and the best autumn colors I have ever experienced.

It’s beautiful, affordable, and not crowded at all. We only booked a few days in advance and it was easy to plan ourselves. The autumn colors were at their peak and it was abundantly beautiful.

I don’t know if it is the best autumn hike in Europe because I haven’t experienced them all, not even close, but it is a very worthy contender and I highly recommend doing this incredible hike.

About the Valbona to Theth Hike

The Valbona to Theth hike is Albania’s most popular hiking trail and is part of the longer Peaks of the Balkans trail, which stretches for 192km/119 miles and takes around 10 days to complete. The section between Valbona and Theth is just over 9 miles/15km with around 870m/2850 ft in elevation gain.

It took us about 5 hours to hike 11.2 miles (from one guest house to the next) but if you aren’t a regular hiker, it could take closer to eight hours.

Transport for the hike starts in the northern gateway town of Shkoder. It takes a day to get from Shkoder to Valbona, a day to hike from Valbona to Theth, and I would recommend then spending another day, or more, in Theth before returning to Shkoder if you can.

If I did it again, I would spend two nights in Valbona and three nights in Theth, taking my time to explore these stunning mountain towns and their surrounds in more detail. I just loved this part of Albania so much and I hope to return again one day.

This stunning hike is also popular in summer but I am so happy we did it in autumn as I have heard that it gets busier in the summer months and it can get uncomfortably hot. I definitely prefer fewer crowds and less heat, and if you hike in summer you’ll miss the astounding autumn colors.

What It’s Like Hiking From Valbona to Theth in the Albanian Alps: The Full Experience

Day 1: Getting to Valbona From Shkoder

We had an early start, making our way from our accommodation in Shkoder to the pick-up spot for the bus, in front of Hotel Rozafa downtown. The mini bus picked us up at 7am and we were on our way to Komani Lake.

The mini bus trip took two hours and was windy and bumpy although not terribly so – nothing like the roads in Nepal or Laos.

Once we arrived at the lake, we were shown what ferry to get on. The ferries are not large and they are likely to be packed. It was drizzly and cold on our 2.5 hour journey but it was very beautiful. It was too cold to be outside the day we did it and we luckily snagged a seat inside.

I went out periodically to take photos of the gorgeous clear green lake and dramatic mountains towering on either side of us. As we got closer to Valbona, we started to see some gorgeous autumn colors on the mountains around us.

We reached the other side of the lake at Fierze and had around a 15-minute wait until the bus was ready to take us on our final part of the journey to Valbona. The last hour on the bus took us through more beautiful autumnal scenery as we wound through the Valbona Valley to the village center.

As we were staying overnight in Valbona and wanted to explore the village, we decided to get off at the northern end of the village and then take our time walking to the southern end where we were staying.

First, we stopped for lunch at Hotel Breezy which has a restaurant onsite that offers a range of meat dishes, pasta, salads, and soups.

After lunch, we walked the hour to our hotel along the main road. It’s a quiet village with only a few houses and hotels/guest houses. The valley was exploding in autumn colors and we enjoyed being in such a beautiful and peaceful place.

Along the way, we came across a couple of concrete bunkers and some playful kittens who followed us down the road for a bit.

Once we got to our hotel in the late afternoon, we spent the rest of the evening relaxing: Drinking hot chocolate in bed while reading, and having a cozy dinner in the in-house restaurant.

Day 2: Hiking From Valbona to Theth

We woke up excited for our big day of hiking. The valley is in shadow until later in the morning in autumn so we took our time, sleeping in a bit and eating breakfast in the restaurant before leaving at 9.30am.

The hike connects Valbona National Park and Theth National Park and takes you over the Valbona Pass; it isn’t especially difficult if you are a regular hiker but we hadn’t done much hiking over the preceding month so we were a little nervous of what was to come.

It was a beautiful blue sky day but as we were still hiking in the shade for the first hour – it was really cold. Luckily, it was really, really beautiful though so it helped distract me from the cold until the sun finally hit us and the day warmed up.

The first 45 minutes of the hike from our guest house was along a flat but rocky river valley to Rragam, the official start point of the hike. After that, we slowly started gaining in elevation.

The trail got steeper as we progressed. We passed a couple of traditional stone cottages and a small cafe that was closed, following the trail markers – two red lines with a white line in between – that are painted on rocks and fenceposts along the way.

There was one very steep section where we finally saw some other people hiking the trail. We took our time and stopped to admire the views and catch our breath. We reached Simoni Cafe where we refilled our water bottles with running water outside but unfortunately it was closed. Luckily, we had packed a lot of snacks.

Not long after leaving the cafe, we emerged above the treeline and then the scenic views really opened up. The trail took us up rocky switchbacks and along a mountain ledge to the top of Valbona Pass, and somehow the already astounding views just kept getting better.

Towering limestone peaks gave way to a golden valley – where we had started the morning – with a few evergreens speckled in for contrast and a silver river snaking through it. It was all the drama of a Rocky Mountains autumn but with the colors of Vermont – the best of both worlds.

I did the quick, short but steep detour to the lookout for an even better view, and then it was all downhill to Theth from there.

The hike down to Theth was pretty but it had nothing on the Valbona side of the pass, although the autumn colors were still very impressive. It was really steep in parts as we made our way down for the first hour; I would even call it a little treacherous, but we took our time and made it in one piece.

We stopped at a small cafe – Bar Kafe Zef Rrgalla – that was only serving drinks and enjoyed some mountain tea on their sunny patio, along with another twenty or so people – the most people we had seen all day.

The rest of the way was all in the forest and a bit of an anticlimax after the jawdropping scenery on the way up to Valbona Pass.

We got into town around 2.30pm and went straight to Restaurant Jezerca for a late lunch – we were starving and over eating just snacks. The food was excellent and filling – just what we were looking for. They have a lot of warming traditional dishes on their menu as well as pasta, grilled meats, soups and salads.

We lingered and played with the cute kittens that live there and then walked the 15 minutes further through town to our bed and breakfast – Bujtina Pllumi Theth Hotel. I really loved this friendly family-run guest house – it was very cozy with hot showers and they have a great restaurant onsite that we ate dinner at.

After a long day of hiking, we didn’t last long until we were tucked up in bed for an early night.

Day 3: Exploring Theth

Our last day in the Accursed Mountains were spent exploring the village of Theth. I wish we had more time there as I really loved this vibrant little mountain village. It was definitely busier than Valbona with more restaurants and things to see, but not overwhelmingly so.

We had a delicious breakfast at our guest house then left our bags in storage and set out to explore more of Theth and its surrounds. I enjoyed visiting the pretty Kisha e Thethit Church and the interesting Lock In Tower.

It was used as a neutral sanctuary where a person was confined while disputes were resolved and negotiated. Its use is part of the code of Kanun that governed life in Northern Albania for centuries.

We ran into one of our new hiking friends, Louis, whom we met the day before, and Toby headed back into the village to relax while Louis and I hiked to pretty Grunas Waterfall.

Louis was on the way to the Blue Eye, Theth’s most famous hike and an all-day affair. As I was catching a bus back to Shkoder at 5pm, I didn’t have time to do the full hike to the Blue Eye (6-7 hours from the village and back) so after hiking for another 20 minutes or so into Theth Valley, I said farewell to Louis and headed back to Theth.

I met back up with Toby in the village and we had a late lunch, wandered around pretty Theth a bit more, then grabbed our bags and headed back to Restaurant Jezerca for hot chocolate and kitty time. The bus left from outside there and it was two hours on a windy road to get back to Shkoder. We were sad to leave.

I loved my three days in the Albanian Alps and really hope to return again one day. It is a truly special place.

Planning Your Hike From Valbona to Theth

How To Get There and Back

Getting to Shkoder

Shkoder is the largest city in Northern Albania and the gateway to the Accursed Mountains, also known as the Albanian Alps. The easiest way to get to Shkoder is to fly into Tirana, Albania’s largest city and capital, and then take a bus from there. There are regular direct flights from London to Tirana, and you can find excellent deals for October – I’ve seen return flights for under £35!

In regard to flights, I just found out about a great hack. In case of flight delays – which seem to be more and more common these days – keep in mind that Airhelp can help you get flight delay compensation. You would be eligible for up to £350 (even if you only paid £35 for your flights!) and they do all the paperwork and filing for you. They only take a fee if you win.

You can book your bus from Tirana to Shkoder online through Gjirafa Travel – it costs around €15 each way and the bus journey is around two hours.

Getting to Valbona From Shkoder

While this is a fairly complicated route, you don’t need to book this through a tour company as it is very easy to book the whole journey yourself through the Komani Lake Ferry website. Make sure to select Shkoder – Koman – Fierze – Valbone. Pick up is at 7am in front of Hotel Rozafa in Shkoder.

Getting Back From Theth To Shkoder

This is a straightforward journey as you will be taking a bus directly from Theth to Shkoder. The bus takes 2 hours and you can get one of the morning buses between 10am and 11am, or the evening bus at 5pm. If you are short on time, you could get the evening bus on the day of your hike and not stay in Theth (but you should stay there if you can).

When To Do the Valbona to Theth Hike

I would recommend doing this hike in Autumn. I did the hike on October 20th in 2025 and it was pretty much peak autumn colors but this can obviously change year to year. I would aim to do the hike in mid-October for amazing autumn colors.

Summer is also a really nice time to do the hike; my brother did it in summer a few years ago and loved it. You can hike between June and September for generally hot and dry weather – perfect for swimming at the Blue Eye.

What To Pack For Your Adventure

Leave the bulk of your belongings at your hotel in Shkoder and only take a day pack with essentials – you are going to have to haul everything you take on your back over a mountain pass so choose wisely.

A Comfortable Day Pack – You want a bag that is not too big and not too small – I would recommend a 25L day pack with cushioned straps and chest and waist straps.

Camelbak or other water bladder – This is a personal preference but I think for a strenuous hike like this where it’s important to stay hydrated, you should take a water bladder so you don’t have to stop every time you want to drink water. I also took my regular insulated water bottle filled with water and electrolytes.

Proper hiking boots or shoes – the trail is rocky and steep with lots of loose rock, so make sure to pack comfortable hiking shoes or boots with good grip.

Warm Layers – Hiking in Autumn in the mountains is all about layers and some good merino under layers, a fleece jumper or jacket, a fleece buff, and a thin puffer jacket will all go a long way in keeping you warm.

Rain Jacket – We had some rain the day we traveled to Valbona and the Autumn weather can be fickle so don’t forget to pack your rain jacket.

Evening clothes and spare underwear – In the interest of packing light and because this isn’t a fashion show, one pair of hiking clothes and one pair of clothes to change into in the evening should do the trick. I do take enough underwear for the whole trip though.

Woolly Hat and Gloves – It can get down to freezing overnight and in the morning so it’s definitely a good idea to pack a warm wool or fleece hat and gloves.

Inside Shoes – I like to pack a pair of flip-flops or hiking sandals I can wear once I am done hiking for the day, although this isn’t essential.

Hiking Snacks – Grab some hiking snacks and maybe some stuff for lunch for your hiking day before you leave Shkoder. Hiking this trail in Autumn means it is likely that the cafes along the way won’t be open – only one of three were open when we hiked and that one was only serving drinks, not food.

Important Tips For Your Hike

Book accommodation close to the pick up and drop off point (Hotel Rozafa) for the bus in Shkoder. Being able to walk there quickly is a big time saver and takes away any stress around taxis arriving on time early in the morning.
Use AllTrails to stay on track and to see where you are on the trail. I also tracked my hike distance and elevation gain with Strava.
Choose accommodation close to the start of the hike in Valbona, in the south of the valley close to Rragam, a tiny village, otherwise you will be adding more than an hour or more to an already long day of hiking. I recommend where we stayed – Hotel Margjeka – which was a 45-minute walk from the start of the official trail. It is a cozy hotel with an in-house restaurant.

To cut down your hiking mileage even further, start at the official trailhead in Rragam – you can get a taxi there. You can arrange this with your hotel and it will likely cost you around €30 – very expensive for Albania.
Make sure you have travel insurance that covers hiking just in case you are injured on your hike. Pack a small first aid kit for minor injuries.
You can also hike this trail from Theth to Valbona but according to AllTrails there is more elevation gain doing it this way (an additional 1000ft/300m).
Make sure when choosing accommodation in Shkoder for before and after your hike that you contact your hotel of choice before booking to ensure you can leave your excess bags there while you are doing the hike. Some hotels don’t allow this or will charge you a daily fee.
Make sure to pack a decent amount of snacks and possibly lunch as the small cafes along the way are not always open in October. We packed a lot of snacks and then had a late lunch at 3.30pm in Theth.

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August 11, 2026 by theworldonmynecklace | 0 comments

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The Best Autumn Hike in Europe: Hiking From Valbona to Theth in Albania