Albania: Kayaking adventure on the Shala River & Koman Lake

The day-long kayak trip across the Koman Reservoir to the Shala River was one of my travel highlights in Albania. Here are my insider tips and GPS data for paddling along.

Adventurous journey from Shkodër to the Koman Dam

The journey to the Koman reservoir, where we plan to go kayaking on the Shala River, is one of the many adventures in Albania .

We've been bumping along a washed-out gravel road for almost two hours. The scenery is magnificent - but the road isn't.

It winds along the steep banks of the Drin. Below us lies the river, which, although not even dammed here, is more like a lake. Fish traps lie on the water like giant trampolines.

The village of Koman is a cluster of somewhat desolate-looking houses, behind which rises the 115-meter-high dam and hundreds of power poles and transformers that convert hydropower into electricity. The Koman reservoir was built in the 1980s and was considered the largest hydroelectric power plant in Southern Europe at the time. Due to water shortages, electricity production has had to be repeatedly curtailed in recent years.

At the level of the dam, there is a tunnel roughly hewn into the rock . As soon as we pass through it, a new world opens up: a small harbor nestles against the high, steep cliffs. To the right, the dam rises, but since the lake is quite full, its view is hardly disturbing. To the left, there are only high cliffs and the lake.

The river has carved deep gorges into the mountains of the Albanian Alps. The lake stretches like a long tube for 34 kilometers through the narrow Drin valley, which is rarely more than 400 meters wide.

At its narrowest point, the lake is barely more than 50 meters wide between high rock walls.

Nice locals

At the harbor, young men wave us over to one of the few free parking spaces. We politely ask if we can sleep in our car at the harbor. We're allowed, especially since we've booked a ferry with the same gentlemen for the day after next and a kayak trip for the next morning. We park our car right in front of a small wooden coffee house, which has already closed its sales window late in the evening. Slowly, peace returns: all the boats are moored, the guests have left, and even the workers have gone to the village for dinner. We make ourselves comfortable on the quayside and enjoy the peace and quiet.

Traffic chaos in the morning

The next morning, the peace is over. At the crack of dawn, countless cars stream into the small harbor. Amidst the loud shouts of parking attendants, they try to turn around. Tourists arrive by bus, the coffee vendor opens his shop, and we can order our first coffee more or less from our beds.

All boat tours and ferry connections depart from the only jetty in the south of the lake. Anyone heading north or onto the famous Shala River must depart from here. We take the car ferry a short distance up the lake. The passengers are a diverse mix of tourists and locals. The bow of the boat is packed with sacks and crates of vegetables. At a jetty consisting of nothing more than a simple wooden plank, two men disembark with their heavy luggage. Donkeys wait on the shore to carry the load up the mountain. Albania, romantically rural. The garbage in the water is unromantic and modern. Single water bottles and even larger plastic rugs float past us again and again. The Balkan countries are struggling to cope with the masses of garbage created by the growing number of tourists. Waste prevention, separation, and disposal are still in their infancy. A disappointment on this otherwise beautiful, sunny day.

Key Facts about the Kayak Tour on the Koman Dam to the Shala River in Albania

♡ Factor: ♡♡♡♡ ♡

Walking time : 3:30 h + journey

Length : 13.5 km

Accessible by public transport? There are several private providers offering transfers between Shkodër and the ferry terminal at Lake Koman

Directions:

The journey from Shkodër by car is a bit of an adventure. The SH25 is a gravel road with many potholes.

GPS data: I have uploaded the GPS data for the paddling tour to the Outdoor Active website

Starting point: Ferry dock at Lake Koman

You can find more blog entries about the Balkans here

Kayaking to the Shala River

The Shala River is touted as the Thailand of Albania: snow-white beaches and turquoise waters in front of brilliant white limestone cliffs.

We have half a day to explore this river. Not enough to paddle to the source, but hopefully enough to get a good impression. We have no idea what difficulties we will have to contend with later. We've barely passed the mouth when the river narrows. The mountains rise up to 1,200 meters into the sky.

We glide between mighty limestone walls and feel like the little hobbits in Lord of the Rings.

Further upstream, the steep mountain slopes are completely covered with bushes and low deciduous trees, giving them a truly tropical, Thai look. We paddle leisurely past rocks in the water, enjoying the bottle-green river and the magnificent view.

Cozy guesthouses by the lake

The mountains are unobstructed. Only when we turn another bend do we see a small house perched above the water. There are some sort of glamping tents on the shore, and a wooden walkway leads to the river, where several people are splashing around, and we strike up a conversation. The wooden walkway belongs to Neomalsore Agrotourism , the only agriturismo on the lake, which also has a small restaurant further up the slope.

We decide to take a short break. We climb the stairs past vineyards and vegetable gardens to a terrace on the mountain. This is a wonderful spot for the restaurant: Rustic tables, lovingly set with linen napkins and beautiful tableware, are set under vines between old stone houses. We sip our Turkish mocha carefully so as not to stir up the coffee grounds. We're a little sad to have to leave this paradise so soon, but we have to be back at the ferry dock by 2 p.m. at the latest.

Headwind

At first, everything goes according to plan: The water gurgles beneath our boat, and we glide merrily downstream. Our arms are a little heavier than in the morning, but that's not a problem. When we reach the mouth of the Drin, things change abruptly: A strong wind blows from the south, and the previously glassy water rises into waves like the sea. We have to paddle hard just to maintain our position. It's actually only a kilometer as the crow flies from the mouth to the jetty, but it takes us almost 45 minutes of rowing at full speed. Stopping is impossible; otherwise, we'll be pushed back. We try to paddle closer to the shore to find a position as sheltered as possible from the wind. But all in vain. The wind and waves push us in the wrong direction. When we finally reach the jetty, we can barely lift our arms. Exhausted, we climb aboard the ferry, grateful that we now have engines and no longer have to propel the boat with our own muscle power.

All's well that ends well

Back at the harbor, the nice men allowed us to park our car directly on the ferry, which we would take to Fierze the next morning. What a cool experience: We were allowed to sleep in the car on the ferry. In the evening, we played rock, paper, scissors to see who had to open the wine, because our arms were almost too tired to use the corkscrew. We set up our folding chairs on deck and rested our feet on the railing – the stars shone above us between the rocks.

And we are already looking forward to the next morning, because in Albania every day is – in a positive sense – a little adventure.

You can find more blog entries about the Balkans here

Information:

General information about Albania can be found on this website .

Getting there:

The journey from Shkodër by car is a bit of an adventure. The SH25 is a gravel road with many potholes.

There are several tour operators in Shkodër that offer shuttles between the city and the ferry terminal. Pick-up times are coordinated with the kayak tour.

Experience:

You can book the ferry (car) and kayaks on Lake Komani with the Berisha ferry company .

The tour begins at 9:00 a.m. at the ferry dock. The ferry ride takes 40 minutes to stop 5, Stinët Guesthouse. From there, you'll have approximately four hours to explore the area by kayak.

Eating and sleeping:

Alternatively, you can stay at one of the guesthouses along the Shala River and rent a boat from there to paddle upstream. The Neomalsore Agrotourism guesthouse, for example, is beautifully situated above the river and offers rustic accommodations and meals. Here, you can swim, kayak, or simply relax.