The beautiful Accursed Mountains--driving to Theth

mountains and trees above Theth

                 

The drive to Theth, an extremely tiny and remote village in the Albanian Alps, named the Accursed Mountains, is daunting.  The road is very narrow, maybe 1 ½ lanes wide, but definitely not 2 lanes, very steep, with cliffs dropping off below your car on the outside edges of the road.  I think these hairpin turns define the meaning of “hairpin”, doubling back on one another in nearly figure 8 patterns with barely enough room to make your turn, much less share the turn with an oncoming vehicle. 

view of mountains from town

We drove to Theth 2 days ago, returning yesterday.  Fortunately for us, the road was paved 2 years ago because, before, it was a rough track of dirt and rock.  The narrow, paved road follows the old road with all its twists and turns, but is a good surface, even if frighteningly narrow, and has barriers along the most exposed parts. 

guest house above Theth

There was a lot of traffic coming out of Theth National Park as we drove in, making the drive a bit harrowing.  I couldn’t believe how many cars were on the road and how many people were in the village of Theth.  This is a hiking haven, but has only some very basic guesthouses, mostly on the mountainsides above the village.  People come in for day trips to see the magnificent mountains surrounding this deep valley and to hike one of the steep trails.  Right now, the trees are beautiful with their fall colors.  This is an area of deciduous trees, not conifers, so is massed with the red colors of fall.

The supermarket in Theth had some bottled water, a few cleaning necessities and only snack food available.  There is one restaurant that I saw, so most of the guest houses offer breakfast and dinner.  The rebuilt church is the center of the town and its most-photographed site.  The road turns rocky and rough as soon as you cross the river into the town, which is strung along the valley for about half a mile.  There is no “center”, just homes and guest houses.  

Theth woman outside her guest house

Life in these remote mountain valleys is still quite traditional and hard.  The older women are stooped and weathered, but the younger women seem to have an easier life now.  Outside every guesthouse are clotheslines loaded with sheets and towels that need to dry before the next guests arrive.  The women cook and clean for all the guests and manage the family cow and chickens.  We saw the men repairing the buildings and equipment and herding sheep and goats.  It is a patriarchal society that still, according to our guides, has ongoing blood feuds, some dating back generations.  I don't know if that is true, but Theth has an old tower where men accused of murdering a neighbor were imprisoned until the aggrieved family either forgave them or killed one of the murderer's family members to get even.

Theth church

The mountains are impressive.  Huge rocky peaks loom above the deep, narrow valleys.  There are trails all over the mountains.  One of the most popular is the 12 mile hike from Theth to Valbona, another remote mountain village.  We saw several groups of hikers, with guides, heading for the mountainsides on a beautiful fall day.  I would have loved to have joined them. 

Theth resident with his puppy

Driving in Albania, let alone on the road to Theth, is an adventure.  Albanian drivers are not really worse than drivers in most countries we’ve driven in, but they can be intimidating.  The roads are clogged with cars and trucks around every town.  There are dozens of police stops along every road, with some officer aiming his radar at oncoming traffic and another waving over hapless speedsters.  I drove the speed limit in order to avoid this particular hazard.  Our guide in Tirana said you pay your fine at the bank, but he didn’t know if the police at the traffic stops also get a share.  They were certainly diligent about pulling cars over.  The popular cars are older Audis, BMW’s and Mercedes, and the ones to watch out for are the black or white Audis as they seem to be the cars of choice for particularly aggressive drivers.

village of Theth

We drove a large Jeep on the advice of our travel agent, but didn’t really need a vehicle that big.  It was hard to maneuver through the narrow streets, but did seem to encourage oncoming drivers on the mountain roads to give us our share of the road.  It is actually easy to drive in Albania with Google Maps and a lot of patience.