Accursed Mountains walking vacation, Albania

Planet

The activity of this tour, beside day1 and day 9-10, takes place in a very sensitive area from the environmental point of view. Due to their remoteness, bad road conditions and the status of National Park, these valleys have been well preserved.

The opening of the country and the improving of road conditions - in the last years have had an impact in the increasing number of visitors, and increasing interest for building resorts and five star hotels. Instead we work with and encourage only locals that are slowly improving/reconstructing their traditional homes, using only local materials like, wood and stone. We are helping since 7-8 years them where to apply for grants and soft loans. We are offering free assistance in planning through architecture design and construction project, so that traditions are followed, respected and not ruin the landscape.

Also other services are part of our help with expertise/know-how - to drive them to be self sufficient in food products - use almost 100% products from their land and animals, fresh and processed in traditional ways, their ancestors used to do. Preserve old musical instruments and traditional dresses, possibly pass the skill of playing them from the third age, to the youngsters.

Usually we equip our small groups with trash sacs so that they leave no rubbish during all itinerary up to the picking up point.we encourage locals not only to safe guard their immediate surroundings but as much paths as they can.
During the transfer through Komani Lake we use only the services of the medium size boats, that periodically engage in the cleaning of water service from plastic rubbish.It is a big advantage that there are many mountain water resources during all paths, so we supply our guests with reused bottles, to minimise the plastic water bottles.

This tour is based mainly on walking, hiking, horse/mule riding - with minimum usage of cars.

The service providers use mainly locally grown products for food and beverages. They need cars to get supplies like coffee, sugar or beer only once in a while and as mentioned in earlier paragraphs we always have the locals guide our groups.

Few home owners are considering solar panels for their hot water needs, and we are encouraging them, providing info of where to apply.

People

Again, we would use non-local people only to send and pickup the groups of visitors - everything else, in terms of payments would be distributed inside the villages of the valleys - accommodations, meals, guides for the attractions nearby, guides for the hiking/trekking paths, guides with mule/horse for long path Theth-Valbona, tradition musicians and dancers, local food culinary courses etc.

We continue for the third year in row, during winter period (off-season) to offer courses of English for the locals, too.

Regarding Valbona Valley, considered to be the gem of the Albanian Alps - we have been supporting the protests, by uniting our voice with the local community, environmentalist associations, public figures against the licensed projects by the government, of two hydropower stations that would interfere heavily with the environment and even the status defined by the law.

The case is now on the court, second level, while the first one ruled out for the suspension of the project.