Theth and Valbona, over the Accursed Mountains on foot

The mountains of northern Albania have one of the most memorable names in Europe. Albanians call them Bjeshkët e Nemuna, the Accursed Mountains, a name often explained by a legend in which the mountains were cursed for their harshness. Outsiders also know them as the Albanian Alps. They are part of a great massif of jagged limestone peaks, shared with Montenegro and Kosovo, rising to over two and a half thousand metres. For centuries their valleys were among the most isolated places in Europe, reachable only on foot or by mule, and governed less by any state than by their own customary law.

Today, roads and guesthouses have opened them up to walkers, but they remain wild, beautiful and much less visited than the Alps further west.

Lake Koman

The traditional approach to Valbona is one of the great journeys in itself. A small ferry runs along Lake Koman, a long reservoir created in the 1980s by damming the River Drin. The lake winds through a deep, narrow gorge, with cliffs rising sheer from green water, and has been compared to a Norwegian fjord. The boat stops at tiny landing stages to drop off villagers, goats and supplies. From the far end, a road climbs into the Valbona valley.

Valbona to Theth

The Valbona valley is broad and green, ringed by peaks, with a river of clear water running over white stones and a scattering of guesthouses and farms. From its head, a path climbs through beech forest and across scree slopes to the Valbona Pass, at about eighteen hundred metres. The views from the pass, back across the Valbona valley and down into Theth, take in a great ring of bare limestone peaks. The descent leads down through forest into the Theth valley. It is a long day's walk, usually six to eight hours depending on pace and stops. It is steep in places, but it does not need climbing skills, only fitness and good boots.

Theth is a scattered village of stone houses, hay meadows and orchards in a deep valley, with a small church that has become a symbol of the region. The valley has waterfalls and a clear blue pool, often called the Blue Eye of Theth, at the end of a walk up a side valley.

The Kanun and the lock-in tower

Life in these mountains was long governed by the Kanun, a body of customary law passed down orally for centuries and later written down. It regulated everything from marriage and hospitality to property and honour. It also governed the blood feud: a killing could be avenged by the family of the victim, and the obligation could pass down the generations. In Theth, the lock-in tower, a stone tower house with narrow slits for windows, is where men whose families were caught in a feud could take refuge while the dispute was settled. It is now a small museum, and a sobering reminder of a tradition that has not entirely disappeared from northern Albania.

The Kanun's laws of hospitality are kinder. The guest is sacred, to be welcomed, fed and protected. A night in a family guesthouse in Theth or Valbona, with home-made cheese, bread, honey and raki, shows that tradition at its best.

Shkodër, the main city of northern Albania, is the usual gateway to the mountains, and it deserves a few hours. Above the city, on a rocky hill where two rivers meet near Lake Shkodër, stands Rozafa Castle, with views across the lake, the largest in the Balkans, to the mountains of Montenegro. The castle's legend tells of a young wife walled into its foundations to make them stand, a story told in many forms across the Balkans. The city itself is relaxed and bicycle-friendly, with a pedestrian street of restored houses and cafés.

The walking tours

Explore Worldwide's Hiking the Albanian Alps, seven nights, includes Tirana, Lake Koman, Valbona, Theth, Shkodër and Boga. It runs from late spring to autumn.

For southern Albania, Explore Worldwide's Highlights of Albania, ten nights, covers Tirana, the south-east around Lake Ohrid, Gjirokastër, Butrint and the coast.

The walking season is from about June to September, when the pass is clear of snow. Early summer brings wild flowers to the meadows, and September is quieter, with the first autumn colours in the beech woods.