Albania is on only a few tourists' wish lists for their next vacation - and wrongly so. The small Balkan country has fantastic coastlines and untouched beaches along the Ionian and Adriatic Seas, offering perfect conditions for a relaxing beach holiday.
Half of the Albanian territory is of mountainous terrain with altitudes of over 600 m above sea level. A small proportion of these are high-mountain regions. From Skadar Lake in the north to the south in Vlora a few kilometers wide alluvial soils partly extend along the coast, which expand to large Myzeqe level in central Albania. There are numerous lagoons and wetlands on the coast.
At about 1000 BC the Illyrians settled in the Western Balkans. Residential cities were Scodra and Rhizon. After the Illyrian wars in late 3rd century BC, the Western Balkans came under Roman influence and the Romanization of the Illyrians began. With the division of the Roman Empire 395th BC, today Albania came under Byzantine rule. In 591 the Slavs from the north penetrated into the area, followed by looting allover the Balkans.
Next to our content articles we publish blogs to certain topics. Please follow the given links to get to our topic relevant blog articles with couple of additional pictures about Albania.
If you are traveling from Montenegro to the second largest city of Albania called Shkodra as a mobile home camper, you will inevitably encounter the outflow of the Lake Skutari, which is called Buna.
Almost as before, the preparations for many camping and vehicle exhibitors, travel agencies and other participants have already been completed, as the start of the trade fair will start soon (14 - 22 January 2017) in Stuttgart.
"The place of testimony and remembrance," as the Museum of Communist Crimes in Albania is described, crime committed and held by the dictator Enver Hoxha, which is in Shkoder too because of so many victims of the communistic regime from here.
The next day at Legjenda Camping should bring another surprise for us, because Linda and Franc invited us to a special boat trip to Shurdhah Island (Albanian: Ishulli i Shurdhahit).
There is no doubt that the city tour through Shkodra shows the influence of the Ottomans, which is not only evident in the numerous mosques.
Kelmend, the northernmost part of the Albanian Alps, is mainly formed by two valleys: the deeply cut valley of Cem and the valley of Vermosh in the northernmost tip of Albania.
The "Peaks of the Balkans" hiking trail is a 192 kilometer long hiking trail in the Prokletije mountains, also known as the Albanian Alps. For practiced long-distance travelers, this trail leads of about ten day stages through Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro.
Indicated already during the first 100 meters of the ascent into the Valbona valley, in spite of the foggy weather in the late autumn now, what a splendor of autumn colors would still await us in the further course of the valley.
About two hours we had already crossed the mountain valleys and canyons until we ended up in Fierze, a small village in the north at the end of the Koman dam.
The ferry trip over the Koman Lake (Albanian: Liqeni i Komanit) usually takes about two and a half hours and is increasingly popular among tourists because of the passages between the high rock faces and the narrow gorges of the Albanian Alps.
Several travelers and campers had already told us about the gorges and the lake at the Koman dam, which is said to contribute to the indescribable character of its nature, due to its length and narrowness.
After some explorations in the city of Shkodra and the surrounding areas, we also wanted to have a check at the Adriatic beach in the coastal area, especially as the sun started laughing again in the cloudless sky.
After our tour to the Ottoman bridge Ura e Mesit, we had continued along the river for a few kilometers and had quickly reached a valley between the foothills of the Albanian Alps, which in recent years have increasingly established themselves as an attraction for mountain hikers.
After a few days of mostly cloudy skies with light rain showers, the sun is back, so we prepare ourselves for further excursions around Lake Skutari and, after a brief consultation with the hosts of the Campsite Legjenda, also on the lake, the largest of the Balkan Peninsula.
Our routes through Albania had led us through Shkodra several times, so we had, of course, also noticed the mighty fortress Kalaja e Rozafës (more rarely also Kështjella e Rozafës), to the left at the main road towards Tirana, which we wanted to visit extensively during our present stay.
On a hill, steeply above the Buna and Drin rivers, from the Legjenda campsite to be seen well and just 10 minutes on foot reachable, you will reach the ruined castle Rozafa.
Due to the expansion policy of the Ottoman Empire in the 13th and 14th century, the Ottoman Turks also came to Elbasan, no wonder that one finds their marks in today's city architecture.
There was actually rain on Lake Ohrid, one more reason to explore the area. We wanted to continue the pursue of the roman footsteps along the Via Egnatia and took off from Kalista which is just 8 kilometres away from the border station between Macedonia and Albania on the pass at Quafe Thane.
Together with Lake Baikal and Lake Tanganyika, Lake Ohrid is one of the oldest and most fascinating lakes in Albania and Macedonia.
From Durres, where you should definitely visit the Archaeological Museum, the Roman Amphitheater and the Byzantine walls (to be followed by separate reports), it is only about 50 km to Pequin to the inner part of Albania.