{"id":54944,"date":"2026-04-24T11:01:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T11:01:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/54944\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T11:01:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T11:01:35","slug":"the-albanian-alps-are-the-affordable-alternative-to-the-dolomites-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/54944\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u2018Albanian Alps\u2019 are the affordable alternative to the Dolomites"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When it comes to mountain retreats, trekking holidays and ski resorts, we&#8217;re spoilt for choice in Europe. There&#8217;s the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cntraveller.in\/gallery\/the-best-hotels-in-the-dolomites\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Dolomites<\/a> in Italy, Courchevel in France and St-Moritz in Switzerland \u2013 all stunning options. However, they have another thing in common, too: they&#8217;re pretty pricey.<\/p>\n<p>But what if we told you there was another, more affordable destination to add to your travel lists (with all the altitude you could possibly want)?<\/p>\n<p>With searches for \u201cAlbanian Alps\u201d up 84 per cent worldwide over the past year, the region is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cntraveller.in\/story\/the-least-stressful-airports-in-europe\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Europe<\/a>&#8216;s lesser-known, budget-friendly spot, offering a variety of activities in both the winter and summer months.<\/p>\n<p>And although ski season my be drawing to an end, the hiking trail between Theth and Valbon\u00eb in Albania is well worth exploring.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Winding road through Albanian Alps along the Valbona River\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-dkeESL cQPiWi responsive-image__image\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777028495_71_Albanian-Alps-Autumn-GettyImages-1445533971.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The Albanian Alps are becoming more popular.<\/p>\n<p>Getty ImagesExploring the Theth-Valbon\u00eb trail<\/p>\n<p>Located in the Accursed Mountains, the Theth-Valbon\u00eb trail in Albania connects two breathtaking <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cntraveller.in\/story\/now-phones-are-banned-in-most-national-parks-around-india\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">national parks<\/a> via a scenic mountain pass.<\/p>\n<p>Suitable for all kinds of hikers \u2013 whether you&#8217;re a novice or a pro \u2013 the trail boasts unspoilt natural landscapes and is far less crowded than other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cntraveller.in\/story\/the-european-cities-most-adored-by-novelists\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">European hotspots<\/a> of this nature.<\/p>\n<p>According to All Trails, the best time to visit is May through October, and the route spans 14.8 kilometres.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to walking along the crystal-clear waters of the Lumi i Thethit river, hikers can also witness the majesty of the region&#8217;s rugged mountainscape, with panoramic views from atop the Valbon\u00eb pass.<\/p>\n<p>The route typically takes between 6 to 10 hours.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A small church in the Teth National Park with the Albanian Alps in the background\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-dkeESL cQPiWi responsive-image__image\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777028495_127_Albanian-Alps-Town-GettyImages-904464784.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The Theth-Valbon\u00eb trail connects two national parks.<\/p>\n<p>Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When it comes to mountain retreats, trekking holidays and ski resorts, we&#8217;re spoilt for choice in Europe. There&#8217;s&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":52864,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[50,197,13078],"class_list":{"0":"post-54944","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-alps","8":"tag-alps","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-hiking"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116459345251709649","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54944\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}