Summer is not just about the sea and the beach. Mountain areas are just as popular with vacationers, especially nature fanatics and those who want to escape the heat, noise, and overcrowding of the coast.
We are traveling to the Valbona Valley, in the heart of the Alps in the north of the country. The heat here is non-existent, while the color green appears everywhere, in all its shades.
There are many tourists that we met during our trip to Valbona. Groups of young people from Canada, Hungary, Spain and nearby Kosovo have chosen to spend these summer days in the Albanian Alps. Not only hiking in nature, climbing in the mountains but also the beach and the crystal clear waters of Valbona. Along the shores of Valbona, tourists, both local and foreign, want to discover the natural and cultural treasures of this valley.
One of them is Vrella e Shoshanit, the largest water source in the Balkans, which is located at the entrance to the valley, four kilometers from the town of Bajram Curri.
Icy, crystal-clear water flows relentlessly from the heart of the mountain, creating a special atmosphere.
It is precisely in this stream that the Currit Mill, a cultural heritage monument, is located. This over 120-year-old object was once the center of daily life for the highlanders of the area. Today, the mill has lost its function. It has become a stopping point for hundreds of tourists who visit it from up close.
But although very attractive points for local and foreign visitors, the Shoshanit Gorge, a natural monument, and the Curri Mill, a cultural monument, are at risk from a lack of maintenance and investment.
But we encounter investments further afield, on one of the most well-trodden roads in the Valbona Valley. The Valbona Bridge–Fusha e Gjesë segment is being expanded to allow pedestrians and cyclists to move freely in their lanes.
The road expansion is expected to ease traffic for local residents but also for visitors who choose the National Park for mountain hiking, cycling, outdoor recreation and in the heart of the Alps.
Locals, who once emigrated, are also returning to Valbona. They have decided to invest in their homeland to develop tourism and their area, just like this investment case on the banks of Valbona. Many vacationers choose to relax in the coolness and the shores of Valbona.
The development of tourism in this area has also given impetus to the work of guides, who are very important for accompanying and orienting visitors to the Albanian Alps.
"The "Pashtriku" Association has helped organize groups, guides and cooperation with the local community.
"We have climbed almost all the peaks of the Alps. We have been welcomed everywhere. The locals always help us, so we have never encountered any difficulties."
But Valbona is not only nature. In the evening, the valley turns into a party. Surrounded by mountains and under the dim lights of the verandas, tourists spend the evening. While they do not hide for a moment that they have made the right decision to visit this amazing place with very friendly people.
Summer days turn Valbona into a meeting point for hundreds of visitors, both local and foreign, while the "K`cimi I Tropoja" (Tropojës Peak) resounding among the Alps reminds you that it is now a treasure for the whole world. (A2 Televizion)
A2 CNN Livestream
MUND TE LEXONI GJITHASHTU
