Hiking through the Albanian Alps, walking past fresh water streams, scaling up waterfalls and experiencing breathtaking views into valleys. This is our guide to Theth, Albania, a truly magical destination that you need to add to your trip.
Theth is a great destination to visit in Albania, even if you are not doing the famous Valbona-Theth hike (even though you should do the hike!). The town is nestled right in the Albanian Alps and it’s no wonder the main attraction is hiking. That said there are many great homestays and some more luxury stays are starting to be built. It is a great destination for a few days, so we’ve written our guide to Theth for you!
Theth is one of the two destinations on the Valbona-Theth hike. The traditional way of completing this hike is to start in Valbona and finish in Theth. However, we weren’t sure if we would undertake the full hike due to weather so we only booked the Theth section. We still completed the hike but did Theth-peak-Theth which you can read about further below!
Planning a trip to Albania? Check out our full Albania guide here!
Below is our guide to Theth, including tips and suggestions from what we learnt along the way!
How to get to Theth
If you are undertaking the Valbona-Theth hike you will no doubt be heading to Valbona instead of Theth. You can do the hike either direction, but it is most popular and recommended to start in Valbona. To get to Valbona from Shkoder you will need to catch a bus, then a ferry, then another bus. It’s a long 3-part 7-hour journey, so definitely coordinate with your accommodation to confirm transportation.
To get to Theth from Shkoder, there is a public bus that leaves at around 7 AM. The trip takes about 1.5 hours and will drop you in the centre of Theth. Most hostels will sell tickets or give information on the bus, as it has several pick-up locations. The bus leaves from Theth back to Shkoder upon arrival at around 11 AM.
Theth is also easy to drive to if you are hiring a car! Be aware, as the road is a bit windy and some locals may drive fast. Hiring a car will also give you flexibility as the bus to Theth only leaves once per day!
Where to Stay?
One key thing we realised when we got to Theth is a lot of the cheaper homestay accommodations located near the center are actually located up a steep hill. This means approximately an extra 30-45 min walk up a hill after visiting the town center (which is where all the shops and food are!). If this is an issue (and might be after you’ve done an 8 hour hike) you might be better paying a bit extra to stay closer to the centre of the village. This warning, was a key thing we wanted to include in our guide to Theth!
The above said, we stayed at this homestay and enjoyed our time here. If you have a car and can arrange your own transport to and from town, it’s a great option! Although the home-cooked dinner was a bit expensive by Albanian standards, it was one of the best meals we had in Albania. We’d recommend booking accommodation where you can try a home-cooked meal. This went down very well after a day of hiking!
Don’t forget to visit the new Visitors Information Centre. They have some new interesting information about the area that is worth checking out!
Where to Eat?
As mentioned in our guide to Theth accomodation, we’d recommend booking a place including a home-cooked meal for dinner. We found most places offer breakfast. For lunch or any snacks, there is a small but well-stocked supermarket in the village centre.
If you’re looking for takeaway, we would recommend Fast Food Pizzeri Jezerca, the only pizza shop in Theth. Prices are reasonable compared to the rest of food prices in Theth, and the pizzas we had were delicious!
Stock up on a few groceries in Shkoder before coming to Theth for cheaper prices!
Hiking in Theth
Short Waterfall Hike
One of our favourite short hikes was the journey to the Theth Waterfall, located to the south of the Theth. It is about 3km south of the centre and takes 30-45 minutes one-way depending on your walking speed. The walk is relatively easy except for some climbing up to the waterfall at the end. This part may require a bit of easy rock climbing using your hands. Directions are straight forward and you follow the road on the east side of the river. There are also some cafes along the way, a picturesque church and the Reconciliation Tower.
Download the Maps.me app for free offline hiking routes and maps (make sure you download the local area using wifi before you hike!). Also download the Alltrails app to see the nearby hike routes – but note that you’ll need to pay for offline maps
Main Theth Hike
You’ve likely heard of the famous Valbona-Theth hike if you’re coming to Theth. As we said above, we weren’t sure whether we would complete it due to weather (the path can be a bit dangerous when snowy or wet from rain). However, when we arrived the conditions were great for hiking. We hiked to the peak (the pass between the two valleys) and then back down instead of completing the full hike from Theth to Valbona.
This was one of our favourite activities we did in Albania and the views we experienced were stunning. The hike starts from the main village near the centrally located shops. As you head north of the village, it winds up through the mountains and forest towards the peak of the pass. Views on the Theth side are sometimes covered by dense forest (but also means slightly cooler in hot parts of day!). However, this improves as you get higher and you’re rewarded with stunning views back into the Theth Valley.
The walk took us just over 7 hours for the 13km return journey (incl. breaks), with an elevation gain of 1096m. We took a packed lunch to enjoy at the peak (would highly recommend as there are plenty of stunning picnic spots near the top!) and took some time at the peak to soak in the stunning views (and enjoy a Snickers).
One thing that we noticed was that a lot of the hikers from the Valbona side started descending early afternoon so it started to get a bit busy. We stayed a bit longer on the peak to avoid the early/mid afternoon rush down to Theth from the Valbona hikers. We’d definitely recommend this as it was a more peaceful walk with ourselves (alternatively leave early morning to beat the rush!).
The Blue Eye hike is also another option for a 11km 5-hour return hike which we unfortunately didn’t get time for. Although the lake is stunning, there are mixed reviews on difficulty on Alltrails. But if you have the extra time, you may want to check it out!
Theth is such a great destination for adventure and connecting with the outdoors. There are some great hikes and walks for all levels of fitness, and the views of the Albanian Alps are truly worth a visit! That’s all to our guide to Theth, Albania, we hope you got something useful from it!
