Northern Albania has two great mountain roads out of Shkodër, and they are constantly confused with each other. The SH21 is the one that climbs Qafa e Thorës (Thore Pass) at 1,691 m (5,547 ft) and drops into Theth — 55.5 km (34.4 miles) from Koplik, fully paved since September 2021 after decades as a rough track. The SH20 is the other one, running roughly 65–70 km (40–43 miles) north from the Hani i Hotit and Koplik area along the Montenegrin border through Tamarë and Lëpushë to Vermosh, and it has also been paved in recent years. Ride both. Together they are the best two days on a motorcycle in the Albanian Alps.
Getting the road numbers right
It matters, because navigation apps and forum posts get it wrong constantly. SH21 goes to Theth over Qafa e Thorës. SH20 goes to Vermosh through the Kelmend valley. They start close together near Koplik, north of Shkodër, and then diverge into different valleys of the same range. Riders who set "SH20 Theth" into a route planner end up in the wrong valley, which in this terrain costs a couple of hours. If you want both, the natural plan is a night in Theth and a night in Lëpushë or Vermosh, with Shkodër as the hinge.
The range itself is the Albanian Alps, a 2,240 km² (860 sq mile) block of Mesozoic limestone at the northern end of the country, continuous with the High Karst of Montenegro and the Bjeshkët e Namuna in Kosovo. It is the highest and most broken landscape in Albania, and that is exactly what you feel from the saddle: very little of either road runs straight for more than a few hundred metres.
Route at a glance
| SH21 to Theth | 55.5 km (34.4 miles), Koplik to Theth, over Qafa e Thorës at 1,691 m (5,547 ft) |
| SH21 surface | Fully paved since September 2021, narrow with limited turnouts and gradients to about 15% |
| SH20 to Vermosh | Roughly 65–70 km (40–43 miles) from the Hani i Hotit area via Tamarë and Lëpushë |
| SH20 surface | Paved in recent years to Vermosh and the Grnčar crossing into Montenegro |
| Range | Albanian Alps, 2,240 km² (860 sq miles) of limestone in the Dinaric chain |
| Typical season | Roughly late May to October, as of August 2026, with winter closure risk on Thorës |
| Base town | Shkodër, for fuel, tyres, cash and hotels |
Open the Koplik to Theth run in Google Maps and download it before you go — signal disappears well before the pass.
The SH21 over Qafa e Thorës
This is the headline road. The original alignment dates to 1936 and for most of its life it was an unsurfaced mountain track that took four hours and a high-clearance vehicle. The paving was completed in September 2021, and the change has been dramatic: what was an expedition is now a ride most touring bikes can do comfortably in two hours.
The climb from the Koplik side works up through switchbacks with the plain of Shkodër opening behind you, then tightens as it approaches the pass. Qafa e Thorës itself is a saddle at 1,691 m with a café and a viewpoint, and it is where almost everyone stops. The descent into the Shala valley on the far side is the better half — narrower, steeper, and cut into the side of the valley with the village of Theth appearing far below long before you reach it.
Two cautions are worth repeating because paving has not removed them. The road is narrow with limited passing places and gradients reaching about 15%, and there are high unprotected drops. Traffic is now heavy in July and August, including minibuses that do not give way, so the risk has shifted from surface to oncoming vehicles. Ride it early in the day.
Theth sits in the Shala valley at the heart of Theth National Park, a protected historic centre with a stone church, a lock-in tower and a scatter of guesthouses. It is a dead end for through traffic on a road bike — the onward tracks to Valbonë are a hiking pass, not a motorcycle route — so plan to come back over Thorës or stay the night.
The SH20 through Kelmend to Vermosh
The SH20 gets a fraction of the traffic and is arguably the better motorcycle road. It leaves the Shkodër–Podgorica corridor near Hani i Hotit and heads north into the Kelmend region, running close to the Montenegrin border through the Cem gorge to Tamarë, then climbing to Selcë, Lëpushë and finally Vermosh, the northernmost village in Albania.
The reconstruction of this road ran through the 2010s and it is now described as paved through to Vermosh and on to the Grnčar border crossing with Montenegro. Reports of short rough sections in the last kilometres before the border have appeared over the years, so treat that final stretch as unconfirmed and check locally if you intend to cross rather than turn around.
What you get is a long, quiet valley road with a gorge section at the bottom, high pasture and stone houses at the top, and the Karanfil peaks on the skyline. Lëpushë and Vermosh both have guesthouses and both are genuinely remote. This is the section where riders who came for Theth end up saying the other road was better.
Season, fuel, crossings and what to expect
Season. Qafa e Thorës is a 1,691 m pass in a snowy range and it has historically been described as impassable from roughly November to May. Paving has lengthened the usable season and the road is now cleared more often, but it is not a guaranteed winter route and there is no published fixed opening date. As of August 2026 the practical window is roughly late May to October. Check current status with a Theth guesthouse or the local municipality before riding it outside high summer, rather than trusting a map that shows the road as simply open.
Fuel. Fill up in Shkodër or Koplik. There is no reliable fuel in Theth and none of any kind between Tamarë and Vermosh. Both roads use far more fuel than their length suggests because almost all of it is first, second and third gear.
Cash. Guesthouses in Theth, Lëpushë and Vermosh generally want lek in cash. There are no ATMs at the end of either road.
Borders and insurance. Albania is not in the EU. Entering from Montenegro at Hani i Hotit or Grnčar, or from Kosovo or North Macedonia, you need the vehicle registration document, your licence and valid motor third-party insurance for Albania. The Albanian insurance association states that a Green Card is mandatory for vehicles travelling outside Albania, and Albania is a member of the Green Card system, so foreign riders should expect the physical certificate to be the accepted proof. Requirements differ by the country that issued your policy and do change, so confirm with your insurer and with the Council of Bureaux at cobx.org before you set off. Where cover is missing, frontier insurance is sold at the crossing.
Road manners. Livestock on the carriageway is normal on both roads, particularly at dawn and dusk when herds move between pastures. Rockfall debris after rain is common on the Theth descent. Neither road has a hard shoulder to recover onto.
Gear notes for the Albanian Alps
These are the roads that make the case for preparing your electronics properly. Mobile signal is absent for long stretches on both routes and there is no data connection at all in parts of the Shala and Cem valleys, so anything that depends on live tiles will fail exactly when the junctions get ambiguous. Load the whole area for offline motorcycle navigation in Shkodër, and if you have been running a phone on the bars, read the risks of phone-only navigation before you commit to a road with 15% gradients and no turnouts. A motorcycle riding system that keeps the map, the intercom and a camera on one mount also means you have footage of the pass without a separate device to charge. On the mechanical side, the surface debris on the Theth descent is a real puncture source and there is no help within an hour — a TPMS sensor warns you on the road rather than in a hairpin, and our tyre pressure guide explains what a slow leak does to a loaded bike on a steep descent. Guesthouse power in Theth and Vermosh can be limited, so a MT100 bi-directional charger that fills everything from one socket is worth the space.
FAQ
Is the road to Theth paved?
Yes. The SH21 from Koplik over Qafa e Thorës to Theth was fully paved in September 2021. It is still narrow, steep and exposed, but it no longer requires a high-clearance vehicle.
Is the road to Theth the SH20 or the SH21?
The SH21. The SH20 is the separate road through the Kelmend valley to Vermosh. Both leave the Shkodër area and both are excellent, but they go to different places.
Can a fully loaded touring bike do the SH21?
Yes, since the paving. The limits are width and oncoming minibuses rather than the surface. Ride it in the morning before the day-tripper traffic builds and it is a straightforward two hours.
When can I ride Qafa e Thorës?
Roughly late May to October is the reliable window as of August 2026. Historically the pass was described as impassable from November to May; paving has improved that but not eliminated winter closure risk, so check locally before an out-of-season attempt.
Can I cross into Montenegro at the top of the SH20?
There is a crossing at Vermosh/Grnčar, and the road is described as paved to it, though reports of rough final kilometres have appeared over the years. Confirm the crossing's current opening hours and status locally before relying on it, and carry the insurance documents both countries expect.
