Albania's outdoor landscape has been effectively hidden from international visitors for decades and the result is an almost unpeopled mountain and coastal wilderness. The Accursed Mountains (Bjeshkët e Namuna) in the north — a limestone range shared with Kosovo and Montenegro — carry multi-day trekking routes through glacial valleys, shepherd villages, and terrain that is genuinely demanding and genuinely empty. The Albanian Riviera south of Vlora runs through clifftop villages above waters of an improbable blue, with hiking trails connecting beaches that have no road access. The Prespa Lakes region in the southeast, shared with North Macedonia and Greece, is a globally important pelican and cormorant breeding ground. Tours by locals often reveal the rhythm of the place in a more natural way. The hidden gems usually do the rest.