A sunny winter morning, backpacks shouldered, we were walking along the busy streets of the Albanian capital city. We were headed for the office of The Lada Guys: a company renting Russian-made Lada Niva 4×4 cars. We got ours and named it Lad. It was going to be our transport means – as well as our home, basically – for the next couple of weeks we’d spend exploring the majestic, wild beauty of this country. We packed our stuff tidily and hit the road. Our destination for this first day of the trip was the city of Shkoder and the nearby Shkodra Lake Nature Reserve.
From Tirana To Shkoder
The way from Tirana to Shkoder was straightforward; just sticking to Motorway – a term used relatively – SH1. It should have been fairly fast, too, if it wasn’t for the insane traffic jam that persisted until the very exterior of Tirana’s outskirts, and kept us trapped for hours. More frustrating than the actual delay was the constant, pointless honking by our fellow grounded drivers.
When we were free at last, it was already past midday. Lunch was overdue. We stopped at a random little restaurant on the side of the road and had a delicious, fat, steal-cheap meal. There we stroke up a chat with a local bloke who’d lived in the UK. He said that foreigners often visit the area for trying their first-rate, locally-grown marijuana. After I inquired for more details on the matter, he requested me to wait and drove off skidding in a big, plush, black BMW. He was back before we had finished our lunch and handed me a full handful of weed for free. It would take me weeks to smoke it all.
Back on the road, we drove fast and reached Shkoder late in the afternoon.
In Shkoder City
It wasn’t particularly easy to to find a parking spot in the center of Shkoder City. When we eventually managed it, we got our cameras and set out for a short stroll.
In contrast with all other parts of the country we’d visited so far, there was a definite Italian feeling about this city. For one thing, Shkoder sustains a large Catholic minority. The city’s traditional architecture, too, resembled more of the Italian style than the Ottoman one that is prevalent throughout the country. And also the language: whereas in southern Albania and Tirana I communicated with locals mostly in Greek, in Shkoder people were more likely to know Italian. I found the persistence of Italian influences a bit surprising, given that Venice’s rule of Shkoder ended more than half a millanneum ago.
I think the couple of hours we expended to check out the city were just fine. Pretty much everything of interest to be found in Shkoder is located within a narrow area around its center. These include the Ebu Bekr Mosque, the Franciscan Cathedral, an Orthodox Church, the Kol Idromeno pedestrian street with its nice cafes and restaurants, the Migjeni Theater, and an old ruined house with a quaint tower right by the main roundabout. Rozafa Castle, which is Shkoder’s most renowned historic sight, is situated a couple of kilometers southwest from the center, right above the confluence of Bruna and Drini rivers. We would have certainly visited it if we were there earlier in the daytime, but as for the occasion, we only had a good glimpse of it from below upon driving into the city. The Ottoman bridge of Mes is another notable sight in the vicinity of Shkoder one should check out if staying long enough.
So the time passed. We had a beer while the day retreated before night. And in the heavy rain that started in the meanwhile, we then went about shopping supplies for the following days in the wilderness. All done, we got back in the car and set off driving through the wet darkness.
Accommodation and Activities in Shkoder
We only passed through Shkoder city briefly, but if you are intent on staying longer and properly exploring it, you may compare hotels and Aribnbs on the map below.
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Koplik Town
Heading towards Shkodra Lake Nature Reserve to settle for the night, we soon found ourselves driving through Koplik. That was a cute little town laid out along the main road some 15 km north of Shkoder. Despite the rain and the late of the hour, it was rather lively, bars full with denizens, teenagers barreling up and down the street on their noisy motorbikes. We stopped briefly to get a gyros for dinner and resumed our way towards the shore of the lake.
Camping in Shkodra Lake Nature Reserve
For the first time, we got to put our new off-road vehicle in good use. Shortly after we left Koplik, we found ourselves driving through a maze of muddy trucks. We were trying to approach the lake shore. But that wasn’t as simple as it sounds; so long as you define the shore like the map does and not as the actual waterline that penetrated a good few hundreds of meters inlands. I don’t know whether the lake surface is commonly so volatile or it was that raised due to exceptionally heavy rainfalls.
We were driving past abandoned, half-submerged houses, boats floating before their entrances. Every time the water level got dangerously close to drenching the engine, we had to turn back. We tried to approach the shore from various different tracks, but there was only water, mud, and reeds; no chance to pitch a tent anywhere.
Eventually, we had to get back to Koplik and drive to one of the few elevated places in the area. It was a knoll, named on the map as Maja Suka e Zuk Recit, about 3km south of the town (coordinates: 42.1965, 19.4393). We had to cross a couple of brooks but we managed to drive all the way to its top just fine. It was time to sleep.
Strong rain kept pounding the tent nonstop throughout the night, but then it briefly stopped in the morning. Exiting the tent, we got to behold the place’s serene beauty and the view to Shkodra Lake that was concealed by the darkness last night. We had breakfast, packed, and headed towards the gorgeous Albanian Alps.
Rent a car in Albania
If you are intending to go on a similar road trip in Albania, definitely check out the Lada Guys. These Russian machines will get you everywhere. But if you’re looking for a casual, cheaper car to drive on asphalt, you’ll find some good deals on autoeurope.com
