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Albania
Dementia Jersey - Albanian Alps Trek 2026
9 days

Challenge:
Trek
Main Accommodation:
Communal
Challenge Factor:
Terrain
GRADE:
ORANGE 1

Dates & Prices

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About the Challenge

The Albanian Alps offer an unspoilt wilderness of magnificent snow-capped peaks, gorges, lakes and dense forests, dotted with tiny stone-built hamlets that have changed little in years. Stunning Alpine trails, without the crowds!

Our trek takes us to protected Valbona National Park, home of inspiring scenery and adventurous trekking, where we explore the valleys and high alpine pastures. Our biggest challenge is the classic trail in this region – the high Valbona Pass, used for centuries to connect remote valleys lying among the jagged peaks of the dramatic Accursed Mountains.

We round off our week with time in Shkodra and Tirana, adding cultural discovery to a week already packed with highlights.

This trip generates around 65 kg of CO₂ per person. Because of our commitment to responsible travel, we offset 100% of these emissions, including flights booked with us.

Dates & Prices

Itinerary

Dementia Jersey - Albanian Alps Trek 2026


BESPOKE • 9 DAYS

  • Fly from Jersey to London.

    Overnight stay at an airport hotel before an early morning flight the next day.

    Night hotel

  • Our trip kicks off with a real gem! An early start sees us driving to Lake Koman, a beautiful lake formed by dam construction – and the best access to the Valbona Valley. This scenic boat trip takes us through a magnificent fjord-like canyon to the heart of trekking country. Docking at the end of the lake, a short transfer brings us to our hospitable guesthouse in the Valbona Valley where, time permitting, we’ll stretch our legs with an easy hike in the valley. This is a long day, but a wonderful introduction to your Alpine surroundings. Night guesthouse.

    Drive approx. 4 hours; boat trip 2-3 hours; trek approx. 2-3 hours

  • Fly to Albania’s capital, Tirana, where we transfer (approx. 30 mins) to the historic town of Kruja, where we have dinner and a trip briefing, and prepare our kit before getting a good night’s rest. Night hotel.

  • Today’s mountain trek not only whets our appetite for the scenery to come, but also serves as a good warm-up for our big challenge tomorrow. After a short transfer to the trailhead, we start hiking through beech and pine forest, following a shepherd’s path into the more remote landscapes of the eastern Albanian Alps. Our path ascends smoothly amidst green alpine pastures (lying at approx. 1700m), with stunning views of the rocky domes of Mount Jezerca (2695m) and Mount Rosi (2560m). These surroundings make a wonderful backdrop for our picnic lunch. If we’re all feeling great, we continue hiking up to the pass (2000m), before returning back down to the valley. Night guesthouse.

    Trek approx. 6-8 hours / 8-9km

  • The big challenge, and the classic trail of the Albanian Alps! The path over Valbona Pass (1860m) has linked the glacier valleys of Valbona and Theth for centuries, and can only be crossed by foot from early summer to the first snowfall of winter. A short transfer brings us to our trailhead at the tiny village of Rrogam, with its traditional stone houses. We follow a steepening trail, which leads us up into a large grassy bowl of alpine meadows surrounded by rugged slopes that ascend to Valbona Pass. It’s a stiff climb, but the views of the jagged peaks of the Accursed Mountains are a good reward. Our route then descends through forest and grassy meadows, losing over 1000m of altitude, to the traditional village of Thethi (850m). Night guesthouse.

    Trek approx. 8-9 hours / 14km

  • Thethi is a wonderfully well-preserved alpine village, with its traditional stone houses with wood-tiled roofs, and its photogenic location surrounded by mountains. Today we can enjoy a more relaxed pace, and take our time to appreciate the village, including its much-photographed stone church. Our route also takes in a scenic waterfall and canyon, before following relatively gentle trails to Nderlysa, a quiet hamlet (850m). We can relax by the pristine turquoise pools of the nearby creek to round off our last day in the Alps. A short transfer takes us back to Thethi. Night guesthouse.

    Trek approx. 5-6 hours / 10km

  • More than a few muscles may be aching from yesterday’s efforts, and we take the initial ascent nice and steady to warm up slowly. Our path takes us up steeply from Thethi, winding up through lush verdant forest. When the trees thin out and we can take in our surroundings, they are breath-taking: steep cliffs, cascading waterfalls, and alpine meadows abundant with colourful wildflowers. We finally arrive at Fusha e Denellit (1573m), a vast, serene alpine arena surrounded by towering peaks. We can explore the meadows and enjoy the tranquillity. Returning to Theth the same way, we should have plenty of time to relax in the village. Night guesthouse.

    Trek approx. 5-6 hours / 14km

  • We say our farewells to Thethi and the Alps, as we drive through the stunning Boga Valley to the lovely lakeside city of Shkodra. An ancient city known for its arts and culture, there’s plenty to see in the historic Old Town. We can enjoy a leisurely stroll through the charming streets, buy souvenirs and enjoy a coffee-stop in one of the many cafés, or there’s the option to visit the ancient ruins of Rozafa Castle, strategically perched on a hill just outside the city. We then head to Tirana, a dynamic, young town with interesting Italian-influenced architecture, which forms a significant contrast to our week in the remote Alps. Tonight we’ll head out for a slap-up dinner to celebrate our many achievements over the past week. Night hotel.

    (Lunch not included)

    Drive approx. 4 hours

     

  • You’re free to explore Tirana (flight times dependent) before transferring to the airport for our flight to London and then onwards to Jersey.

    (Lunch and Dinner not included)


Dates & Prices

This challenge requires a minimum number of participants to operate.

Prices may vary depending on date.

  • 2026

  • On this challenge you have 1 option

PAYMENT OPTIONS EXPLAINED

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FULL PAYMENT OPTION

You are responsible for paying the costs associated with this challenge. This will be due for payment 8 weeks before departure. If you wish to, you can still fundraise under this payment option but there is no set target to achieve and 100% of all monies raised will go directly to your charity. You can select your chosen charity within the booking process
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PART PAYMENT OPTION

You commit to raising the target and pay at least 80% of this to your chosen charity 10 weeks before departure and the final 20% within 2 weeks of your return. Your chosen charity will retain 50% of the target plus any additional fundraising you achieve. You will pay a contribution to your trip costs which will lower your fundraising target.
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FUNDRAISING OPTION

You commit to raising the fundraising target and pay at least 80% of this to your chosen charity 10 weeks before departure and the final 20% within 2 weeks of your return.Your chosen charity will retain 50% of the target plus any additional fundraising you achieve.

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SPonsorship Target

We ask for you to commit to raising a minimum of £1,000 for Dementia Jersey to help support their rising costs and they can continue to support the Jersey dementia community.

 

WHAT'S INCLUDED

  • Return flights from Jersey to London
  • One night in airport hotel on day one
  • Return flights from London to Tirana
  • All transfers as part of itinerary
  • All accommodation in hotels (twin-share) and guesthouses
  • All meals except where specified
  • Discover Adventure crew (number dependent on group size)
  • Local support and back up equipment
  • Entry to National Park and any other sites included in the itinerary
  • Airline taxes
  • We offset 100% of the carbon emissions from your trip, including flights booked with us

 

 WHAT'S EXCLUDED

  • Travel insurance
  • Any meals where specified in the itinerary
  • Personal spending money, souvenirs, drinks, and tips for the local guides/support crew
  • Fees for any optional sites, attractions or activities
  • Any applicable surcharges as per Terms and Conditions

On the Trip

  • Your safety, and that of the rest of the group, is our highest priority. Our trips are designed and planned with safety in mind. Your crew will be equipped with appropriate communication devices (eg phones, radios), medical kit and other safety apparatus appropriate to the destination. Our leaders always have access to our 24-hour emergency UK back-up. They are responsible for safety on the trip, and will make any changes to the itinerary they deem necessary, should local conditions dictate. Pre-trip administration - such as medical questionnaires and travel insurance as appropriate - is all done with your safety in mind.

Preparing for the Challenge

  • We plan our trips around the optimal weather conditions, but could still be exposed to bad weather at any time. It is vital you are prepared for all conditions. We provide you with a detailed packing kit-list on registration, with plenty of information, and we are always available if you need advice.

  • In the unfortunate circumstance that you need to cancel your booking, we would ask that you notify us in writing either by email or post.  Your cancellation will be considered effective from the date the notice is received. Registration, administration and amendment fees are non refundable and, depending on your payment option and how close it is to your challenge departure date, you may be liable for a cancellation charge.

    Full details of all cancellation charges may be found in the Terms and Conditions of booking.

  • We have a Passenger Portal which will give you more details of the challenge itself. It also enables you to see any outstanding information we need, the countdown to your challenge departure, see your outstanding balance, make payments and update your contact details. You can access this via the following link - Passenger Portal Log in.

The DA Ethos

  • We believe that travel is a force for good, and it should be safe and accessible for everyone to take on any of our adventures, regardless of sexuality, gender, race or religion. We are committed to ensuring our travellers face no discrimination on any part of the trip we control. However, we operate in some parts of the world that are less accepting. We encourage customers to be aware of local laws and customs in their destinations for their safety and comfort.
    We don’t tolerate any form of discrimination, violence or harassment, either between travellers or involving our leaders, partners or local people. Any behaviour that disrespects our customers, leaders or local communities, makes others feel unsafe or breaks local laws may result in removal from a trip or denying their booking.

  • We are committed to an ethos of responsible travel here at Discover Adventure; this means sustainable tourism, ethical travel, community engagement, cultural respect, wildlife protection, fair trade practices, carbon footprint reduction and more. We have been on a 30-year journey with this as one of our core principles, and it continues to evolve; you can keep up to date with what we are up to and what all of this translates into on a DA trip here.
    From 2024, we will offset our entire carbon footprint, including the flights, via a carbon credit scheme (see more here). We must do all we can to be on the right side of history. Our offsetting brings peace of mind to many of our customers, but we think it is essential that our customers are aware of their impact; with this in mind, we encourage our participants to donate to World Land Trust’s Buy an Acre project when they book an adventure.

  • Our brilliant group dynamic is fundamental to us. We have become synonymous with it over our 30 years of adventure: the supportive nature and group camaraderie are always listed as one of the trip highlights in our feedback. You’ll meet people of widely varying backgrounds, motivations and experiences. Under these unique circumstances, you are more likely to open up about your story and form lifelong friendships. You’ll likely find something that resonates with everyone in the group. This is a unique way of travelling, after all, and that’s what brings you all together.
    We have travellers from 18 – 80 across all of our challenges, with the average age of our participants being in the mid-40s.

  • Over the years, people with wide-ranging abilities have achieved personal goals on our adventures that they may have previously assumed were out of their reach.
    We must be aware of any circumstances that may affect your ability to take on the trip, whether you have concerns about fitness, health conditions or disability. This way, we can ensure we are providing the best advice and support. You will be asked to sign a medical declaration upon booking.

    Whilst we will always try our best for you, by the nature of adventure, not all of our challenges are accessible, and we are not an operator specifically offering adapted adventures. If you would like to have a confidential chat with the team about anything before booking, please give us a call or an email; we will be more than happy to help.

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