Again, I know where we are, but travel blogs don’t. We just walked from Valbona to Theth via Valbona pass. The note next to the official signage reads, “This is D-Day.”
We leave the hotel before 8am and leave our luggage without expecting to see them again in Thete (well, let’s hope to see them again in Thete). A few good kilometers on asphalt roads, then a few bumpy kilometers on unpaved roads. But, realistic or not, we’re thankful for the transition because we’ve passed so many other hikers who weren’t so lucky and we know how tough miles of road and cobblestone can be on foot.
Then we left for Theth. The message board was probably only 50 meters from the start of the walk, but it captured the spirit perfectly. A large majority of hikers come to Albania for this day. It is quite iconic and surprisingly well known. I estimate there may be 40-50 walkers on the trail, but there must be several hundred! There were walkers everywhere, alone, in pairs, in small groups and in large groups. It was a rare occasion when we could
Drive to the trailhead. Very appreciated otherwise it is road and river bed for 5 km drive. Highly appreciated otherwise it is 5km road and riverbed.
Drive to the trailhead. Highly appreciated otherwise it is 5km road and riverbed.
Couldn’t see any other pedestrians and there were dozens of places like cafes and “obvious” lunch stops. There are 2 cafes strategically placed half up and half down, their drinks are chilled to the ideal temperature by immersion in trays with water flowing in and out constantly.
There is still about 7 km of tough climbing after we move on. It’s always hard to convey the slope in pictures, but some of the shots below where we were at show the scale and height we were definitely doing. If you see people sitting on top of these rocks, you still have an idea of how much height we had to gain. They were just below our lunch stop which was the Col de Valbona saddle. There are a few shots of Julie “going around the hill” which again convey the scale quite well.
Had lunch at the pass with 40 other people and a constant flow of comings and goings. As the pass is roughly equidistant from Valbona and Theth, lunch was shared with walkers from both destinations. On the way down, it was normal
Drive to start. Not everyone does this, but it definitely makes a difference.
Drive to start. Not everyone does this, but it definitely makes a difference.
Drive to start. Not everyone does this, but it definitely makes a difference.
Stop and let the walkers go up the hill. It’s not a big deal, but in Romania we went days without seeing other walkers. I’m not keen on downhill walking, but that’s part of the fun here and today was definitely a pleasant walk. The weather was good (if any), the trails were good, the signage was good (unnecessary because you just followed everyone), there were rest areas that sold drinks and ice cream, and the views were spectacular. Theth itself exists because it was founded by a religious minority (Catholics!) who fled to the most isolated place possible in Albania, now it thrives on a new religion – tourism. Business is important here.
Never trust a horse! Despite our teasing at peeping our bags, they were delivered to another hotel. So guess which “donkey” was sent to pick them up? Luckily it was only a few hundred meters away and nothing was up or down. Our accommodation is one of those “modern” hotels that don’t believe in shower curtains but provide a squeegee to clean the floor! I am not a fan of this line of thinking. Our evening meal starts in about half an hour.
Part of the road to the trailhead. Part of the road to the trailhead.
Part of the trail to the trailhead.
Hours are so… It’s full board here and indeed that’s the case with most of our Albanian accommodation options. Except for the accept it or leave it option, it worked fine. I don’t think cereal is an option here and oats or muesli with yogurt has everyone confused.