We began our trek (to the trek) in Tirana, by leaving our beloved homes (big bags) with our Airbnb host until we returned… a repetitive and successful strategy we have employed previously for our treks in Turkey and Georgia. Fortunately for us, we discovered the Komani Lake Ferry Company is extraordinarily organized and offers a mini-bus service traveling three-hours from Tirana to the Koman Lake ferry docks. Unfortunately, the departure was at 4:50 am, it was pouring rain, and it was not a smooth ride… but it was beautiful.

Lake Koman snakes through dramatic gorges and canyons for a remarkable 13 square kilometers. It is an incredible journey ! The ferry ride began at #1 on the map, and went to #2…in two-hours. At the other end of the lake, Fierza, we then caught another two-hour bus ride to Valbona. If you’re keeping track, this is seven hours just to the trek trailhead. The Komani Lake ferry ride, however, is definitely on the tourist circuit; it was packed to the brim with people including a tour group of 24 smiling seniors from Israel. Despite the scenery and the length of the ride the ferry it is still surprisingly low priced, at just 5€ per person.

With its emerald waters, numerous careening waterfalls, and remarkably narrow sheer rocky cliffs a ferry ride up Lake Koman at points resembles Scandinavian fjords and is mentioned by Lonely Planet as one of the most beautiful boat journeys in the world. There are no roads through this isolated landscape, and the ferry remains the only means of public transport for some of the villagers who live along its shores. The special beauty of the lake came at a cost however. Lake Komani is not a naturally formed lake, it was created by damming the river Drin in several places and flooding the Drin river valley along with a few unfortunate settlements starting in the 1970’s. Today, these dams efficiently provide most of Albania’s power supply.

Despite the rain, the beauty of this place couldn’t be obscured.

But the ceaseless rain did make Mandy hunker down inside the safety of the sheltered boat cabin.

We magically float along…

…on the jade glass.

After disembarking from the ferry in Fierza, we hoped on our second bus ride heading to Valbona, the window candy scenery continued as the bus made its way up the raging Valbona river canyon until we arrived to our cozy guest house in Valbona, Bujtina Ahmetaj, which we quickly discovered was a perfect happy place to lay our heads for the night (30€ including breakfast).

And, oh, the views kept right-on-a-coming!

After our homemade dinner prepared by our host, we were joined by two additional guests to Bujtina Ahmetaj. American travelers, Zoe and Julia. Zoe astonishingly happened from Vancouver, Washington…the same city that Greg is from. Zoe and Julia, had hitched into Valbona that afternoon from Kosovo and came bearing Raki and lots of stories. It had been awhile since we’d chatted with native English speakers so it was enjoyable to have some relaxed conversation.

When we woke up the next morning, the mountains we calling us. We were itching to hit the trail. Unfortunately, the weather was not quite as ready for us. Although Greg had a raincover for his bag, Mandy didn’t, so we improvised one using a trash bag provided by our hostess. This was literally the first time we’ve had to hike with an umbrella. Being from Portland, we have been conditioned to suffer through the rain without having to resort to using an umbrella as a matter of civic pride, but this rain was relentless, and this was Albania, and nobody was around to judge. 😉

Once we finally arrived to the trailhead (about 3k from our guesthouse), Mandy chagrined and braced for the very long day ahead.

Because of the amount of rain falling, we had to ford two unexpected rivers by wading across the icy water (sans shoes and socks of course!) Thirsty? No need to purify water right out of these streams…it’s pristine.

But then something miraculous happened…the sun somehow punched a hole in the clouds.

And this mountain paradise got a whole lot more like paradise…

Wow!! Just… wow! It was like a curtain was parting on stage, little by little we begin to glimpse the most beautiful stage slowly being unveiled before our eyes. And, just… oh, the serenity and peace you feel when looking at this view took our breath away.

Still, the obstacles weren’t over.

Fortunately, most of the snow had melted making for easier crossings. The trail is technically open from June-November. We are hiking it in late May.

Then down, down, down as catch our breaths and stride for Theth. The lush Beech forest shade bath that accompanied us was a welcome treat as the day had finally heated up and we recovered from the accent.

Accomplishment! Our feet were certainly protesting at the punishment we had asked them to endure, but now we rest for two days among the collection of mountain houses, and hamlet of Okol, another 3k north of Theth.

A crackling fire, a mouth-watering home cooked feast plopped in front of us by a cute little Albanian grandma and grandpa, tossing-back some shots of Raki, a steamy shower and a cozy bed… sometimes there are no words to describe the comfort that your soul receives from the simplest pleasures following a day of tough but glorious hiking like we had. Enjoying these simple pleasures in such an isolated landscape, it was easy to feel lucky and blessed and also to let our imaginations wander in wonder. How brutally tough and difficult had these peoples lives been? How did they endure 50 years of oppressive communism totally cut-off from any modern convenience or technology here? Under communism, they couldn’t get outside supplies, often had no or only meager supplies of food, and they weren’t even allowed to migrate to other communities because it was movement was so tightly controlled. Although we couldn’t communicate to our hosts serving our delicious food, the softness and relief in their eyes spoke of the happiness, and of a life now with opportunity.

From our guesthouse window, we were delighted to be greeted with blue skies and a dry day the next morning.

The view from our patio.

Backtracking 3k from Okol into the village of Theth, a remarkably untouched gem in the Accursed Mountains just perfect for meandering through and avoiding the modern world.

Meeting an electric little lizard!

A slightly easier river crossing that we faced. Just tread lightly, not too sure of the liability on that thing…

Theth is small…and isolated. The K-12 school, which is also the hospital and clinic (convenient for those pre-med students). There are good number of guest houses, and an Inn or two but no hotels, three small bars/cafes that we saw to grab a bite or drink at, and one mini-market. Most accommodations offer full board and are usually your main food option while staying in Theth. Don’t expect WiFi or even a good mobile phone signal, an ATM or a bank (bring cash), paragliding, tour groups or any souvenir stands. It’s off-the-grid here, just you, a couple amenities, blissful natural scenery, and peace. After all, there is only two ways in… and they are both arduous. To hike, as we did, or take a 2-hour harrowing 4×4 drive in from the town of Shkoder (10€/person). But every bit of trouble to get, there is well worth it.

The Church of Thethi, built in 1892, has been used as a church, a school, and a “health and pregnancy center” when religion was banned during communism.

Another view of the church, and the church of nature.

Sheep were plentiful and seemed to have a variety of meal options.

Looking down into lovely Theth

The Theth Tower, or Tower of Nikoll Koçeku. These towers have a very interesting history, and its use is not at all what you would imagine. Here is the description we found, “The tower was built four centuries ago and was used to reconcile the two conflicting parties in a trial (typically murder). When a person committed murder, he had the right to get one old man to evaluate the case. The old man played the role of the advocate for the party that elected him. The accused man was allowed to stay closed in the tower for 15 days, where within these days he had enough time to find the advocate and to explain the main circumstances of the murder.” (Thethi -guide.com) There were also other towers in this region of Albania that served similarly as prison towers offering protection to the local men from the “blood feud.” According to The Albanian Kanun, (the ancient “blood feud” law), it worked like a blood-for-blood law. A harmed, humiliated, or violated family was permitted to seek vengeance (usually this meant a death sentence) on the perpetrators male family members. Terrifyingly, there was no ‘time-limit’ on when the violated family could exact their revenge killing on the accused. This blood feud has been known to go on for generations, with tit-for-tat killings of male family members. Meaning, men who were afraid of retribution for the Kanun had to hideaway indoors at all times, stay away from any windows (for fear of bullets), and become reclusive. Fearing for their lives, men would also lock themselves in these towers (if they had too many windows at home), and sometimes for their entire lives in order to protect themselves from any Kunan retribution killings! Can you imagine?! The wives and family members of the self-imprisoned men would have to regularly bring them food to eat so they wouldn’t starve.

Greg tests the strength of the bridge. Not for the faint-of-heart, needless to say.

The river plummets below our feet, raging through this canyon which was much deeper than it was wide, barely 40’, slithering down the mountain.

And waterfalls galore… and at every turn. Almost like Iceland!

This memorial is dedicated to the Red Cross in America. We’re unsure why it exists in Theth. Maybe someone has some info??

Getting out of Theth the next day wasn’t quite as amazing as getting in, but it was still exhilarating. As aforementioned, the two-hour 4×4 only journey was jarring, winding, and treacherous. The driver and his two Albanian passengers were also talk-yelling the whole way in Albanian. Ah, well, every moment of this life can’t be blissful. But this experience was certainly close…