Theth – Nderlyse – Theth
Difficulty: easy
Theth – Nderlyse – Theth
The village of Theth is one of the most picturesque places in Northern Albania and it is a Protected Historic Center by the Albanian Government. It is known as an area of outstanding natural beauty and for its warm-hearted hospitality.
The village is entirely inhabited by the Albanian Roman Catholic community and has the most unique structure in the world. Kulla e Ngujimit or Tower Refuge, is a three-story rock building with no windows. It served as a self-imposed exile for people who were involved in blood feuds.
Visiting Theth in the early 20th century, the traveler Edith Durham said:
“I think no place where human beings live have given me such an impression of majestic isolation from all the world”
However, the community in Theth has a nine-grade school and recent efforts have been made to stimulate tourism. A number of local families offer board and lodging to visitors who come to Theth to hike in the National Park – or merely to admire the mountain scenery.
Apart from the Tower Refuge, other attractions include spectacular waterfalls, breathtaking mountain sceneries, old Roman Catholic Church and a modest ethnographic museum.

Amongst many tourist attractions, one of the most popular is the 2.9km hiking trail from Theth to the nearby Grunas waterfalls over the river.
Following the river, the trail goes East towards Nderlysa village and after approx. 3 km on the Left side of the path, there is a short ascent section which leads to a magnificent natural Grunas waterfall. The Grunas waterfall is 25m long, and it springs from the western part of Boshi Peak in Albanian Alps, and with its environment, is one of the rare phenomena of the Albanian Alps and therefore is an important tourist point and natural monument.
From the waterfall the path continues straight alongside of it and descends on the Right towards Nderlysa village. After 15 min of a downhill section the trail meets other trails in a flat section where it turns sharp Left and follows the river Thethi all the way down to Nderlysa, approx. 4km.
Nderlysa is a very small village and still in its original state as it was in the past. In this characteristic village are some small restaurants where you can eat lunch or sandwich and relax and enjoy the view and during the summer time it is possible to take a nice swim in the glacial turquoise blue water stream. Nderlysa is also known for its natural stone tubs created from the glacial water stream. The stone baths in Nderlysa are rock formations created by the abundant inflows of black river water that descend from the village of Kaprre.
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