Valbonë to Theth

This is the walk the Albanian Alps are known for, and the numbers depend on where you start it. From village to village it is 15 to 17 km. From the Rrogam trailhead, where most guesthouses drop their walkers, the trail itself is 9.5 km. The pass sits at 1,795 m, the climb is about 812 m, and the descent into Theth is longer than the climb out of Valbonë, which is why the walk is easier in that direction than the other.

Five to eight hours covers almost everyone. Five is a fit pair moving steadily with one stop; eight is a normal pace with lunch at the cafe on the pass and time spent looking at things. No guide is needed: the path is worn, waymarked, and busy enough in season that you are rarely out of sight of somebody.

The season is the constraint, and it is two constraints stacked. The pass holds snow until roughly mid-June. The Theth road closes around mid-November and reopens in late March or early April, and the Koman ferry, which is how you reach Valbonë, runs only from 15 April to 5 November. Between those, the walkable window is mid-June to early October.

Sleep on both sides. Doing the crossing as a day trip means returning over the same pass or taking a long road transfer around through Bajram Curri, and either way you carry everything twice for no reason.