Hikin' it up through Europe's alps
- Keira Proust
- Nov 8
- 11 min read
While Europe's cities are undeniably beautiful, I would argue that the continent's alpine regions are even more impressive. From Austria's soaring vistas to the varied and vibrant mountains of the Balkans, Europe has a seriously good dose of nature on offer.
I was lucky enough to explore mountains in several countries. They're definitely where I felt most alive and happy! So, I've curated a list of my favourite alpine hikes in Europe for you to enjoy.
Valbonë to Theth, Albania
Paddy and I spent three nights in the Albanian Alps, an experience that quickly became a trip highlight. Many travellers I had met recommended the hike, which is randomly very popular with Aussie backpackers. We stayed at the Wanderers Hostel in Shköder before making our way into the mountains.
We were incredibly fortunate with our timing, as it was the last week of the season to do the entire hike. The hostel organised all the transport and guesthouses, making it a hub for backpackers to meet and head off on the adventure together. It was very affordable. The entire three-day trip cost less than $270pp (AUD). That included all of our accommodation, delicious meals, and transport.
I hadn't looked into what the multi-day hike would entail, so the whole experience was a delightful surprise. We met some lovely Aussies at the hostel and decided to go on the hike with them the following morning. We were on the minibus before 7am and started winding our way up into the mountains. Within two hours, we had reached a small wharf and then embarked on a breathtaking boat journey along the Komani Lake and Shala River.
I've heard people call this part of Albania the "Thailand of Europe", and we could see why. It reminded me of the Khao Sok National Park experience I had in Thailand, gliding across a flooded valley with dramatic rocky cliffs plummeting into the water.
We enjoyed feeling the sun on our skin, watching dozens of waterfalls cascade from the cliffs and playing plenty of card games. It didn't take long until we were on our second and final minibus of the day. The driver, like many in the Balkans, appeared to be slightly mad as he weaved in and out of the lanes at full speed towards Valbonë.
We reached the tiny mountain village by 2pm and soon realised that our driver was also our guesthouse host for the night! Luckily, it was only his driving skills that were mad.
The sun was slowly disappearing behind some clouds and the towering mountains, so we dropped off our bags and ran out to frolic in the vibrant autumn foliage. The vista was jaw-droppingly beautiful. According to Paddy, it was:
"The most beautiful place I've been to in my 28 years of life.
The word stunning isn't good enough. It's majestical."
We were staying in a stone guesthouse outside the village. It got quite chilly in the evening, and the power went out for a while, so we ended up huddled around the fire to keep warm. The hosts were lovely, cooking us a feast of local cuisine. There were sausages, feta, salads, olives, burek, bread, blueberry cake, and, much to the excitement of the group, SOUP! It was hearty and delicious.
The next morning, we were up for another hearty meal of bread, jam, feta and eggs before our big hike began. Our host then chucked us all in a very old and rattly van to take us to the start of the walk. Again, he was on his madman agenda and treated the van like a rally car. It wasn't long until we had gone off-road and were flying across a rocky riverbed. I think he enjoyed flinging us around in the van because he couldn't stop smiling.
We started the walk in misty conditions around 8:30am, and it didn't take long for the steep ascent to begin. Our host had told us (via a form of sign language) that the walk was mostly easy-peasy. Alas, it was not. She was steep, and many snack breaks were required. On the plus side, the landscape was stunning. We walked through vivid red autumnal forests, past crystal clear streams, across rocky vistas and through pine trees.
By the time we reached the top, it was after 11am. The sun had come out to play, illuminating the snow-capped mountains that surrounded us. We also met some very friendly dogs, who joined our single file line with ease. I think we counted about 10 on the walk to Theth. They seemed to follow travellers up and down the mountain all day.
We made the final ascent to the peak for some pictures with the Albanian flag and some doggos, who were completely unbothered by the breathtaking 360-degree views.
The Valbonë to Theth hike is located in the Accursed Mountains and is part of a much longer 192km multi-day, multi-country hike. We met some older Spanish hikers who were attempting a longer route. They were even camping, brave souls. The walk apparently follows an ancient mule track! We reached about 1,800 metres in elevation and could really feel it on the way up!
Our legs also struggled on the way down, as we slipped over the leafy and at times muddy ground. We treated ourselves to some breaks with autumn leaf throwing, beers, and a pre-packed sandwich as we inched further into the valley.
We reached the village by 3:30pm and quickly made our way to the guesthouse for a hot shower. Theth was a gorgeous village surrounded by huge rocky mountains. We passed a quaint little church, sheep, horses and some yappy dogs on the way to our accommodation.
Once clean and warm, we delved into a night of drinking, card games and more feasts. We shared quite a few bottles of tasty Albanian red wine, as well as local raki shots and beers, which made us all very merry. Our host, Pjeter, could barely speak a word of English but was loving the company. Some dancing to Boney M's Rasputin occurred, as did some cigarette sharing and other shenanigans. It felt like an adult version of summer camp. The food was sublime, and we just had a seriously merry time.
We were all feeling a little worse for wear the next morning, but had to be up at 8:30am for our next hike!! We were going to the famous Blue Eye. Luckily, we’d organised a minivan on the way there. We’d met some other lovely travellers at the guesthouse, so a group of 9 of us headed out for the day.
We were dropped off at a stunning waterfall and a crystal clear waterhole. From there, we wound our way up the mountain and down into a gorge. We found some of the most vibrant water I’ve ever seen, the famous Blue Eye, and decided to take a dip!
The water was scarily freezing, so we took turns jumping in from the bridge. Paddy was the only one brave enough to slowly wade into the pool of water. Alex, Taylah and Josh jumped in first. One screamed, "I feel like I'm dying", which didn't instil me with much confidence.
I jumped with Paige and Maddi. It was freezing, but I didn’t feel like dying, so that was a win. Luckily, we warmed up like lizards on the rocks before the sun disappeared behind the mountains. One good thing was that the shock of the cold seemed to knock the hangover right out of us!!
We then headed back, having lunch at a restaurant along the way. We took the long, scenic route home. This took us past colourful beehives, powerful rivers, more towering mountains, and some cows! It was a shorter hike than the day before, something we were all very happy about!
Most of our fellow hikers were headed back to Shköder for the night while Paddy and I stayed on in Theth. We enjoyed another feast and then a huge sleep-in before our windy bus ride back to Shköder the following morning.
The entire hike was one picture-perfect postcard view after another. We met some wonderful people, ate delicious food, discovered new card games, and just had simply the best time. It was also just nice to hang out with some Aussies after so long away from home!
Grinzens to Figl, Austria
Another stellar European area for hiking is, of course, the Austrian Alps. Paddy and I enjoyed some crisp sunny days around Innsbruck, getting dizzyingly high up in the mountains! My favourite hike here was from Grinzens to the Figl peak and Salfiener See (a lake). The vista genuinely looked like a masterpiece from the Louvre.
The best part about hiking around Innsbruck is that you get free transport passes if you stay in the town for 2 or more nights! We definitely made the most of the passes, especially because the accommodation was among the most expensive on our trip.
We were staying close to town and took several buses and small trains to reach the mountains. The start of the walk to the Figl peak began in Grinzens, an easy 30-minute bus ride from Innsbruck!
We used a free app called Organic Maps to cross-reference the route offline. We started near the Grinzens Sportplatz and wound our way up a very beautiful ascent. We took a couple of wrong turns along the way, and it was the steepest hike of the trip, but boy was it worth it.
We followed the “52” red and white marks and signs pointing to Figl, the mountain peak! It took about 3 hours to reach the top. I wasn’t feeling the best as I had been sick with a bout of food poisoning in the morning before the hike. So, we nearly called it quits a couple of times! I’m really glad we didn’t.
We munched down on some lunch (sadly just a plain pretzel for me) at the top and soaked in the literally breathtaking views! Much of the mountainside was covered in vibrant juniper bushes, with groups of locals foraging for the fruit.
About a dozen other hikers were taking a breather at the top, and there were a few horses munching grass around a mirror-like lake. I still think this is one of the most incredible day hikes I’ve done, simply because of the dramatic rocky vistas at the top.
After a break, we started our descent, taking a scenic route down lush green hills and along a stream. We had considered a detour to the Kemater hut, but had heard it was closed for the year, so decided against it! That turned out to be a wise choice, as it still took nearly 3 hours to reach the bus stop in Grinzens.
Along the way, we heard many cow bells chiming, sheep’s bleating, and streams flowing. It was a much easier route down, and some hikers just did the trek as a return trip, instead of the harder loop we opted for. Still, the 6-hour adventure was totally worth it and a great way to kick-start our time in Austria.
Eisriesenwelt ice cave, Austria
Did you know that the world’s largest known ice cave lies south of Salzburg? Eisriensenwelt is tucked up high in the Salzburg State Alps, and is only open to visitors between May and October.
Paddy and I caught a train from Salzburg to Werfen to reach the cave in late September. The train ride is among the most scenic in Austria and is also free for people staying in Salzburg!
We caught a shuttle to the visitor centre before starting our ascent up the mountain, using a mix of our legs and a cable car. The cave sits about 1,650 metres above sea level and is 42 kilometres long.
It was, of course, freezing inside. A huge gust of wind whiplashed us as we opened the doors to enter the cave with a guide. We climbed about 700 stairs inside. It didn’t take long for our eyes to adjust and spot the sparkling ice structures!
There were ice waterfalls, waves and stalactites. It’s a magical site. We were the only native English speakers on the tour, the majority being Austrians. But we were still told some fascinating information about the cave’s discovery at the end of the 19th century.
The way up to the cave is also spectacular as you look down onto the valley below and across to more rocky mountain ranges. You walk through some tunnels and bunker-like structures. Some parts have been abandoned as rockfall has damaged parts of the infrastructure.
It’s not cheap (costing about $86 in total for the shuttle and ice cave ticket), but it’s definitely a memorable and unique experience that I’d easily recommend to any fellow nature lovers.
Traditional mountain village Lukomir, Bosnia
Another of my favourite hikes was in one of my new favourite countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina. We spent a day hiking to a remote mountain village called Lukomir, tucked up in the Dinaric Alps near the capital Sarajevo. We opted to go with a guide because the country is still littered with unexploded landmines from the Bosnian war in the 1990s. It’s generally unsafe to explore unfamiliar paths by yourself in many parts of Bosnia.
Our guide (Ahmet) was a friendly young local, and we were joined by two others, an American and a Russian man. We drove about an hour from Sarajevo to Umoljani, where we would start the hike. I was still suffering from a head cold on the day of the hike, so I was apprehensive about the climb ahead. The group had opted for the more challenging loop, and I felt too polite to protest. So, I stuffed my pockets full of tissues and geared up for the long climb.
The first 30 minutes were horrendous. I felt as though I couldn’t breathe properly and had to keep reaching for the tissues. Luckily, that didn’t persist for too long and I started miraculously feeling better the higher we climbed.
We hiked through orange autumnal forests for a while before reaching a more rocky, grassy section. There had been some heavy snowfall in the previous weeks, leaving some small patches of glorious white stuff for us to frolic in along the way! You could also spot more snow on the surrounding mountain peaks.
Much of the grassy areas were covered in bright red shrubbery, which our guide informed us were native blueberry bushes! We ate some with delight. There were also rosehip plants (used in local teas) along the way.
We had a lovely snack break at the top, at around 1,900 metres, before descending to the village below for lunch. It took around 2 hours to reach the peak.
Almost all the other hikers were locals from Sarajevo and the surrounds. Many took a ciggie break at the top, which didn’t surprise us, given the sheer number of people smoking across the country.
Lukomir was a gorgeous mountain village. The people only live here during the summer, and they used to be nomadic. Most of their money now comes from hiking tourism, helping keep their tradition of shepherding and knitting alive.
We met a beautiful nanna who gave us some freshly picked carrots. She lived in a wooden hut covered in her knitting creations. So, we later decided to buy a beanie and socks from her. It had been getting much colder in the Balkans, and I needed a good beanie. It was a snug fit and I thought it would be a nice reminder of this wonderful village.
For lunch, we were treated to traditional meat burek, bean soup and some local donuts. We also ate our fresh carrots, refilled our water bottles with the crisp mountain water, and said goodbye to our new favourite grandma. It was great to have a good feed before another long walk back to the van.
The way down was a breeze. As we’d chosen the harder loop walk, we were able to mostly meander downhill through forests and past impressive vistas for the last 2 hours. We passed some abandoned villages, which our guide explained were common since the war. Many people had fled and not returned since that time. It was sad to see so many buildings in disrepair.
This hike was another European highlight, and I cannot wait to go back to Bosnia to explore more of its natural wonders. It was pristine, peaceful and fascinating. Bosnia and Herzegovina will likely have my heart for quite some time.
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