For the trail · alpventurer.com/kudhes-to-qeparo
Kudhës to Qeparo, beautiful hiking between villages
Kudhës to Qeparo · Albania
- Water
- No water source on the trail
- Parking
- Free
In short
This 7.6 km hike runs from Kudhës to Qeparo in southern Albania, passing through Upper Qeparo. It gains 154 m and descends 300 m, with a high point of 423 m. There is no water source along the trail, so bring enough water.
The route
- Distance
- 7.6 km
- Ascent
- +154 m
- Descent
- −300 m
- High point
- 423 m
- Lowest point
- 69 m
A Kudhës: 40.09884, 19.81543B Qeparo: 40.05431, 19.82978▲ Upper Qeparo: 40.07913, 19.82886
Walking time, without breaks
- Relaxed3 h 5 min
- Average2 h 25 min
- Fast2 h
How steep
- Under 8% 3.5 km
- 8 to 15% 2.8 km
- 15 to 25% 1.1 km
- Over 25% 0.1 km
In two parts
- Up to Upper Qeparo 4.1 km · +255 m
- Down to Qeparo 3.4 km · −375 m
What to pack
Every hike
- Water: about 1 litres (half a litre an hour), all of it: no water on the way
- Food and snacks for the day
- Rain jacket
- A warm layer (fleece or light down)
- Sun cap, sunglasses and sun cream
- Boots or trail shoes with good grip
- Phone with the map offline, and a power bank
- Small first aid kit
- Headlamp, in case it gets late
- Some cash and your ID
The guide
Kudhës is a very beautiful village located near the Albanian Riviera (the coastline along the Northeastern Ionian Sea, from Vlorë to Saranda), and is part of Himara municipality. The distance to the coast from this village is around 6 km. Nowadays, only 300 people live there.
Qeparo is a seaside village. Old Qeparo is located uphill, and it is one of the top touristic destinations of Albania. Hiking from Kudhës to Qeparo is very beautiful and if you are hiking along Southern Albania, I strongly suggest it.
How to get there
There are two options, to hike both ways, or to go by car to Kudhës, and then go back from the village to Upper Qeparo and then Qeparo. I will explain the second one. After you go through the Porto Palermo castle (created by Ali Pasha of Tepelena), when you arrive at Manastiri i Shën Dhimitrit you need to take the left turn. The distance from there to Kudhës is around 7 km (20 min by car).
About Kudhës and hiking trip
When you will arrive there, you will see a very traditional village with some beautiful cobbled roads. Check out the picture from there:
There isn’t any restaurant or mini-market, but a lot of people are providing traditional lunches for tourists. The food there is 100% bio and very delicious.
After the visit to this village, you need to take the trail to go to Upper Qeparo. The trail goes up the village and has some scenic views. You will need around 5.5 km to arrive in Upper Qeparo, an old beautiful village, from where you can see beautiful views of Qeparo and the Ionian Sea. Then, 2.6 km to arrive in Qeparo.
There isn’t any water source in this hiking trail, therefore make sure you have enough water for this hike. Another thing I want to mention is the fact that during summer the temperatures are very high, so try to avoid this hike during mid-day. The total distance of this trail is 7.6 km.
Points of interest:
Starting point: Kudhës, Albania
Starting altitude: 192 m/alt
Elevation loss: 300 m/alt
Elevation gain: 154 m/alt