Zagoria Valley

The Zagoria Valley (Lugina e Zagorisë) is one of the best places for hiking in southern Albania. Wedged between two parallel ridges, this nearly 30-kilometre-long valley perfectly lives up to the meaning of its original Slavic name: behind the mountains. The villages with their typical stone buildings and Orthodox churches add to the region’s charm. 

For Zagoria, the remoteness from the rest of Albania is both a blessing and a curse at the same time. The lack of infrastructure and jobs force local people to leave, but for tourists and nature enthusiasts, it’s nearly a paradise.

It is not always easy to reach Zagoria since the valley does not form a single entity and roads lead to it from different areas, widely separated from each other. A single access road to the valley can be driven by regular cars, running through the Selcka Gorge to Poliçan. A drive from Poliçan as far as to Shepër is doable with caution. From the south, only locals can use the border crossing Drymades/Sopik which connects Zagoria with Greece.

You can get the most out of Zagoria on a three-day trek leading from Peshtan in Këlcyra Gorge to Përmet, with a sleepover in the picturesque villages of Hoshtëvë (visit the beautiful church near the guesthouse) and Shepër (see map).

You can shorten the trek if you start in the village of Malëshovë, which is located at an altitude of almost 1000 metres and has a new asphalted access road from Këlcyrë. This is one of many pretty stone villages in the valley, offering fantastic views of the surrounding mountains.

Another three-day trek crosses the valley from north to south, more precisely from Përmet to Gjirokastër. Overnight stay is possible in Shepër and Saraqinisht (see map). This hike is more difficult due to the long climbs while crossing the ridges of Dhëmbel and Lunxhëri.

From Poliçan or Skorja in the eastern part of the valley, you can climb the highest peak of the Nëmerçka Mountains, Maja e Papingut (2482 m, see map). The access road to Poliçan, which is partly asphalted, runs through the impressive Selcka Gorge (Gryka e Selckës). A waterfall is located just a few steps from the road.

When coming from Gjirokastër, you can drive up to the Çajupi Plateau (Fushë Çajupi, about 1300 m above sea level) which is the end of a good asphalt road. The plateau is one of the most beautiful spots in southern Albania and is definitely worth visiting. There is a farm, whose owners run a campsite with rustic bungalows. Anyone who wants can help the keepers with the animals and then take a horse ride in the evening. Çajupi is also the starting point of the breathtaking hike along the ridge of Maja e Strakovecit Mountain (see map). The road from Çajupi towards Shepër can be driven by 4×4 vehicles only.

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