The majestic little village of Theth has almost become a victim of its own beauty. With rampant construction that basic services like electricity can’t keep up with and tourist crowds the likes of which you don’t see outside of the coast, you could be forgiven for thinking that it can’t actually be that special anymore. But then you arrive and the sublime views, turquoise waterfalls, fabulous hiking trails and restaurants with jaw-dropping panoramas see it steal a little piece of your heart.
For though it has its problems it can’t be denied that it’s still an unmissable destination, so here’s our favourite things to do to help you plan the perfect trip.
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1: Swim in the spectacular turquoise waters of Vaskat Nderlysaj
2: Dine with a million dollar view of the Accursed Mountains
3: Take an ice bath in the sensational Blue Eye
4: Visit the prettiest little church in Albania
5: Hike to Valbona Pass
6: Seek out the secret waterfall
7: Enjoy a coffee with a view
8: Admire the stunning Grunas Waterfall
9: Step back in time at the Lock-In Tower
10: Kick back and relax on a sun lounger by the river
11: Indulge in the best pizza in Albania
Things to do in Theth
1. Swim in the spectacular turquoise waters of Vaskat Nderlysaj Canyon
It doesn’t have a catchy name, but Vaskat Nderlysaj Canyon is one of most incredible swimming spots in all of Albania. And it’s one of the easiest to access!
In fact you barely have to walk for more than a few minutes before you can dip your toes in its turquoise blue waters.
It’s breathtakingly beautiful and would be the poster child of many other places around the world, but here in Theth it barely gets mentioned.
The water is cold but warmer than other pools in Theth and if you’re feeling adventurous you can swim under the bridge and into the little canyon pool complete with its own waterfall. It’s hidden from sight of the main pool and feels like your own little secret spot no matter the time of day.
If visiting in peak season come early in the day when you can swim in total serenity in the main pool, later in the day many people stop by on the way back from the Blue Eye.
We cover all the details including how to find the secret blue plunge pools above Vaskat Nderlysaj Canyon here.
2. Dine with a million dollar view of the Accursed Mountains
The moment I saw the view from the Vidis Chalet restaurant, I said to Joe this might be the most exquisite dining view we have ever had. Ever.
It’s the sort of view that almost doesn’t feel real, the mountains feel close enough you might reach out and touch them.
Many restaurants in Theth have gorgeous mountain views, but none are quite like this one, especially as they’ve manicured the edge of the terrace so that all you can see are roses and mountains. No pesky rooves or infrastructure in sight.
You might be wondering what dining with such a view might cost, I know I was. The answer is more than most places in Theth, but so much less than probably anywhere else in Europe with such a view.
Mains were around €12-20 and deserts were €8.
When it comes to the food it was good but not great. Was it the best we had in Albania? No. But was it the most memorable? Absolutely. I’ll remember dining here for the rest of my days.
We visited in September and could get a table on the day easily. If visiting in peak season I would contact them ahead of time and ask for a table right on the edge so there’s nothing between you and the mountains.
3. Take an ice bath in the sensational Blue Eye
Theth’s Blue Eye is a vision: a powerful waterfall cascades into an iridescent blue pool partially shrouded by woodland. It’s like a scene straight from a children’s storybook.
The water is a vivid blue whether in shadow or sunshine, but if you want to be truly dazzled then definitely pick a sunny day.
Swimming here is an absolute dream but you’ll need to be prepared for glacial temperatures!
The walk to reach the waterfall is just over 5km return via the most common route, there’s a fair bit of uphill track, but it’s not overly difficult if you’re not walking in the main heat of the day in summer.
The Blue Eye has made it onto pretty much everyone’s Albanian must do list nowadays, so it’s a hugely busy spot. If like us, you’re crowd averse, we have you covered on how to beat the crowds here.
4. Visit the prettiest little church in Albania
This charming little church is a photographer’s dream, backed by mountains and best visited in the early morning or towards sunset for less crowds and better light.
This was our plan but dare we say it didn’t quite pan out so our photos really don’t do it justice. The church was originally built in the 1890’s and rebuilt in the 2000’s, but it retains a quaint traditional feel.
It’s still an active church so you can go inside although it’s quite simple so if you were to visit and find it locked, you haven’t missed out much.
You can drive right up to the church grounds or you can walk from the village, final access to the church requires climbing a stile. You can see the location of the church on Google maps here.
5. Hike to Valbone Pass
Almost everyone who visits Theth will hike to Valbone Pass or into Valbone itself, which is quite a surprise because both options involve quite a climb. The former is a day hike while the latter involves spending the night in Valbone (unless you’re ultra fit and a real glutton for punishment!).
The views from the hike are as majestic as you might expect and make the 7km almost entirely uphill slog worth every last ounce of sweat expended.
If you only plan to hike to the pass do not do what everyone else does and simply visit the pass and then head back. The roughly 600m stretch beyond the pass is almost entirely flat and offers some of the most incredible views of the entire hike.
You are seriously missing out if you don’t do this section and as it’s mainly flat it doesn’t require much more exertion.
All the details on the hike to the pass and beyond into Valbone can be found in this guide.
6. Seek out the secret waterfall
While it might not have the grandeur of the Blue Eye or Grunas Waterfall, Gjeçaj Waterfall offers something that neither does. And that’s the off the beaten track factor.
While everyone who visits Theth has driven past this waterfall, few people will have taken much notice and fewer still know it has a small crystal clear pool at its base.
Here you can swim beneath the falls completely alone and there’s something very special about that. Oh and it’s less than a five minute walk, so if like us, you’ve just taken on the Theth-Valbone hike and are looking for something a little leisurely, this one’s for you.
That cold water is all but guaranteed to soothe any residual aches and get you ready for the next adventure.
Here’s how to find it.
7. Enjoy a coffee with a view
Just as with the restaurant we mention above, this might just be the best coffee view we’ve ever had! And the espresso only cost €1!
You might recognise it from the photo, but the restaurant sits on the edge of Vaskat Nderlysaj Canyon and if you snag the corner table right on the edge of the water, offers uninterrupted views which are perfect for a night cap - or if you’re a little more sensible than us, an early morning pick me up!
Restaurant Lulash Zelna can be found at the entrance to the Blue Eye, around 20 minutes from the centre of Theth, you can see the location here on Google maps.
We don’t recommend visiting in the middle of the day in summer as it gets busy, but early or late it’s totally peaceful.
If you’re looking for somewhere more central to Theth, we also really liked Autentheth. It’s a coffee truck with rustic seating and nice chill out music. The espresso is good as are the views.
Autentheth
8. Admire the stunning Grunas Waterfall
Grunas Waterfall is a beauty, cascading 25m over towering cliff walls forming a crystal clear pool at the base.
The 1.7km walk to reach the waterfall is gorgeous with stunning mountain views, and as it’s relatively short, it makes a great first introduction to the little village of Theth.
The waterfall keeps the sun late into the afternoon so it’s a nice spot to go towards the end of the day when it’s a bit quieter and you can still bask in the warmth of the sun.
While you can have a plunge, it’s also a nice spot simply to sit and relax on the rocks listening to the sound of the thundering cascade.
9. Step back in time at the Lock-In Tower
The 400 year old Lock-in Tower offers a rare insight into Albania’s pre-communist past. For a small (1,500 Lek, €1.50) entry fee you can walk into the tower and up the two rickety ladders to the upper floors.
While it’s quite interesting to see the inside there isn’t any information about the tower at the site. I recommend asking a local or reading up beforehand to get the most out of your visit.
Until we spoke to the uncle at our guesthouse we didn’t really understand what we had seen. I am far from the best person to explain it but from my understanding the tower was somewhere that people went when they had disputes with other members of the community.
The person who had wronged somebody else would go to the tower (sometimes for many days) and local elders from the community would gather to pass judgement.
Sometimes this would be an eye for an eye, but it differed depending on the circumstances. Hearing it explained by a local really brought it to life for us and that’s definitely going to be the most engaging way to understand what it is you are seeing.
There’s a car park a minute’s walk from the tower which you can find here on Google maps. The final few hundred metres of road to the car park is single track and uphill. You could park below and walk up if preferred.
10. Kick back and relax on a sun lounger by the river
If you’re ready for a break from all the hiking and swimming you can kick back and relax on the sun loungers by a pool on the river at Te Lumi Bar.
The dammed pool is shallow so it’s more about the loungers and having some downtime.
The bar serves alcoholic drinks as well as coffee and during our visit it was free to use the loungers if you buy a drink - however, this was September, if coming in peak season they might charge.
The espresso definitely wasn’t as good as the other two places we’ve mentioned so it’s probably better to come for cold drinks.
Don’t expect complete serenity as you’re right in the thick of things at this location, but it was the only place we saw offering a Lumi i Shales type experience in Theth.
11. Indulge in the best pizza in Albania
No we didn’t expect it either but the pizza at Bakery Furr Buke was simply too good not to include. Yes we know, it’s not local food, but after a big day on the trails if there’s a better place to treat yourself to some comfort food we haven’t found it yet.
The pizza is top notch and the dough is hand made at the onsite bakery. Incidentally if you’re not into pizza the bread here is by far the best we had in Albania and goes down a treat with the Greek style salad.
You can enjoy your pizza in the garden with mountain views and the staff are just delightful. We’ve visited Theth twice, three months apart and they remembered us from the first time and welcomed us back like old friends.
It’s located very close to the trailhead for the Blue Eye and worth the drive from Theth even if you’re not visiting the eye.
Getting to Theth
The road to Theth (though not through Theth) is fully paved and in great condition. What’s less great are the maniac drivers who overtake on blind corners and refuse to reverse an inch even when they have a passing space metres behind them. It’s unlikely you’ll make the full journey without letting out a few expletives but it’s the only paved route into the valley.
A 4WD is not required unless it’s winter conditions.
It takes around 2-2.5 hours to drive there from Shkoder and 4 hours from Tirana. Despite how close they are, getting to Valbone involves a long drive of around 6.5 hours as you have to get round the mountains (you can shorten this a little if using the Koman ferry).
Regular buses run from Shkoder and Tirana in season.
Where we stayed in Theth
We have been lucky enough to visit Theth twice and stay in a few different accommodations (unsponsored incase you were wondering because these reviews are going to be glowing!), here are our favourites:
Villa Ujëvara e vogël
The setting of Villa Ujëvara e vogël is jaw-dropping. And that is not hyperbole.
You are surrounded on all sides by the glorious Albanian Alps and I think I bored Joe silly by exclaiming every few minutes he needed to look at the view again because a horse had wandered onto the lawn or there was a slight change in the light on the mountain tops.
It is without a shadow of a doubt one of the most glorious settings we have ever stayed in.
We lucked out by being able to book what I think is their nicest room (well one of two anyway). It’s a sort of chalet style with a sofa, fireplace and single bed below, and a large comfy bed above in the loft area (accessed via steep stairs).
The bathroom was large and had an actual partition that didn’t flood the room - a rarity in Albania! I was in love with the room and wished we could have stayed longer.
The breakfast and dinner were very good, some of the best food we had in any guesthouse in Albania. They also allowed us to leave our car after we checked out as the Theth Valbone hike is located just a few minutes walk from their property.
The cons, which honestly didn’t bother me, were that electricity is hit and miss, we always had it but sometimes it was weak (think it takes about 10 minutes to boil the kettle). Additionally the bathroom sometimes had a funky drain smell.
Oh and I should address the generator issue, if you’ve been researching Theth at all you will hear a lot about the generators. Villa Ujëvara e vogël has one but if you are in the glass chalet or close to it you are very far from the generator so you honestly barely here it and it goes off around 10pm.
I am extremely noise sensitive and I was ok with it. If you don’t want to splurge on the glass chalet room, ask for one nearby to make sure you are as far from the generator as possible.
You can see the reviews and prices here:
Valter & Drita's Guesthouse
The rooms at Valter & Drita's Guesthouse are very cute, with lots of wood panelling, a real fireplace and beautiful views from the windows.
The building itself is postcard worthy, utterly charming and surrounded by the most exquisite mountain views.
The bed is large and comfy and the breakfast is hands down the best we had in 2.5 months in Albania - the variety and quality was second to none. Those little pumpkin feta bites are addictive!
The host, Gjon, is also a lovely guy and very knowledgable, you can learn alot about Albania and he would go out of his way to help you if needed.
The cons are the bathroom is a wetroom (or ours was, they may not all be) but it did dry very quickly so honestly that isn’t too much of a bother and we could hear the generator more than I would have liked, but again it goes off at night at which point it’s totally silent. The electricity goes off sometimes but that’s just Theth and it’s better to come assuming you won’t have it at all times.
You can see the reviews and prices here:
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Unforgettable things to do in Theth from swimming in secret blue pools, to hiking to Valbone Pass and the Blue Eye, as well as jaw-dropping restaurants, historical sites and more.