THE DESIGN REVIEWER
IT'S WORTH A SECOND LOOK
THETH
ACROSS THE VALBONË PASS
AN AFTERNOON'S WALK to THETH from the VALBONA PASS
Theth or Thethi Valley is on the west of the Valbona Pass. It is much greener and more majestic to look at from the village of Theth itself, on an ascent to or descent from the Valbona Pass. It was interesting to see that both all supplies at both cafes along the trek on either side of the Valbona Pass, came via donkeys from Theth. Much of the descent down towards the village at Theth is a woodland, with an a few clearings along the way. It was largely uneventful, but the trail does leave the wary trekker seeking a better sense of arrival at the end of the trek. I didn’t meet the Finnish from the previous day, though I did meet and chat with some trekkers whom I had overtook before Rrogam, who did see him. My best guess is he had managed to get onto a furgon back to Shkoder right after the trek without having to spend a night at Theth.
My feet, despite their soreness in those shoes, went to work as I asked around at various homestays for their rates. I eventually settled at Flodisa, spending a restful night recuperating and did not got up till midday to check out. If there was any furgon, they would be at the café near the tourist info board. Another guy has been waiting while he was having brunch. Having had my brunch, I walked about the village up to the iconic little grey chapel. Beyond that and the paths led to private farmland and homestays.
The highlight of the day was the furgon ride back to Shkoder. The journey was one which passed by narrow stretches of road, farmers moving their herd, and jawdropping good views out on switchbacks along the SH21 or Rruga Gjecaj. The driver stopped twice for his smoke break, one where there’s a balcony view of the valley, and another at Dedaj. Towards the end of the ride, we passed by an imposing fenced construction which is the Reci’s Prison, with a vista to Lake Skader, and we were back in the Shkoder center by 1815hrs.
space
Theth on a shoestring, how much did I spend?
- 13€ – Homestay for the night with the following breakdown:
13€ for the bed
Comes with free wifi;
Comes with hot shower;
No heating in the room but blankets were available.
- There were no shops around in Theth oter than the home-run cafes and I still had a few snack bars.
- 1000leke – Furgon from Theth to Shkoder (Pay 10€ if you have no leke)
- Look up the Shkodra; Koman; and Valbona pages for local expenditures.
What should I have done?
- Bring more food along from Shkoder or let the locals earn my money.
- Though I enjoyed the experience at Valbona, I would have commenced the walk sooner to reach Theth to catch any furgon back to Shkoder. This would have save a whole day, which I could have used to visit Rozafa Castle, or spend one more day in Montenegro. The whole Lake Koman; Valbona; and Theth circuit could even be done in a day. Assuming the transfer to Valbona reaches the start of the hike by 2pm, a 5hour hike would means reach Theth at 7pm, and if one is lucky, a furgon could be arranged, but it would be too rush and wouldn’t do the trip justice. I may do the trip in reverse one day so that Valbona will appear after crossing the Valbona pass.
- Wear comfortable shoes that has been broken in. When I started out on this 3-month long trip, I didn’t think I will be doing any trekking. In Bulgaria, I trek the hills behind Boyana Church to get to the waterfall with just flip-flops. So I resolve to get a pair of well-worn hiking shoes and where else better to get something well worn, than from a second hand store. At a store in Prishtina, I set my eye on a Salewa Mountain Trainer Approach, which was the right side and fit. I would use it to travel between cities to lighten the load. The grip was good up the trek, but the trip down was painful. Each, and every step was pain. This is probably why I took 8 hours for the trek apart from an hour detour to the waterfall. The time taken for the downhill hike was 3.5hours compared to the uphill hike of 2.5hours from Rrogam. By the time I did the hikes at the high Tatras 6 weeks later, the shoes had finally been broken in.
- Get a local SIM card for Albania if there is something available that has reliable signal in the mountains. Most hikers have reported weak signal in the valley. The alternative would be to stay in a homestay with WIFI.
- Keep the head cool and use common sense. Trails are all well marked. If there is no marking, it likely is not the right track.
space
Verdict: 4 Stars
The Albanian Alps at Theth pales in comparison to that of Valbona. It does not mean that Theth is not pretty though. It is simply a tall order comparing to that with Valbona side by side. Theth is calmer and greener. The trail head to the Valbona pass is also not as natural as the Valbona end. Getting a furgon back to Shkoder from here was difficult. I had to wait till almost 1550hrs before a furgon heading back to Shkoder appeared after dropping people at Theth. The journey back to Theth was great though. A seat on the left side of the vehicle would provide pretty awesome views of the valley, while the right seat will provide good views at the start of the journey..