Albania is having a moment. If you have a friend who’s always the first to discover a destination, they’ve probably already been raving about its golden beaches, its Ottoman-era towns with old-style bazaars, its UNESCO World-Heritage sites – and the far-flung village of Theth.

“Everybody’s talking about Theth,” says Kate Baker, general manager of UTracks, specialists in European walking holidays. This village in a remote valley in the north of the country is drawing adventurous travellers with its lost-in-time vibe, its family-run guesthouses and its dramatic scenery, ringed by a series of soaring peaks.