TIRANA, Nov. 5 – The emerging mountain tourism in the northeastern Albanian Valbona valley is receiving a boost with launch of the Albania’s first mountain rescue team. A local NGO in Valbona has been awarded a €6,000 grant to begin training the first rescue team by the International Visegrad Fund, an international organization based in Bratislava founded by the governments of the Visegrad Group (V4) countries — the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Republic of Poland, and the Slovak Republic.
“Recognizing that Mountain Tourism in Albania will be limited as long as visitors have no safety net, the local people of Valbona have been enthusiastic in working with their friends in the Czech and other embassies to explore this exciting new endeavor,” said the Journey to Valbona association.
The project began in late September when 3 directors of the Czech and Polish Rescue services visited Valbona for a 4 day workshop. Ten local people met daily with the visitors to learn about First Aid, first response networks, map reading and communication skills, and GPS orientation.
The program continued in early October when five Albanian Rescue Team members flew to Prague to spend 5 days visiting Mountain Rescue Services in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland.
The pilot program will finish in Spring 2016, with the production of a printed handbook titled “Guidelines for the Valbona Mountain Rescue Service.”
Tourism in the Albanian Alps has grown at a staggering 30 percent annually over the past 10 years. The area’s primary tourism service, Journey to Valbona, reports a growth in requests for reservations, information and help getting here from 9 emails in 2010 to a staggering 9,400 in 2015. When the new Via Dinarica project is launched in 2016, this number will most likely jump again.
Valbona Valley National Park also called the “Albanian miracle of Alps” is a part of Albanian Alps. The Valley lies between the rugged and remote and breathtaking mountain peaks and makes a festival of colors and contrasts. Its biodiversity makes it very important as a tourist attraction.
Valbona village is the focal point of the Valbona National Park. Its configuration, hydrology, forests, flowers, characteristic dwellings and the hospitality of its people make these park an ideal place to visit and invigorate.
