Arrival at Tirana airport. Meeting with the guide. Departure for Shkodra on the shores of  Shkodra Lake. Hotel accommodation. Visit the city and its cathedral. Visit the art gallery Marubi. Free time for dinner. Overnight in a 4* hotel in city center.

Early in the morning we will depart on a scenic drive from Shkodra, to reach the docks in the dam of Koman. The homonymous lake beyond it, was artificially created in the 80’s after the construction of the third hydropower dam that interrupts the canyon of river Drin.The spectacular boat ride through gorgeous landscape that will follow from there, is a not-to-miss highlight of Northern Albania! Once reached the docks of Fierza, we will stop for a tasty lunch in a traditional restaurant nearby. The trip will continue by local car through the narrow valley of Valbona – one of the most beautiful valleys of the Albanian Alps. Our transfer ends in the charming village of Valbona – Rrogam, where we will be hosted in a comfortable local guesthouse. The location of the house is the ideal starting point for all kinds of hikes in the surrounding mountains. Free time to explore the village at own pace, while the steep and jagged limestone peaks above the village are embraced by the sunset light.  

Today we hike on a ‘classic’ trail of the Albanian Alps that for centuries connected the glacier valleys of Valbona and Theth via the 1860m high Valbona Pass. The pass becomes possible to cross on foot from the end of May, when the snow melts enough to let people and animals through.

Indeed, we will use horses to carry the luggage to the next guesthouse, and start walking towards the end of the valley. Once past the last houses of Rrogam, the trail steepens up towards a plateau sided by rough slopes and a winding narrow trail that leads to the Valbona Pass. On clear days the col is a superb panoramic spot from where to admire the jagged peaks of ‘Bjeshket e Namuna’ – the Accursed Mountains. We than start to descent towards the village of Thethi (850m), again passing through dense woods and grassy meadows where we will stop for picnic. In the afternoon we will  depart toward Tirana. Dinner and overnight in hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure  for Tirana and then for the airport.