Buses leave Shkoder two times a day for Theth: 7am and 2pm.  While there are different companies that run minivans through the mountains, they all leave at the same times. The same is true for leaving Theth: buses leave at 11am and 4pm for Shkoder.  The ride takes between 2 to 2 ½ hours depending on traffic, and they tend to stop once for a bathroom break. 

Theth, like the rest of Albania, is new to the tourist world. The road to Theth was only paved in 2022, and the main road in Theth is still dirt.  The town consists of a dozen or so guest houses, two small markets, and a few stand alone restaurants and bars.  

One part of the experience that I loved the most was the family run guesthouse. Each guesthouse has about 8 rooms and comes with free breakfast plus the option to pay a fixed price for dinner. Both breakfasts and dinners are held at communal tables and offer more homecooked Albanian food than I could ever eat. Albanian food is meant to be shared, so as a solo traveler I’ve struggled with restaurant meals because I don’t get to sample the range of food that I would if I was with someone else. The communal table also offers a chance to meet people from all over the world: at one dinner, we had people from Germany, France, Australia, Netherlands, Turkey, Sweden, and the US (me). There were some other solo travelers, pairs of friends, mother-son sets, and couples.  

Before heading out for my hike to the Blue Eye, I took a quick detour to visit the iconic Theth Church. Built in the 19th century, the stone and shingled church stands against the backdrop of the mountains. Outside the church a few stray dogs were hanging around, and as I continued on to my hike, one dog decided he was going to be my companion for the day. 

The hike from Theth to the Blue Eye follows the Theth River through the valley.  The trail is fairly easy with a slight elevation drop, but there are some rocky spots that, especially with the rain, needed some more careful navigation.  While I joined two people from my guest house for part of the hike, they decided to take the Grunas waterfall detour so I was on my own again.  I knew the hike to the Blue Eye was going to be long, so I didn’t want to expend too much energy with the steep hike to the waterfall.  I was hoping to come back and complete it the next morning, but I ended up not having the time to do so. However, the waterfall is visible from the main trail, so I got to see a little glimmer of it. 

The next checkpoint is the Goat Bridge. A series of well worn and randomly strewn wooden planks make the crossing a little treacherous. I traversed the bridge on the way out, but found out that there is an easy way to bypass it and happily took that route on the way back.  

As I hiked, I feasted on the views of the valley, neon reds and yellows of fall foliage, mountains peaking through the clouds, and gray blue water of the river. After about 3.5 miles, I reached the small village of Ndërlysaj. My dog was still with me, so I was hoping to find a market to buy him some food, but outside of a few cafes that were closed for the season, there wasn’t much in the village.  I did find a small kiosk selling coffee and ran into a few other hikers from my guest house, so I joined them and their two dogs (who also followed them from Theth) for the rest of the hike.  

Ndërlysaj is where the tour buses park and also where one can take a taxi from, so for those who want to cut the distance of the hike down, this is a possibility. However, the hardest part of the hike is the steep climb from this village to the Blue Eye – especially when the trail is wet and slippery.   So, I took my time, watched my step and made my way to the beautiful waters of the river. The first set of blue water is not the Blue Eye, though the blue water on either side of the suspension bridge was nice enough that I would’ve been happy with this being the end point.  The hike continues on the other side of the bridge to the crystal clear blue of the Blue Eye and the waterfall that runs into it.  From here, we made our way up a steep set of stairs to a ramshackle cafe offering food and drink as a reward for the hike.  From this vantage point, you can look down on the Blue Eye and then walk around its upper ledge crossing another small suspension bridge before heading back down to the first bridge.  

Along the way, some of our dogs decided to do their own thing, and by the time we left Ndërlysaj to make our way back to the Theth, we were dog free.  Over the course of the hike, I had become attached to our dogs, so I was a little worried that they wouldn’t make it back to their hometown, but I was assured that they knew the way. 

The hike back has the elevation gain, so it’s a little harder, but not much. Overall the hike wasn’t difficult, but it was my longest hike ever at just under 12 miles.  Still, with the companionship of the dogs and fellow hikers, the stops for snacks and celebratory drinks, it was a great way to spend a crisp autumn day – and we were lucky that the worst of the rain waited until after we were back snug in our guesthouse. 

Before the 11am bus the next day, I spent the morning wandering around the town of Theth. Using the road, main walking trails, and trails that skirt between properties, I enjoyed the quaint village life of the locals.  Many of the locals will leave the town for the winter, but during the spring, summer, and fall, Theth offers a simple life of farming in the mountains. 

I had read before I even booked the tour that the water levels were low at this point in the season, and the tour company confirmed this with a message to me the day before.  As a result, only part of the usual boat trip could be completed, but I decided that it would still be worth the journey to see the mountains and waters of the area.  

The ride to the boat launch was long up winding, rough roads.  By the time we got to the boat launch area, the windows of the van were coated with dust from the roads. We exited the bus and made our way through a car tunnel. At this point, I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into, but after about 1 km we arrived at a cafe and a mess of people waiting for boats. 

The people working the boats and cafe made sure to take care of all of us before we headed off on our trip. We boarded a long narrow boat that can hold about 25 passengers to navigate the lake. At its narrowest, Lake Komani is only 50 meters wide and stretches to only 400 meters at its widest, so it feels more like a river than a lake.  Mountains rose up on either side of the river, and I could easily see how much lower the water is compared to its normal water line. 

We had a small break in a cave – with 3 other groups of people – before turning around and making our way to a restaurant on the hill. The restaurant lawn offered beautiful views of the river and mountains, but there wasn’t much else to do here. With three hours to kill, I found a shady spot and took a nap in the crisp mountain air. 

In season, this long stop would’ve been along the Shala river where people could swim and hike, but with the lower waterlevel, this part of the journey wasn’t possible.  I can’t fault the boat tour itself, but for those trying to decide about this trip in the future, I wouldn’t say that the long van ride was worth the time on the river if the Shala river stop isn’t possible. Yes, the boat ride was beautiful and I enjoyed seeing the natural vistas of the Albanian Alps, but the van ride is too long for the payoff.  I also wish that there was narration at any point on the ride – during the ride there, on the boat, or at the stop. It was just a ride through beautiful scenery, not really a tour. 

As I mentioned earlier, it is possible to create a loop with this boat ride and the hike through the Valbone pass, and I think that would be an awesome way to spend a few days.