Finally we are back in Albania, this time heading north.  It’s been a long haul to get  here and it’s great to be back.  We are going to be heading north following the Trans Dinarica route along the Dinaric Alps, then turning north west along the alps and eventually across to north west France.  From Roscoff we will be catching a ferry back to the UK then Cycling home from Plymouth.   At least that is the plan, reality is often different.

Below is a map of our route through Albania to Montenegro.   If you can’t see the map you are probably reading this in the email version and need to click at the top right  “Read on blog” to see the full version on my website.

Our first two days in Albania were flat and easy, just getting our legs warmed up for the mountain stages to follow.  We stayed in a lovely Agroturism near Laç, where we were spoilt with superb food and wonderful views.  The second night got us to Shkodër a lively little town where we were able to get things that one of us had forgotten to bring.

Friday  8th May 2026
Shkoder to Prekal

Today we headed up into the hills on one of the Trans Dinarica side loops.  As it is quite a big climb up to Theth, with the steepest bit on a rough, unsurfaced road, we decided to stop halfway up at a small bar/campsite/restaurant with a few rooms.  This was the only one I could find and it wasn’t as far up as I hoped, but it all helps.  So today was a short day.

The weather was against us too.  We came up earlier than we intended as it was going to rain later, and looks like it’s going to rain again tomorrow.  A shame as we had been hoping for great views as we go up over the pass.

It was lovely cycling up once we had left all the traffic in Shkoder.  A gentle climb winding next to the bubbling river with  occasional old stone farmsteads, some still in use and others in ruins.  Evidence of the dramatically falling population in Albania.

Like yesterday we were serenaded by Nightingales.  Even with lots of stops to take photos of views and flowers we arrived at Prekal just before 12, and sat on their terrace with our coffee watching the river go by and listening to the Nightingales.   Apart from us the place is deserted.   As I sit here writing this I can hear the gentle ringing of cowbells as they graze nearby on the roadside.

We spent the afternoon going for a walk and exploring how difficult tomorrow’s section is going to be. The first 10 km looks very loose and rocky but not too steep, but we can see from the profile that the last 10 km to the top is very steep.  Something to look forward to!  Lovely views though.

Saturday  9th May 2026

Prekal to Theth over Malilshoshit Pass

Climb 2475 m, Distance 53 km

I am super tired as we climbed 2475 m today and only walked half a kilometre of it when it went over 26%.  In fact at that point Bernie tipped backwards off his bike when his peddles wouldn’t go round anymore.

Unfortunately, it had rained heavily overnight and was still drizzling lightly from low, misty clouds when we left.  The hotel owner was busily telling us how beautiful it was up there, but with all the mist we weren’t expecting to see much.  It was almost all on rough rocky roads which after the rain now had patches of slippery mud.  To start the road had so many super sized puddles it was hard to tell the best way to go.

We had seen from the profile that the first 10 km was a regular climb which ramped up massively for the 2nd 10 km.  It was certainly hard work from the off, spinning over the large rocks and all the loose bits.  But we were rewarded with occasional views of the valley below through the mist, and he was right, it was stunning.  We were only passed by 3 or 4 cars or work trucks on the way up, which was good as we were all over the track picking the best route up.

Just before it got really steep we stopped off at a bar, with no electricity,  for a soda.  Luckily as it turned out.  Then we hit the steep section.  This was interspersed by flatter sections so we could get our breath back, particularly after the really steep hairpins that had me hyperventilating.   We were now getting amazing views of the surrounding hills and valleys but there was still mist around.  This was quite thick when we went across an area of big landslides both above and below the track.  Luckily for Bernie and his vertigo it was difficult to see down from here, and he said he just made himself think about something else.

Just before the top the gradient went up to 26%, and by then our legs were like jelly, so we walked half a kilometre.   We had planned to have lunch at the top in the restaurant there but when we arrived, really tired and out of water we found it had been closed for sometime.   We sat at tables in their porch and ate the few supplies we had.  Bananas,  huge Albanian apples and some flapjack we had made at home.  There was a pipe with permanently running water so we filled our bottles from that.

We then had 16 km of steep, slippery descent before a final 16 km climb.  After lunch we also started to meet more 4WD and trial bikes coming out of Theth.  We were shattered before starting the last climb but luckily there was a bar with more sodas and some crisps (they don’t serve food).  We were forcing our legs round on the final climb and thankfully the final 5 km was on tarmac, where it got quite steep, 28%.  There were also suddenly so many badly driven cars on the very narrow road.

We were so pleased to arrive at our hotel and thankfully the guy there offered to carry some of our bags up to our room on the second floor, no lift of course.  My legs only just made the stairs.  We have now eaten a massive and delicious dinner that we had to force ourselves not to eat too quickly.  Exhausted!

The map below is an interactive map of today’s route.  (If you can’t  see it, it’s because you are reading the email version and you need to click at the top, Read in Blog to get the full website version of the blog).  Below the map is an interactive altitude profile showing gradients.

Sunday,  10th May 2026 

Theth to Debaj over another pass

Climb 1695 m, Distance 45 km

After yesterday’s exertion we had a large and leisurely breakfast.  Typically, after all the rain and mist we had getting here today started with a lovely blue sky and the sun glinting on the snow capped mountains that surround Theth.  Being a Sunday the village was full of backpack loaded couples and groups heading off into the hills for a days hiking.  With that number of people I don’t think it was going to be the nice quiet day in the mountains they were hoping for.

We were heading straight up for a 15 km, 1045 m climb.  Generally it wasn’t too steep and was a surfaced road so it wasn’t too onerous, and it turned out to be another beautiful ride, especially once we reached the snowline and could look back at Theth far below in the valley.  Actually Theth looks much better from here than close up.  It is purely there to cater for the hiking trade with no thought given to landscaping as they hurried to build the large hotels.

Although we were on the only narrow road into Theth, traffic was intermittent,  mainly mini-buses bringing hikers up from Shkoder.  The cars we met were obviously not used to narrow roads or hairpin bends and we had a few close calls.

At the top we stopped for lunch in a very large Agroturism restaurant with massive picture windows overlooking the snowy peaks and verdant valley.  Feeling very full we donned our coats for the fast 1300 m descent.   We passed a group of roadies powering up at more than twice our climbing pace and oblivious to all around them.

It flattened off for our ride into Dedaj and immediately looked less ragged and more agricultural.  We are staying in a building on a Sage farm that he grandly calls Hotel Martini, even though it is only a couple of rooms, a bathroom and kitchen in a bungalow.   The farmer says sage is the only thing they can grow on this rocky soil. 

He showed us the old barn where he has hundreds of sacks of dried sage picked from all the local farms.  Soon a lorry will collect it and ship it to the USA and parts of Europe were it is used in catering and in the pharmaceutical industry.  His father had an old grinding stone, which hasn’t been used for many years but the aromatic smell of crushed sage is still almost overwhelming.

Monday, 11th May 2026

Dedaj to Tamare

Climb 797 m, Distance 36.5 km

We cycled back to the village restaurant cum bar where our landlord had arranged for us to have breakfast.  We had a semi-mime conversation while he decided what we wanted.  We learnt, later in the day, where the confusions crept in, with us only getting one egg each instead of the two we had been offered.  I had nodded my head and said yes, but we now know that in Albania nodding means No and shaking your head means yes.  Oh well, we had eaten too much yesterday anyway.

We had a few kilometres warm up before the big climb today, which was just as well as my legs felt like lead.  This took some time as there were lots of orchids and wild flowers that just had to be photographed.  Something, possibly some of the flowering trees, was filling the air with perfume, and the Nightingales and Blackcaps were out competing each other.  The forecast had said rain but it was a gorgeous day.

The climb, 800 m when it came, was steep, hard but beautiful. This area was lined with dry stone walls and massive boulders softened with alpines and wild flowers.  There was the constant loud hum of bees in the trees, and here and there a very old looking farmer hard at work, often moving rocks or mending walls.

When we thought we were at the top, we weren’t, we stopped at a bar in a tiny village for a soda.  While we sat in the sunshine a local came to chat with us.  He spoke very good English as he had worked in distribution for Primark in Coventry.   He talked about his grandmother growing up here in communist times in the late 1940s.  Large numbers of people were bused up here in the hills.  They were lined up on opposite sides of the road, men on one side and women on the other.  They first had to sing patriotic songs then they were set to work in the fields, which around here are full of stones and boulders.  As we cycled on up the hill we could see the remains of their hard labour disappearing under weeds.  All the walls and terraces now overgrown.  Everyone has left now as there is very little work in Albania and the wages are low.  It is interesting though how many expensive new cars with local plates have passed us in the last few days.

After a little undulating we could hear loud music.  Round the corner we found the top of the gorge with 8 switchbacks leading to Tamare at the bottom.  So we joined everyone else eating icecream and taking photos before shooting down.  We are staying in pretty Tamare tonight, which seems to be mainly restaurants and impossible to get to houses built  up vertical rocky slopes.  There is only one way out of here at its going to be very steep!

Tuesday, 12th May 2026

Tamare to Gusinje over pass to Montenegro

Climb 1642 m, Distance 38 km

We were immediately climbing even before we left Tamare.  The gorge cliffs towering over us with intricate rock strata just served to remind us that somehow we had to get level with the top of them in the next 22 km a climb of 1642 m.  I tried to take my mind off the climb by turning on my Merlin App to see how many bird species I could pick up.  They had to be singing loudly to be heard over the tumbling river and my puffing.

We went up past several small settlements  nestled in the cliff side and only accessed by loose rocky steep tracks.  Although we were on a good, wide road only two or three cars came past in the first couple of hours.  It had been a pleasant 19 C when we left Tamare,  but the strong, bitter tail wind made the temperature drop as we climbed and the intermittent sun disappeared.   Occasionally it tried to rain but only ever a few drops, and there was a big roll of thunder that never came to anything.

We were still in the Kombëtar Albanian Alps Park, as we had been since Theth.  It was all very scenic but felt very cold when we stopped for a snack.  Eventually we made it to the top of the pass and I was hoping that this time at least one of the restaurants shown on the map would be open, as we were on a main road.  They weren’t, of course, so we sat shivering in a bar with some juice and oregano crisps, while the barman tried to light his wood burner made out of an old oil drum.  This just filled the room with smoke so we left him to it and put on more coats to shoot down the other side.

Before long we were at the border with Montenegro where border control was fairly speedy but totally manual.  Then we found ourselves in the scruffy little town of Gusinje where we are staying.  We left our bikes in the hotel courtyard, and as there was no-one about headed off to the only restaurant we could find for a goulash and salad.  The pedestrianised centre was lined on both sides with bars with a Mosque at one end.  The place was almost deserted  and as it is not really a tourist destination  I have no idea who is going to use all these bars.   We are glad to be moving on tomorrow.

Tomorrow we will continue on through Montenegro.  This will be in the next blog I put up here.  If you have any questions please send a comment.