Thethi National Park is one of the most striking corners of the Albanian Alps, tucked into the upper Shala Valley near the border with Montenegro. It's a place where dramatic limestone peaks, deep valleys and stone villages come together into a landscape that feels wonderfully untouched.

Elevations in the park range from 1200 to 2567 meters, and the scenery shifts dramatically with the seasons - lush green meadows in summer, golden beech forests in autumn, and snow-capped peaks in winter. The lower slopes are covered in beech, elm and oak forest, while higher up black pine, Bosnian pine and Norway spruce take over. The park is also home to brown bears, lynx, otters and chamois, plus 34 recorded bird species.

How to get there

• Theth village - the main starting point for most trails in the park, reachable by road from Shkodra or via the mountain pass from Valbona, roughly 3-4 hours drive, difficulty: moderate (mountain roads, partly unpaved)
• Valbona to Theth trail via the Valbona-Theth pass - a popular multi-day trekking route connecting both national parks, about 6-8 hours, difficulty: demanding

Practical information

• Best visited from May to October - winter access to many trails is limited
• Theth village has an ethnographic museum with traditional costumes, folk instruments and a working water mill
• Stone towers still stand here, including one historically used for isolation under the blood feud tradition

It's one of the few places in Europe where remnants of old Albanian customary law, the Kanun, still linger alongside pristine nature and over 1100 recorded plant species.