Valbona Pass

Valbona – Theth Trail

climbing Albania

One of the main attractions of Valbona remains its connection with Thethi valley through the pass with the same name, Valbona Pass. An epic trail through the entire Albanian Alps, the most trafficked and traversed by many Albanian and foreign travelers every season.

The mountain pass that connects Theth with Valbona takes the name from this last one “Valbona’s Pass” located at an altitude of 1759 mt above sea level and surrounded by other higher peaks such as the peak of Alia, the peak of Hekurave, etc.

The hiking trail starts exactly in the Gjelaj neighborhood, in the village Rragam of Shala, in the upper part of Valbona valley and consists of a 9.5 km trail to Theth (end of the path marked with white and red signs in Gjelaj of Theth).

The trail may start from both sides, Valbona – Theth or Theth – Valbona.

The trail from Valbona to Theth is more convenient because it is easier.  The difference to cross is about 630 mt., while if it starts from Thethi is about 850 mt.

The walk towards the Valbona Pass can start from the guesthouse door down in the valley or from the beginning of the trail in Gjelaj of Valbona to  Gjelaj of Thethi.

To save time a local transfer from any guesthouse to the start of the marked path can be provided.

Valbona Pass can be reached in 2.5 – 3 hours, along with stops, from whichever side you start your walk. In total, this trail takes 6-7 hours of walking in total.

Level of difficulty: Moderate

Source of Valbona

During the hike to the Valbona Pass, after about an hour of moderate level of difficulty walk, you will meet another important attraction for Valbona valley, its source, the main source of the Valbona River.

 This source is a natural spring, located at an altitude of 1528 mt, who never runs out of water, winter or summer. It supplies the Valbona Waterfall, in Rragam only a few meters below on another trail.

This is at the same time the first stop during this hike, near Simoni Caffe.

This place serves as a resting place during this mountain hike toward Valbona Pass and to refill water as well. On the other side of Thethi National Park, another spring also serves as a resting place and water refill. This facilitates the weight of the water quantity that each person should have with him during this mountain hike.

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