Thethi

Thethi is a village surrounded by Thethi National Park, up on Albanian Alps, in Northeastern Albania, in Shkodra District.

A lot of tourists visit the mountain peaks of Thethi, Boga, Razma and Vermoshi, where they enjoy the dense forests, clear springs and limestone caves.

Understand
Thethi is a scenic village that became a tourist resort and one of the most preferred places for alpinism in Albania. Together with Razma, it composes the most frequented center in the North Albania. They function during all the year. Thethi village is surrounded by a mountain range, which offers a peculiar beauty along the sun set. The highest peaks are: Rodohina Mountain 2596 m; Harapi Mountain 2216 m; Populka Mountaun 2600 m and Alia Mountain 2400 m.

Landscape
Thethi has a surface of 2630 hectares, where high mountains, woods and meadows dominate. It has a strategic geographic position, because through Peja Pass it gets connected with Peja and the other Kosovo regions, and through Valbona it is connected with Tropoja. Thethi is connected to Boga and Kelmendi through many valleys and footpaths.

Flora and fauna
There is rich vegetation in the forests, like beech trees (which dominate the area), the black pine, the maple wood, the ash nut, the cornel bush, the walnut, and the hazel tree. The vegetation of this area has great economic, medical, touristic and monumental values. Thethi is considered as a natural zoological garden. The park is home to wild goats, and the largest lynx population in Albania. Additionally, large mammals like brown bears and gray wolves also inhabit these mountains and forests, although they’re rarely seen. There are also roebuck, boars, and small animals like: rabbits, hares, hedgehogs, etc. Thethi is also a preferred place for wild birds, especially golden eagles, falcons, partridges, etc.

Water resources


The Shala and Kapresa rivers are rich of speckled trout. In the icy lake of Terthora, rich in various kinds of fashion, alpine triton is found.

Waterfall of Thethi is the most beautiful place of the north alpine land. The scenery is amazing especially when there is a lot of sun, as the clear drops of water dismantle the rays of sun, forming the rainbow.

By plane
(Albanian: Aeroporti Ndërkombëtar i Kukësit Zayed-Flatrat e Veriut, IATA:), ICAO: LAKU) is an international airport 3.5 km (2.2 mi) south of the city of Kukës. 2 airlines operate service to Kukes, with direct flights from some European cities.


 * Air Albania, the national carrier operates service from Basel and Zurich.
 * Wizz Air (from Basel, Memmingen, Karlsruhe and Vienna).

By car
To reach Thethi National park, you have to go to Koplik first, which a town near Shkodra. From Koplik to Thethi Village (SH21) is around 58 km (1.5-2h). The road has asphalt entirely now as the last section of the SH21 from Qafa e Thorës (Thore pass) to Theth village has been paved in 2021. Nevertheless, it is extremely winding, narrow and runs along a deep ravine. This track used to get very muddy and slippery after rain making it challenging to get through. Now the Thethi can be accessed by 2 wheel drive cars, even buses drive up. The road is closed from November to April. Do not travel this road in severe weather conditions. Avalanches, heavy snowfalls and landslides can occur anytime, being extremely dangerous due to frequent patches of ice. It has a well-deserved reputation for being dangerous because of unpredictable snowstorms and blizzards, and driving under these conditions, can be extremely challenging.



By bus
Buses leave from Cafe Rusi in Shkodra at 07:30. The ride from Shkodra to Theth takes 4 hours.

By taxi
A taxi in Shkodra will charge you around €100.

Fees and permits
There are no fees to be paid and you do not need permission to enter the zone. However, you need permission for hunting. You can get permission at the Regional Directorate of Forests, which is located in center of Shkodra city.

Get around
The roads in the village has not been paved so driving around should be done with care.

All places in the village can be reached by a short walk.

See




Hiking

 * There are 8 hikes starting in Theth. Three of them are marked "red and white".
 * The favourite hike is from Theth to Valbona (and vice versa). Theth (742 m)- Valbona Pass (1814 m) - Rragam - Valbona. It takes 6–8 hours. The difficulty is T2. The trek is well marked "red and white". Only the start of the hike (a few hundred meters from Theth center) is difficult to find. To find it, you may ask a local guide.
 * Helpful guidebook: Wanderführer Nordalbanien Thethi und Kelmend by von Barbara Hausmann, Christian Zindel

Eat

 * The guesthouses prepare lunch packages for the hike.

Sleep
It's the best to use one of the many guesthouses. People show a lot of hospitality, they speak foreign languages and will tell you remarkable stories and legends of the region. The rooms are usually very clean and comfortable.



Camping
Camping is pretty easy. It's the best if you camp in summer and near a house, as you will have fast access to medicine or other stuff in case you have any problems.

Go next

 * Valbona
 * Shkodra
 * Plav