Albania Settentrionale
In 1444 Skanderbeg gathered the Albanian princes in the cathedral of Lezhë and swore the league that for a quarter of a century he...
Updated 8 July 2026
Albania Settentrionale
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The story
The story of Albania Settentrionale
History: crossroads of empires and cradle of Albanian resistance
Northern Albania was Illyrian territory even before it was Roman: the Labeatan tribes had their capital at Shkodra (Scodra), later conquered by Rome in 168 BC. In the Middle Ages the region passed under Byzantium, then under the rule of the Serbian Balšić family and, from the fifteenth century, of the Republic of Venice, which turned it into a trading outpost on the Adriatic. It is in this century that Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg emerges, the leader who in 1444 united the local lords in the League of Lezhë to face the Ottoman advance: his tomb, kept today in Lezhë, remains the most venerated symbol of national identity. After the resistance fell in 1479, the Ottoman Empire ruled for over four centuries, leaving mosques, bazaars and a social fabric that in the mountain valleys became intertwined with the customary law of the Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini, which survived even under the communist regime.
Shkodra, the city of two lakes and two empires
Shkodër, which the Italians call Scutari, is probably Albania's oldest city and for centuries was its cultural capital, home to one of the first printing presses in the Balkans and a lively Catholic community alongside Muslim and Orthodox ones. The historic centre, with the nineteenth-century Kolagjini bazaar and the Venetian-Ottoman style buildings along Rruga Kolë Idromeno, tells of a refined urbanity, today revived by cafés, galleries and one of the country's most intense cycling scenes: here the bicycle is still a daily means of transport, not an imported trend. Shkodra is also the natural gateway to the Albanian Alps and to the lake, and its atmosphere remains more relaxed and less touristy than the coast, with the soul of a provincial city with an important past.
Rozafa Castle and the legend of the walled-up woman
Above Shkodër, on a rocky spur between the two branches of the Buna and Kir rivers, stands the fortress of Rozafa, of Illyrian origin but expanded by Byzantines, Venetians and Ottomans into its present form. Its name comes from a dark and much-loved legend: three brothers, building the walls, saw the previous day's work collapse every night, until a wise old man revealed that a human sacrifice needed to be walled into the foundations; the youngest wife, Rozafa, volunteered, asking only that one eye, one breast, one hand and one foot be left free so she could go on caring for her son. At sunset, from its white stone walls, the view takes in Lake Shkodra, the Buna plain and the first peaks of the Albanian Alps: it is one of the most photographed panoramas in the whole north, and also one of the most authentic.
Lake Shkodra, the Balkans' freshwater sea
Shared between Albania and Montenegro, Lake Shkodra is the largest lake basin on the Balkan peninsula and a wetland of international importance, a refuge for Dalmatian pelicans, herons and cormorants. Its Albanian shores, less frequented than the Montenegrin ones, harbour fishing villages, endless reed beds and small islands with ancient Orthodox monasteries reachable by boat. Traditional fishing with nets and wicker traps is still practised, and the lake's fish, especially carp and eel, appear on the menus of Shkodra's trattorias, prepared according to recipes dating back to the Venetian era. In spring and autumn the lake becomes a favoured stop for birdwatching, in a flat, luminous landscape that contrasts with the mountains rising above it to the north.
Bjeshkët e Nemuna: the Albanian Alps, cursed and sacred mountains
North-east of Shkodra the landscape changes radically: the Albanian Alps, known locally as Bjeshkët e Nemuna (the 'Accursed Mountains'), form a limestone massif rising above 2,600 metres, shared with Montenegro and Kosovo. The name comes not from any threat but from the harshness of the terrain, so steep and rocky that it made life difficult for those who lived there: narrow valleys, very long winters and communications that until the 1990s were only possible on foot or by mule. Today the national park protecting them has become an international trekking destination, but it still preserves a frontier atmosphere, with stone refuges, recently marked trails and a silence that at times seems to suspend time itself.
Theth, the sanctuary village among the gorges
In the heart of the Albanian Alps, Theth is the emblematic village of the Malësia, the northern highland region: stone houses with shingle roofs, the small nineteenth-century Catholic church with its isolated bell tower, and above all the Kulla e Ngujimit, the 'lock-in tower' where, according to the Kanun, men involved in blood feuds would take refuge for weeks, protected by the rules of hospitality. Just outside the village, the Theth river has over the years carved out the Grunas Canyon and, further upstream, the Blue Eye of Theth (Syri i Kaltër), a pool of glacial water of an almost unnatural turquoise, fed by underground springs. The trek connecting Theth to Valbona over the Valbona Pass (about 1,800 metres) is today one of the most celebrated hiking routes in the Balkans.
The Valbona Valley, green heart of the national park
On the opposite side of the accursed mountains, Valbona Valley National Park protects beech and black pine forests, vertical walls rising over 2,000 metres and a river with impetuous, milky-white waters fed by residual glaciers. The village of Valbona, scattered in small clusters along the valley, lives almost exclusively from herding and, in recent years, from a respectful hiking tourism that has brought family-run guesthouses without disfiguring the landscape. From here trails lead to the peaks of Jezercë, the highest summit of the Albanian Alps, and to rural refuges where you sleep under hand-woven wool blankets, dining on whatever the valley produces: goat's cheese, potatoes, chestnut honey.
The Koman Lake ferry, a Balkan fjord
Built in the 1970s by damming the Drin river for a hydroelectric plant, Lake Koman submerged old roads and villages, creating, almost by accident, one of the most spectacular landscapes in Europe: a turquoise water canyon set between sheer limestone walls, passable only by boat. The public ferry connecting Koman to Fierzë, a roughly three-hour crossing, has become a rite of passage for anyone visiting the north, with lone fishermen, small wooden jetties and waterfalls plunging straight into the lake. It is not an attraction built for tourists but a real transport service for the isolated communities of the Drin valley, and it is precisely this authenticity that makes it memorable.
Lezhë and the memory of Skanderbeg
Halfway between Shkodra and Tirana, Lezhë is a quiet town that nonetheless preserves one of the most identity-defining sites in the whole nation: the Cathedral of St Nicholas, where in 1444 Skanderbeg united the northern feudal lords in an anti-Ottoman league, and where today a monument marks the site of his burial. Not far away, the ruins of the medieval fortress dominate the coastal plain and the mouth of the Drin river, while the nearby seaside resort of Shëngjin, with its long sandy beach, offers the most immediate access to the sea for those arriving from the mountainous north, a relaxing contrast after days of high-altitude trekking.
The Kanun, hospitality and the culture of the Malësia
No guide to northern Albania can ignore the Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini, the oral customary code codified in the fifteenth century and passed down from generation to generation until the twentieth, which regulated property, marriage, honour and blood feuds in the mountain communities. Having survived even the religious repression of the communist regime, the Kanun has left an ambivalent legacy: on one hand practices of vendetta that in some remote areas have never entirely died out, on the other a sense of hospitality (besa) considered sacred, whereby a guest in the home must be protected at all costs. Anyone visiting the villages of the Malësia can still sense this culture in concrete gestures: coffee offered without being asked, homemade raki poured at the first greeting, willingness to guide a stretch of trail without expecting anything in return.
Flavours of the north: mountain cheeses and hearty, humble cooking
The cuisine of northern Albania reflects a subsistence pastoral economy: goat's and sheep's cheeses aged in caves, byrek filled with mountain herbs, flija, a cake of extremely thin layers cooked slowly under an iron dome heated by embers, typical of festive occasions in the Malësia. In the lake villages freshwater fish is eaten, while in Shkodra the Ottoman tradition coexists with Venetian influences in dishes based on stuffed vegetables and lamb. Raki, a plum or grape brandy produced by hand in almost every household, accompanies every meal and every encounter, offered as a gesture of welcome rather than a drink to be finished entirely.
When to go and how to experience northern Albania
The best window for exploring the Albanian Alps runs from June to September, when the mountain passes are free of snow and the Koman ferry sails more frequently; July and August remain the busiest months on the Theth-Valbona trails, while June and September offer milder temperatures and fewer crowds. Shkodra and the lake can also be pleasantly visited in spring and autumn, ideal seasons for birdwatching and cultural tourism without the summer heat. In winter much of the highlands remains cut off by snow, and only Shkodra and Lezhë stay fully accessible. This is a territory that rewards those who plan calmly, book family guesthouses in advance during peak months, and accept a slower pace of travel, made up of dirt roads, ferry schedules to respect and hospitality that is not bought, but received.
- Rozafa Fortress and its legend, with a view over Lake Shkodra
- Shkodra's Ottoman-Venetian historic centre and the Kolagjini bazaar
- Ferry on Lake Koman, between sheer cliffs and waterfalls
- Theth-Valbona trek over the Valbona Pass
- Blue Eye (Syri i Kaltër) and Grunas Canyon in Theth
- Skanderbeg's cathedral and tomb in Lezhë
- Birdwatching on the shores of Lake Shkodra
- Stone villages of the Malësia and the traditional kulla towers
FAQ
Quanti giorni servono per visitare l'Albania Settentrionale?
Qual è il periodo migliore per il trekking Theth-Valbona?
Come si raggiunge Theth da Scutari?
Il traghetto di Koman va prenotato in anticipo?
È un viaggio adatto alle famiglie con bambini?
Dove si dorme nei villaggi di montagna?
Getting there
- Aeroporto di Tirana 'Nënë Tereza' (TIA), circa 90 km da Shkodër
- Aeroporto di Podgorica, Montenegro, circa 60 km dal confine di Hani i Hotit
- Da Tirana si raggiunge Shkodër in circa 1h30 sulla SH1; da Shkodër il proseguimento verso Theth e Valbona avviene su strade sterrate di montagna, percorribili con fuoristrada, furgoncini condivisi o escursioni organizzate.
- Per il traghetto di Koman conviene partire da Shkodër la mattina presto con un transfer combinato che include il tragitto fino al molo di Koman; il ritorno da Valbona verso Scutari richiede un'intera giornata di viaggio tra minivan e traghetto.
Perfect for
Le Alpi Albanesi offrono uno dei percorsi escursionistici più celebrati dei Balcani, da Theth a Valbona attraverso passi di alta quota.
Da Skanderbeg alla dominazione ottomana, il nord custodisce le radici dell'identità nazionale albanese tra fortezze e cattedrali.
Canyon, gole, l'Occhio Azzurro e il lago artificiale di Koman regalano paesaggi di grande impatto scenico, spesso raggiungibili solo via acqua o a piedi.
Il Kanun, la besa e l'ospitalità della Malësia offrono uno sguardo autentico su tradizioni montane rimaste vive fino a oggi.
Furgoncini condivisi, traghetti pubblici e guesthouse familiari rendono il nord ideale per un viaggio lento, lontano dai circuiti di massa.
To see
Da vedere a Albania Settentrionale
Routes · Trovido Route
