Mother Carku at her village guesthouse in Thethi, Albania

Laura Payne, co-founder of Outdoor Albania and local travel activist, believes that local traveling is about meeting and connecting with the locals and experiencing their culture, as well as about preserving nature and bringing economical benefits to those who need it most.

Six years ago, Laura paid her first visit to Albania and directly fell in love with the country. She traveled past beautiful deserted beaches in the South of Albania and rough nature in the North. She got to know the passionate people in Southern Albania and connected with the hospitable locals Northern Albania. Traveling through this wonderful country, she saw the potential and the opportunities that Albania offers, especially the Albanian Alps in the North took her interest. She realized that most people don’t have the means to use these opportunities, and decided that she wanted to do something for the locals.

Together with her Albanian partner Gent, she started Outdoor Albania, a travel agency specialized in sustainable travel. From the beginning, the aim has been to give clients a life-seeing experience rather than a sight-seeing experience. The past five years they mainly focused on promoting the Albanian Alps in Northern Albania; you can see the result on their website. The Albanian Alps have hardly changed over the last 50 years due to the rugged landscape, the 500 year occupation of the Ottoman Empire, the Italian invasion and the many years of communism. Outdoor Albania has a network of local families who run village houses and guest houses in this amazing and untouched region.

One of Laura’s favorite areas in Northern Albania is Thethi, a village surrounded by a sea of mountains of rough limestone formations, dense forests, canyons and waterfalls. The ruthless nature has always made living hard for the locals, which left traces in its culture. Opposite to the harsh nature she experienced that the local culture is very warm and hospitable.

One of the families in Outdoor Albania’s Thethi network is the Carku family. None Age, or ‘Mother Carku’, her son Mehill and his wife Valbona run a village house. If you want to experience Albanian culture and rural live you should come and try for yourself to stay overnight in Guesthouse Carcu or any of the other village houses Outdoor Albania is helping to gain a living.

Continue reading this article on the Outdoor Albania blog