Albania. Albanian Alps

We started our adventure with a flight to Podgorica, Montenegro, and from there took a scenic bus ride across the border to the charming Albanian town of Shkodër. Shkodër immediately won us over with its laid-back vibe and mix of Ottoman and Venetian history. We stayed in a rooftop hostel, where the terrace offered a postcard view of the old town: minarets of the local mosque rising above red-tiled roofs, and the distant outline of the Accursed Mountains (Albanian Alps) - the dramatic range we were about to hike...

Map of the hike...

That evening we strolled through Shkodër’s lively streets, passing the mosque and rows of pastel-colored houses and cafés...

The city felt both cozy and full of stories...

The next morning we enjoyed a slow rooftop breakfast - Albanian coffee and small cookies - while taking in the view over the city. Below us stretched Shkodër’s old town, a patchwork of red-tiled roofs and narrow streets, with the elegant mosque rising in the center, its minaret gleaming against the soft gray sky. Beyond the city, the mountains unfolded in layers of deep green forests and rugged limestone ridges, dramatic yet welcoming. Though the sky was cloudy, every detail of the peaks remained clear...

After savoring the scene, we caught a minibus to the Valbona - Theth National Park area, our gateway to the Albanian Alps. The ride itself was an adventure: two hours of winding roads through green valleys and dramatic limestone cliffs.

After arriving in Theth, a remote village wrapped in meadows and stone houses, we fueled up with a hearty breakfast and set out for the Qafa e Pejës Pass. This ancient shepherd trail climbs about 1,150 meters over roughly 8 kilometers, leading into the heart of the so-called Prokletije (the “Accursed Mountains”). The name sounds ominous, but it comes from their wild, jagged beauty and the way the peaks seem to pierce the sky...

From the pass, the views were breathtaking - sharp grey ridges and deep valleys stretching into both Albania and Montenegro...

Reaching the pass felt like stepping into another world - wide skies, jagged limestone ridges, and sweeping views deep into Montenegro...

From there we hiked a little farther to a quiet hollow near a natural spring, our campsite for the night...

We hesitated, caught between pushing onward and lingering in this stunning place. Go… or not to go?

And finally, we decided to stay, beginning the search for the perfect spot to set up camp...

And we found it... The place felt wonderfully remote: no other hikers in sight. It was the perfect hidden corner of the Accursed Mountains, a wild amphitheater of stone and forest that felt entirely our own...

Cooking...

As evening settled, the peaks around us shifted from green to silver to deep violet, and we watched the stars emerge one by one, brighter than we’d ever seen.

Morning light woke us gently in our secluded camp. As the first rays of sun spilled over the ridgeline, the valley below began to fill with slow-moving clouds, curling upward like soft smoke. They drifted and climbed toward the peaks, wrapping the green slopes and limestone walls in shifting layers of mist. The play of sunlight and rising clouds made the already dramatic scenery even more magical...

We started our second day of hiking with the sun already warming the slopes, ready for our summit push to Maja Jezercë (2,694 m) - the highest peak of the Dinaric Alps and the second-highest in the entire Balkans.

Jagged limestone spires and distant ridgelines created a dramatic backdrop, and every turn of the trail revealed a new, breathtaking perspective.

But before making our summit push, we hiked up to Qafa e Jezercës, a dramatic mountain pass framed by sheer limestone walls...

From this airy saddle, the final ascent to Maja Jezercë began, with steep, rocky paths leading toward the summit...

The climb itself was challenging and unforgettable. Jagged limestone spires towered above us, and every step required careful footing...

The final 1.5 km to the summit was especially tough, so we stashed our backpacks at a sheltered spot and continued with only the essentials...

Standing on the summit felt like being on the very roof of the Balkans - a 360-degree sweep of endless peaks, shadowed valleys, and distant blue ridges fading into the horizon...

After soaking in the views, we descended the same route, retrieving our packs and continuing toward a small mountain lake where we planned to camp...

The day’s effort totaled about 13 km with roughly 1,300 m of elevation gain. Most of the seasonal lakes we passed along the way were dry after summer’s heat, but the last one - tucked into a rocky bowl surrounded by high ridges - still held deep, clear water.

Mountain lake mirrored surface reflected the evening light, creating a serene, almost otherworldly campsite with truly stunning views...

The next morning, we lingered longer at the beautiful lakeside campsite, savoring the tranquil atmosphere and the stunning mountain views. The lake’s clear water mirrored the surrounding peaks, and the gentle breeze added a sense of calm to the scene. This hidden valley, dotted with small alpine lakes - most of which were dry by late summer - felt like a secret world, untouched and wild. Each lake lay in its own rocky basin, framed by steep ridges and flowering meadows, creating pockets of serene beauty at every turn...

It wasn’t until after 10 a.m. that we finally packed up and continued our hike, carrying with us the memory of this peaceful, magical place...

This day, we crossed the Albania–Montenegro border and back again, hiking along high mountain ridges that offered breathtaking views at every turn...

From the ridge, we looked down into the Valbona Valley, one of Albania’s most spectacular alpine valleys. We didn’t hike all the way down into the valley itself, but we descended toward a small local mountaineer’s hut - a cozy café - where we sampled fresh local cheese and cappuccino made with rich local milk, surrounded by the quiet beauty of the mountains...