Hoshteve – Nivan – Sheper

Today’s shorter and easier route invites a more relaxed walking experience, dominated by views of Mt. Cajupi (2.145 m). We’ll traverse the hamets Vithuq, Koncka, Nivan, to reach Sheper. Connected by better, yet unmade roads that hint at modern influences from the outside world.

Nivan, once the heart of the commune, reveals remnants of military installations and storage depots, with its central square honoring William Tilman. Celebrated as “the 20th Century’s last true explorer”, Tilman was a renowned British mountaineer and sailor who fought with the valley’s resistance against German occupation during World War II.

As we continue, the trail descends through oak forest to the river, where we’ll visit an old monastery and have the option to take a small detour to yet another of Ali Pasha’s remaining stone bridges before reaching our final overnight with Antoneta and Mondi, a gifted stone mason,

In Sheper, we find a village where many formerly nomadic Aromanian shepherds were forcefully settled after the borders with neighoring Greece closed in the late 1940s. The ruined museum and nearby buildings are adorned with faded quotes from Marx and Lenin, serving as poignant reminders of Albania’s complex communist past.