Unique Places in Albania

Despite their extreme isolation (or maybe because of it) the northernmost villages of Albania are growing in popularity. This region is well worth the hours of rocky commute required to get there. The landscape is a three dimensional postcard of jagged alpine peaks, thickly vegetated valleys, and the idyllic wood-shingled dwellings of the scant population.

Because of the travel time involved in reaching this remote area, there’s no fast way to do it. Outdoor Albania’s five-day trek is great span of time to see enough of the region and even absorb some its local culture and flavor. The first day was dedicated to reaching Valbona via a furgon (minibus) to the ferry that passes through the dramatic Drin canyon. Accommodations were welcoming village guesthouses, where a local family cooked simple, traditional dishes using the fresh ingredients from the land.

The next three days were all strenuous days of mountain trekking. The group of 9 followed shepards’ paths through alpine meadows carpeted with wildflowers. Day three was the on-foot passage from Valbona to Thethi, with mountain horses to carry our packs. Day four was spent in and around Thethi, where a well-marked riverside path leads to a gushing waterfall.

Day five was spent in transit from Thethi back to Tirana via Shkoder, a northern city with a lunch stop at Tradita restaurant. Trip highlight: the hammock at the Carku guesthouse in Thethi, where the family’s kids thought it was fun for some reason to rock me as I relaxed after three days of serious hiking.

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It is small village Voskopoje about 20 km from Korca ,I belive that when you will drive there new road will be finally paved,since us these 20 km took about 1 hour,with paved and unpaved parts of road . We visit here the church of Saint Nicolas,sought the old frescoes (their condition are not so good). Many people in summer came there and in Dharda from hot Tirana and Dures,on weekend to breath fresh mountain air.
On the way to Voskopoje we passed the cattle market ,and have there our lunch on small stall that grilled on place shish kebabs

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Take a side road from Korcha -Girokaster main way and go to this small picturesque village,that situated on 1400 m above sea the road is good enough, wery nice view points, in village the streets paved with big cobblestones ,so drive carefully if you have a car low clearance.
We stay there in hotel-restaurant Shtephia e Pushimit. The have main building and two chalets we stayed in chalet , consider that it could be cold on night ,temperature difference between Korca and Dardha could be about 8-9 degrees.

COMING SOON

when I get more pics from my
travel companion....

Razma is on the road from Shkodra to
the Montenegro Border Honi Hoti,
Yep thats right, it sounds like Honey Hotty..
but no wenches in sight..
about 10 kms shy of the boder? we took a right up
into the mountains and 30 mins later we arrived at
the former Communist big wig resting place..Razma.

WILL WRITE A BETTER ACCOUNT SOON

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In the country, East to Fier, the landscape is sprinkled with dozens and dozens of small derricks (first photo).
On the second photo, I have made an enlargement that shows the tall structure, an electric pole and the small one, the oil pump. In 1988, the pumps looked very old but most were still working. I would be curious to know how many barrels each of them produced every day.

However, in 2007, the derricks were still there, together with the strong smell of fuel, but none were working.

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most of the roadside houses or shops we saw on our drive through Albania were just small concrete flatroofed buildings about the size of a large shed or small garage.

We passed some small Albanian villages scattered about the hillsides where the road through them switched from tar to just dusty track.

It wasn't until I saw one with skinned goats hung up outside that I discovered that the word 'MISH' spray painted like bad grafitti on the side of the building meant that it sold meat and by that time I had already passed a dozen or so of them that day.

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In the Mallakastra hills we passed 100's of creaking rusting but still pumping oil derricks. Then 100 metres further down the road we saw an open lake of black oil just like a flood pond in field. Beside it were rusted tanks that looked like they had been blown open. Please tell me this isn't just an inland oil slick! This year i stopped and took a walk down to the oil lake. The sulphurous smell was so overpowering I thought the fumes might be dangerous and overcome me. Then I spotted this old guy with his horse and cow so I guessed it was okay. Through sign language he told me it had been like this for 10 years or more. As I made my way back up to my van 4 guys arrived with walkie talkies and German shepherd dogs, they stood in front of my van talking to someone on their handsets but ignored me. I think the language barrier had them beat.

The road from Shkoder to Prirzen is definately not one of the best quality roads I've ever driven on. In fact it may well have been one of the worst. Nevertheless the scenery is stunning, so it is worth the effort. Just make sure you take your time and leave Shkoder early in the morning. The driving time to Prizren will be about 7 hours.