Immersive Albania: history, nature & crafts

Tirana Airport - Tirana

Day 1: Welcome in Albania!

Arrive at Tirana airport, meet your local guide and drive to Kruje, the historical city of Albania. Dinner and overnight stay in Kruje.

Tirana - Berat

Day 2: The "City of a thousand Windows" and Winetasting

After breakfast, take the road to the Karavasta Lagoon in Divjakë, the largest lagoon in Albania with an important concentration of fauna and flora. Possibility to climb to the top of a panoramic tower to enjoy a splendid view of the lagoon. Start a boat trip in the lagoon and discover the secrets of Karakasa. Lunch in a seafood restaurant in Karavasta and discover the local specialties of Albania.

Departure for Berat or the "city of a thousand windows". Another example of a city with a typical architectural style of the Ottoman period. Start an ascent to the heights of the city to reach the fortress "Kala" of Berat built in the 13th century and classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Then go to a family vineyard for a wine tasting in the "Çobo Winery" and discover the wine heritage of Albania.

Berat - Gjirokastra - Gjirokastër

Day 3: Meet local Craftsmen in Gjirokastra

After breakfast, drive to Apollonia d'Yllirie and visit the ruins of the largest ancient Greek city in Albania founded in 625 BC. 

Then take the road to Gjirokastra, another example of a city with Ottoman architecture. Admire the architecture of a series of two-story houses classified as "remarkable" dating from the 17th century.

Visit the Gjirokastra Citadel overlooking the city. You will also visit the Skenduli house, a typical Ottoman house dating from the 18th century.

You will have the opportunity to meet local craftsmen perpetuating the traditions of Albanian confections and practicing trades of stonecutter and woodcarver (depending on availability). For the night you will join a traditional house of the 18th century in the heart of the historical Gjirokastra. Dinner and overnight stay in Gjirokastra.

Gjirokastra - Permët - Këlcyrë

Day 4: Meet Locals in Këlcyrë

After breakfast, go to the Langarica Canyon to walk through it or simply enjoy its thermal springs to bathe in this sublime postcard landscape.

Leave for the village of Këlcyrë and join a small isolated farm in the countryside held by a French-speaking Albanian. You will discover authentic Albania by meeting its inhabitants and enjoying a landscape off the beaten track, natural wonders little known from the usual tourist circuits. Enjoy a vegetarian dinner with organic and local products from the Deshnica Valley (e.g. dandelion soup, nettle pie, wild cabbage salad, bear garlic tartar, red fruit dessert).

After a beautiful day, spend a free evening enjoying tea, wine, brandy, and music.

Këlcyrë

Day 5: Enjoying the Nature in Këlcyrë

After breakfast with products only of the farm, leave at 9 am for a beautiful hike. 

The day begins with a walk during which you will recognize and discover some of the wild edible plants that commonly grow around us. For one hour, we pick only common plants in a quantity that does not exceed our consumption. Depending on the season we can also collect mushrooms or wild fruits.

For lunch, a barbecue is planned. After lunch, you will meet a rural Albanian family to understand their life while tasting buttermilk and homemade jam! Back at the farm, we put the plants on the drying shelves, shower, rest, and have free time. Your host will elaborate your evening menu according to the day's harvest which varies according to the season, the place, and the weather.

After the meal, enjoy teas to taste the herbs you have harvested. Discuss the day you had, and the lessons you learned.

Këlcyrë

Day 6: Visit a local Farm

For the happy risers, enjoy a session organized by your host to do meditation, breathing exercises and yoga.

After the session, enjoy an excellent breakfast. Around 9:30 am - Visit a barn which is located 20 minutes from the farm. Opportunity to milk cattle on site or participate in the apple harvest (depending on the season). Leave for a cooking class with the lady of the house (cabbage and bread in a bag, roasted chicken or lamb, lighting the fire, collecting vegetables, preparing salads. Everyone will participate in the daily work of the stall. After lunch, enjoy a discussion with the Shepherd over a raki. A short course of Pogonishta, a traditional dance of southern Albania Dinner at the farm (Albanian tapas, freestyle with homemade pies)

Këlcyrë - Tirana

Day 7: Day Tour in Tirana

After breakfast, guided tour of Tirana. Tirana is a city in constant evolution. Once dull and gray, the city has experienced an international postcommunist boom, becoming a lively, colorful metropolis with a unique atmosphere. Fascinating, Tirana represents both the past and the future of Albania.

Visit Skanderbeg Square, the Mosque of Et'hem Bey (1824), the Clock Tower (1822), and the government buildings. Visit the Bunk'art museum presenting the history of Enver Hoxha's communist regime in Albania.

Tirana - Tirana Airport

Day 8: Goodbye Albania!

Breakfast and free time until departure for the airport and your return flight. We wish you a safe journey home!