Albanian Alps walking vacation, tailor made

Planet

Through our local office in Albania we are supporting the maintenance of the hiking trails in the area where this walking vacation takes place. We encourage the guides and hotel owners in the area to participate in trail maintenance, as volunteers. If there are rubbish-strewn sections, we go out and clean them. When way marking, we try to only refresh the old marks and not intervene unnecessarily by installing big metal or plastic signs. We use paint on rocks and so that the effect on nature is minimal.

We are also cooperating with local non-profits and communities and have successfully stopped the construction of dams and water power plants on the rivers in the area, which include some of the last free flowing rivers in Europe (see below for more on the Save the Blue Heart of Europe campaign).

We encourage our clients to use the info packs and maps in electronic format and not print everything; we are gradually introducing a smartphone app which will contain both the maps and route notes and will make the printed route notes obsolete.

People

We are supporting the Save the Blue Heart of Europe initiative, specifically focusing on the Vjosa River in Albania. Along its entire course of over 270 kilometers it is untamed and free flowing and characterized by beautiful canyons, braided river sections, islands, oxbows and meandering stretches. In some areas the riverbed expands over more than 2 km in width. However, what makes this river really outstanding internationally is the fact, that almost all its tributaries are free-flowing and intact as well, creating a living rivers network that is without par in Europe.

We typically hire local drivers (not the hotel transfer services or big taxi companies) to transport luggage and people on walking days. By using local transport services and locally owned and operated guesthouses and small hotels, we are giving back to local people. In the Valbona Valley specifically, where lodging capacity is insufficient, we use networks of family-related collaborators (accommodation providers) that form a complex. At the core building all meals are served but guest may be accommodated at another house of similar standard in no more than 200 m walking distance.