{"id":2112,"date":"2014-12-11T11:28:40","date_gmt":"2014-12-11T11:28:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelcake.site\/?p=2112"},"modified":"2025-04-25T18:50:01","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T18:50:01","slug":"hiking-the-albanian-mountains-valbona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/hiking-the-albanian-mountains-valbona\/","title":{"rendered":"Up close and personal with the Albanian Mountains in Valbona"},"content":{"rendered":"

Valbona: A Hidden Gem in the Albanian Alps<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The journey began in pitch darkness, on the side of a dirt road in northern Albania. I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t alone\u00e2\u20ac\u201dI had teamed up with a fellow traveller I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d met at a hostel. Our guesthouse owner in Shkoder had assured us that a bus would swing by to pick us up and drop us near the ferry docks.
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Just stand by the side of the road around 6 AM,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said the night before. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll pass by.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
So there we stood\u00e2\u20ac\u201dno bus stop, no people, just two hopeful souls watching the stars fade into morning.
\nJust as we were about to give up, headlights appeared in the distance. The bus, 20 minutes late, had arrived<\/p>\n

A few hours of zigzagging mountain roads followed, broken up by coffee and rakija stops\u00e2\u20ac\u201dyes, hard liquor at 7 in the morning. Apparently that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just how it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s done<\/em> in Albania. Local passengers were deep in heated debates about Serbia (or so I gathered\u00e2\u20ac\u201dmy Albanian is still very much a work in progress).<\/p>\n

Eventually we reached Fierze, where we boarded a small boat to cross the majestic Lake Koman\u00e2\u20ac\u201ddescribed by the Bradt guide as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153one of the great boat trips of the world.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Even under gloomy skies, I couldn’t argue with that.<\/p>\n

\"Lake<\/a>
Lake Koman, gorgeous despite the grey skies<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The final leg of the journey was a short ride with five other travellers, winding deeper into the valley until we reached Valbona, a remote mountain village cradled in the Albanian Alps. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d heard it was beautiful, but I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t prepared to be completely<\/em> swept off my feet. It was defintely worth traveling 8 hours to get here.<\/p>\n

\"Valbona\"<\/a>
arriving in Valbona<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After checking into my guesthouse, I took a brisk walk through golden fall foliage. The air was crisp, the landscape serene, the town tiny\u00e2\u20ac\u201djust a handful of scattered houses. I was smitten.<\/p>\n

\"HIKING<\/a>
the restaurant and guesthouse<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Valbona\"<\/a>
exploring the area<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Valbona\"<\/a>
meeting the cows in Valbona village<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The days that followed were all about fresh air and immersion in nature.<\/p>\n

\"Valbona\"<\/a>
Valbona, where getting out of bed is exciting<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Valbona offers plenty of hiking options\u00e2\u20ac\u201dfrom multi-day mountain treks to breezy one-hour walks. With limited time, I opted for a three-hour hike (one-way) that quickly became unforgettable.
\nI wandered alone through flower-dotted meadows, past cows grazing freely. Picking sweet wild grapes along the way. With every step higher into the hills, I found myself grinning and shaking my head: Is this even real?<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Valbona\"<\/a>
horses along the way<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Eventually I reached a remote farmhouse where a local family was tending to their daily chores\u00e2\u20ac\u201dcooking, chopping wood, making cheese, caring for animals. They invited me in for tea, and soon I was sitting down to share a meal being prepared by the kind-hearted hostess. She even gave me a little tour and a crash course in cheese-making\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwith fresh milk of course.<\/p>\n

Later, an American family happened to stop by and joined the fun. We roasted chestnuts, swapped stories, and enjoyed a family-style dinner that none of us were expecting.<\/p>\n

\"hiking<\/a>
the farm in the mountains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"making<\/a>
making cheese<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"hiking<\/a>
tea, nuts and wild grapes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"hiking<\/a>
chopping wood and roasting chestnuts<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"peeling<\/a>
peeling chestnuts<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Valbona\"<\/a>
family meal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Evenings in Valbona were cozy and communal\u00e2\u20ac\u201dhome-cooked meals, wine by the crackling fire, and laughter echoing through the wooden chalet. It was simple, soulful, and everything you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d want from a mountain retreat.<\/p>\n

\"satisfied<\/a>
satisfied<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Spending a few days in Valbona was a definite highlight of my trip to Albania. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re ever in the region, I highly<\/em> recommend making the long but scenic journey. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s well worth the effort.<\/p>\n

I stayed at Rilindja Alpine Rooms<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0, where rates start at \u00e2\u201a\u00ac20 for a single room or \u00e2\u201a\u00ac30 for a double. They also offer deluxe rooms and dorms, depending on your travel style and budget. For detailed info on the region, hikes, accommodation, and local tips, the Journey to Valbona website<\/a> is a goldmine of practical advice.<\/p>\n

What about you, do you enjoy hiking?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The post “Up close and personal with the Albanian mountains in Valbona<\/a>” first appeared on Travel Cake<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Valbona: A Hidden Gem in the Albanian Alps The journey began in pitch darkness, on the side of a dirt road in northern Albania. I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t alone\u00e2\u20ac\u201dI had teamed up with a fellow traveller I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d met at a hostel. Our guesthouse owner in Shkoder had assured us that a bus would swing by to pick […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[90,109],"tags":[34,11,12,20,36],"country":[209],"class_list":["post-2112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-albania","category-europe","tag-destination-guide","tag-europe","tag-experiences","tag-off-the-beaten-track","tag-trekking","post_format-post-format-image","country-albania"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2112"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2112\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4593,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2112\/revisions\/4593"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2112"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=2112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}