Nine places in Northern Albania nobody tells you about

Çerem

A scatter of houses on the Peaks of the Balkans route between Plav and Valbona, reachable only on foot or by a very determined 4x4. Two guesthouses, no shop, and silence.

Nderlysa

The hamlet below Theth where the trail to the Blue Eye starts. Most people pass through at speed. Stay a night and you get the gorge to yourself at dawn.

The Fierza side of the lake

Everyone photographs Komani from the Koman end. From the Fierza shore the light comes from the other direction in the evening, and there is nobody there.

Curraj i Epërm

An abandoned village up a side valley from the Shala River, reachable on a rough four-hour walk. Stone houses, a church, and a couple of families who have moved back in summer.

The Drin canyon below the dam

Downstream of Koman the river runs through a gorge that almost nobody visits because there is no boat service. Ask a local captain; some will take you.

Lake Shkodër's eastern shore

Twenty minutes from Shkodër city and a different country from the Alps: reed beds, fishing villages, pelicans, and the Rozafa castle view at sunset.

Qafa e Bores

The pass between Plav and Çerem. Long, high, and on a clear day you can see into three countries.

The Shala upper pools

Fifteen minutes' walk upstream from Ranxa beach and the crowds are gone. Another twenty and you are alone.

Vermosh

The northernmost village in Albania, in a valley that feels Montenegrin because it nearly is. Almost no tourism infrastructure, which is the whole point.

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