Albania: Peaks of the Balkans
Nine days on foot through Europe’s wildest corner. Glacier-blue rivers, three-country ridgelines, stone villages, and the kind of nights around a table you fly home talking about. Wilder than the Alps, and barely discovered.
The Accursed Mountains sit where Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo meet. Glacial peaks, shepherd valleys, and rivers so clear they look painted. For years only the boldest walkers found them. Now is the moment to go, before everyone else does.
Start Time
5:00 pm
End Time
10:00 am
Destination
Grade
3-4
Days
9
Accommodation
Guesthouse, Hotel
What’s included
Accommodation & Amenities
Clean, safe, and welcoming accommodation. A home away from home with comfortable amenities.
Activities, Training & Equipment
All programme activities and equipment, including training and workshops from experienced professionals.
Transportation
To and from the airport, plus everything in between. Daily transport to your placement and back.
Experienced & qualified guides
Our guides are trained to give you the best on and off trail support.
Secure your spot with a fully refundable deposit
Dates marked “register interest” are brand-new trips. Pay a $795 deposit now to hold your place — we confirm the departure and final price once the group fills. Change your mind before then and we'll refund every cent.
Notify me of new dates
Price:
$5,295.00 Indicative price — confirmed once the group fills
Members price: $4,995.00 Indicative price — confirmed once the group fills
Trip Highlights
The Prokletije Crossing
Cross into Montenegro on foot through the Grbaja valley, in the shadow of the Accursed Mountains — big country, big views, and a local mountain guide who knows every turn.
Peja & Valbona Passes
Two classic high passes in one traverse. You earn every metre and the views pay you back — with a shorter option and vehicle support on the big days, so no one is left behind.
Shala River & Lake Komani
A private boat into the Shala River canyon, Albania’s answer to the Norwegian fjords, with an optional kayak and a lunch stop on the sand — then the famous Lake Komani crossing.
Blue Eye & Grunas Waterfall
Theth’s treasures: swim in the astonishing glacier-blue spring, stand under the Grunas Waterfall, and wander past the village’s stone lock-in tower and church.
Real Albania, Start to Finish
Shkodra and Rozafa Castle to begin, Kruja’s Ottoman bazaar and Tirana to finish. You go home feeling you saw the country, not just a mountain range.
Guesthouse Hospitality
Sleep in family guesthouses in stone villages and eat food grown a few metres from your plate. The kind of nights around a table you fly home talking about.
The trip people come back changed by, without a single crowded trail
This is a proper walk, not a coach tour with a stroll bolted on. You cross real mountain passes, swim in cold rivers, sleep in family guesthouses, and eat food grown a few metres from your plate. And because most of the people who travel with us arrive on their own, you will not walk it alone. You will finish it with a group who feel like old friends.
We keep the group small and the pace human. Big days are matched with gentle ones, and there is always a way to take it easier when you need it.
The wild bit
Three days across the high passes: the Prokletije crossing into Montenegro, Peja Pass, and the Valbona Pass. Big country, big views, and a local mountain guide who knows every turn.
The water bit
The famous Komani Lake boat and the turquoise Shala River canyon, with an optional kayak. The Blue Eye spring and Grunas Waterfall at Theth. You will be in the water as much as on the trail.
The Albania bit
Shkodra and its castle to begin, Kruja’s Ottoman bazaar and Tirana to finish. You go home feeling you saw the country, not just a mountain range.
Most of our people come on their own
If you are thinking of coming solo, you are in good company. Most people who travel with us book on their own, and leave with a group of friends. Our community is the whole point. We have watched people arrive nervous and unsure and go on to walk the world with the friends they met on trips like this one.
Everyone is welcome here: solo travellers, couples, and friends booking together. Women, men, first-timers and old hands. What you share is the want for something wilder.
Stay on for the Albanian Riviera
Not ready to fly home? Trade the mountains for the sea. On this optional extension you head south to the coast for a private boat trip into hidden sea caves, Crystal Bay and the Gjipe canyon, with swim stops along the way. Then a walk on the famous Caesar’s Path through the Llogara pass, high above the Ionian, before your flight home.
A couple of extra days on the coast, at $1,295 per person. Confirmed with your booking. Ask us when you register.
Itinerary
Landing in Tirana, you transfer north to Shkodra, Albania’s cultural heart on the lake. Settle in, then wander the old town, with the option of Rozafa Castle above the water or the Marubi photography museum. Tonight you meet your group over a welcome dinner — this is where the trip really begins. Rozafa Castle entry included.
Meals · Dinner Stay · Hotel
Transfer up to Vermosh, Albania’s northernmost village, and set off on foot to Lepushe. A beautiful first day to find your legs, through high pasture and pine, with the peaks rising ahead. Settle into your guesthouse and let the quiet do its work.
Meals · B · L · D Stay · Guesthouse
Today you cross into Montenegro through the Grbaja valley, in the shadow of the Prokletije — the Accursed Mountains themselves. A short transfer brings you to your guesthouse in Vuthaj. Your main bag travels ahead by vehicle or mule, so you walk with a light daypack.
Meals · B · L · D Stay · Guesthouse
The first of two big days. A short transfer to the trailhead, then up and over the Peja Pass back into Albania, dropping into the valley of Theth. A long, rewarding day with a serious descent. There is a shorter option and vehicle support for anyone who would rather take it easier, so no one is left behind.
Meals · B · L · D Stay · Guesthouse
A gentler day exploring the treasures around Theth: the astonishing Blue Eye spring and the Grunas Waterfall, with the old stone lock-in tower and church in the village. Time to swim, breathe, and let the legs recover before tomorrow.
Meals · B · L · D Stay · Guesthouse
The second big day and a classic: the crossing from Theth to the Valbona valley, one of the great walks of the Balkans. You earn every metre and the views pay you back. Descend to relax in Valbona. As on Day 4, there is a support option for anyone who needs it.
Meals · B · L · D Stay · Guesthouse
A magical day on the water. Transfer to Fierza, then a private boat into the Shala River canyon — Albania’s answer to the Norwegian fjords — with an optional kayak and a lunch stop on the sand. Cruise back across the extraordinary Lake Komani, then transfer to the fortress town of Kruja for the night.
Meals · B · L · D Stay · Hotel
A morning in Kruja: the castle of the national hero Skanderbeg and the old Ottoman bazaar, one of the best places in the country for a keepsake. Transfer to Tirana for a city tour, with the option of the Bunk’Art museum or the House of Leaves. Tonight you gather for a farewell dinner to toast what you have done.
Meals · B · L · D Stay · Hotel
Breakfast, and a transfer to Tirana airport for your flight home. Not ready to leave? Add the Albanian Riviera extension and swap the mountains for turquoise sea caves, hidden beaches and the Llogara Pass.
Meals · Breakfast
Additional Information
Included
- 8 nights’ accommodation in guesthouses and hotels, twin share
- All meals from dinner on Day 1 to breakfast on Day 9
- Your TSA host plus a local English-speaking mountain guide
- Private transport throughout the trip
- Main luggage carried ahead by vehicle or mule on hiking days
- Komani Lake and Shala River boat
- Border crossing permit and Rozafa Castle entry
- Wilderness First Aid qualified support
Not Included
- International airfares to and from Albania
- Travel insurance (required, and we can arrange this through our travel partner)
- Snacks, drinks and personal spending
- Optional extras: kayak, massages, museum entries
- The optional Albanian Riviera extension
- Anything not listed as included
How registering works
No pressure and nothing locked in. Secure your place with a deposit that is fully refundable until the departure is confirmed.
- Step 1 — Register your interest and pay a fully refundable deposit to hold your place.
- Step 2 — Once the group reaches numbers, we confirm the departure and the final price.
- Step 3 — You are in. Our standard booking terms and a friendly payment plan take over from here.
Your deposit is refunded in full if the departure does not go ahead, or if you change your mind before we confirm. After confirmation, our standard terms and conditions apply. Interest-free payment plans available. All-inclusive land price, excludes international flights and travel insurance.
A note on bags
This trip takes soft bags only, one per person, up to 20kg. Hard suitcases cannot travel on the mountain transport. We will send a full packing list before you go.
Accommodation
Family-run guesthouses in the mountain villages (Lepushe, Vuthaj, Theth and Valbona) and comfortable hotels in Shkodra, Kruja and Tirana, twin share throughout. A single room supplement is available from $550, subject to availability in the mountain guesthouses.
Food
All meals from dinner on Day 1 to breakfast on Day 9, much of it grown a few metres from your plate. Expect generous home cooking in the guesthouses, riverside lunches, and long, happy tables.
How fit do I need to be?
This is graded 3 to 4. Most days are moderate and very doable for a regular walker, in the spirit of our Japan Kumano Kodo trip. Two days are longer and cross high passes with real descents. You will want a good level of fitness and some hills under your belt, and there is a support option on the big days for anyone who needs it. We will send a training guide when you book.
Map & Location
The Peaks of the Balkans traverse crosses the Accursed Mountains where Albania and Montenegro meet: Tirana to Shkodra, north to Vermosh, over the Prokletije into Montenegro, back across the Peja and Valbona passes via Theth, down the Shala River and Lake Komani by boat, and home through Kruja and Tirana.
Book your next adventure
Secure your spot with a fully refundable deposit
Dates marked “register interest” are brand-new trips. Pay a $795 deposit now to hold your place — we confirm the departure and final price once the group fills. Change your mind before then and we'll refund every cent.
Price:
$5,295.00 Indicative price — confirmed once the group fills
Members price: $4,995.00 Indicative price — confirmed once the group fills