Shkodër is one of the oldest towns in Albania and the cultural capital of the north, a place where Catholic bell towers, mosques and Orthodox domes sit within a short walk of each other and bicycles outnumber cars in the old streets. It lies on a flat plain between the huge Lake Skadar, the largest lake in southern Europe, and the first foothills of the Albanian Alps, and the Buna river, a short, powerful stream, carries the lake's water to the Adriatic. Above the town stands Rozafa Castle on its rock, with views over both rivers and the lake. Legend says the walls kept collapsing until the builders agreed to wall up a woman alive, and the mother of a baby in the family agreed on the condition that one breast, one eye and one hand be left free to nurse the child.
Shkodër was a centre of trade, scholarship and photography. The Marubi studio, founded by an Italian immigrant in the mid-nineteenth century, produced a collection of portraits and street scenes that is one of the treasures of Albanian history, and a museum shows them. The old Ottoman bridge at Mes, a few kilometres out, spans a gorge with several graceful arches and is worth a visit.
For riders, Shkodër is the beginning of the road into the mountains. The SH20 heads north across the plain toward Koplik, then turns east into the Kelmend region and climbs toward the Montenegrin border at Vermosh, going deeper into the Accursed Mountains, with limestone walls, narrow valleys and stone villages. The road is a mix of fresh and rough sections, with potholes and landslides in places, and trucks and cows share the carriageway, so ride defensively. Traffic in the town itself is chaotic and drivers are unpredictable.
Fuel is easy in Shkodër, which is a city of nearly ninety thousand with many stations, and it is wise to fill up before the climb, as services in the mountains are few. Eat fish from the lake, grilled carp and bleak, and try the local sweets.