CENTRAL & SOUTH ALBANIA TOUR
Things to Know Before Travelling to Albania
Albania (Albanian: Republika e Shqipërisë) is a country in Southeast Europe. The country is located in the Balkans on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares land borders with Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, North Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south. Spanning an area of 28,748 km2 (11,100 sq mi), it displays a varied range of climatic, geological, hydrological and morphological conditions. The country's landscapes range from rugged snow-capped mountains in the Albanian Alps and the Korab, Skanderbeg, Pindus and Ceraunian Mountains, to fertile lowland plains extending from the coasts of the Adriatic and Ionian seas. Tirana is the capital and largest city in the country, followed by Durrës, Vlorë, and Shkodër.
In ancient times, the Illyrians inhabited northern and central regions of Albania, whilst Epirotes inhabited the south. Several important ancient Greek colonies were also established on the coast. In the 2nd century BCE, the region was annexed by the Roman Republic, and after the division of the Roman Empire it became part of Byzantium. The first known Albanian autonomous principality – Arbanon – was established in the 12th century. The Kingdom of Albania, Principality of Albania and Albania Veneta were formed between the 13th and 15th centuries in different parts of the country, alongside other Albanian principalities and political entities. In the late 15th century, Albania became part of the Ottoman Empire until 1912, when the modern Albanian state declared independence. In 1939, Italy invaded the Kingdom of Albania, which became Greater Albania, and then a protectorate of Nazi Germany during World War II. Following the war, the People's Socialist Republic of Albania was formed, which lasted until the Revolutions of 1991 concluded with the fall of communism in Albania and eventually the establishment of the current Republic of Albania.
Albania is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic. It is a developing country, ranking 67th in the Human Development Index, with an upper-middle income economy dominated by the service sector, followed by manufacturing. It went through a process of transition following the end of communism in 1990, from centralised planning to a market-based economy. Albania provides universal health care and free primary and secondary education to its citizens. Albania is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, UNESCO, NATO, WTO, COE, OSCE, and OIC. It has been an official candidate for membership in the European Union since 2014. It is one of the founding members of the Energy Community, including the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation and Union for the Mediterranean.
What food is Albania known for?
The country's cuisine is largely meat-based. Beef and veal are the most commonly consumed meats in Albania, followed by pork. Albania has many small eateries specializing in beef and lamb, goat and veal. In high elevation localities, smoked meat and pickled preserves are common.
What is the national drink of Albania?
Albania's national drink is raki, a spirit made from fermented plums or grapes, with an anise-like flavor. The country also produces good red wine, and beer is widely available.
CENTRAL & SOUTH ALBANIA
OFFROAD TOUR DESCRIPTION.
Level of Difficulty- MODERATED
- Very Old roads, Muddy roads, Forest roads opened before and later of the communism system.
Mountains up to 2440 M Altitude with a Beautiful Panoramic View, Rivers, Canyons, Lakes, Sea, Beach,
Asphalt will be part of the trip for accessing on the off-road tracks.
🏁The journey begins FROM TIRANA by heading to the LURA NATIONAL PARK
📍End point is PERMET in Sowth Albania.
Places we will visit from Central to South of Albania.
- Lura National Park
- Dibra mountains
- The Elbasan and Gramsh Mountains, the Tomorris River
- Tomorri Mountain
- The Osum River Canyon
- Thermal waters.
- Castles in: Berat - Berat Castle,
DAY BY DAY
Day 1: Tirana - Rreshen - Lure National Park HOTEL
Lurë National Park
The Lura Lakes are a group of lakes of glacial origin, situated in the eastern Lura Mountains and Lurë National Park in Albania. The lakes are renowned for their distinctive colors, ranging from azure to green, grey.
Day 2: Lure National Park - Klos CAMPING
All the time Offroad in the mountains between Lura and Diber. In this track we have to drive in the most unmade roads.
Day 3: Klos - Near Elbasan MOUNTAINS (CAMPING)
Again our direction leads us to one of the must interesting trail of south Albania.
After a small part of asphalt we get to the villages where we do our lunch break and the start again to reach our Camp site in the Forest.
Day 4: Elbasan - Gramsh. HOTEL
From the forests to the city of Gramsh driving in the old roads and beautiful views.
The afternoon about 05:00 PM we will arrive to the hotel and after our relax we go to the Restaurant.
Day 5: Gramsh - Korce district – (CAMP)
After 12 KM of asphalt again Off-road driving, our lunch time close to a lake with beautiful green grass around and also very interesting track. We lead again to drive to our next stop; fire and our dinner will be ready prepared from our friends who live in the mountains in a altitude of 1800 M. This is our special night.
Day 6: Korce - TOMORR MT - Corovode.
We start about 9 AM and drive to reach the dry River for about 34 Km to reach the Tomorr Mountain (2464 M Altitude and then slowly going down to OSUM CANYONS in Corovode city. Camping is our River bad with a beautiful view of the Canyon.
Day 7: Corovoda to Permet and Benja thermal waters.
From Corovoda to to reach the Canyons of Osumi along the River, the Canyons are really a miracle of the Mother Nature. After midday we slow slow have to drive to the thermal waters of Permet. (Medical thermal Waters)
Note: The Above route and Plan during the trip may be modified depending on the weather conditions, technical conditions of the Cars, road conditions and other reasons…
In our tour we can have options to change time to time directions, it depends all on our speed during driving, what we like to do, easy or hard tracks will decide in our morning briefing after our Breakfast.
INCLUDED IN THE PRICE
Services Included in the Price:
✔-The organization, Hotel & Restaurant bookings
✔-1 Local Guide Multilanguage. English, Italian, Greek, and Spanish -fluent speaker
✔-Free WIFI for our Customers
✔-2 Nights in typical hotels
✔-2 Dinners in the restaurants (excluding drinks)
✔-1 Lunch in Restaurant
✔-All entrance, fees and Parking’s
✔-Assistance with technical and Mechanical problems
Services NOT Included in the Price:
✖-Food and accommodation which are not included on the program
✖-Ferry tickets from Italy to Albania or Greece
✖-Personal expenses
✖-Fuel for your vehicle
✖-Impairment costs
✖-Heavy Technical and Mechanical supports
Important Information:
Up to 4 cars we exclude the Hotel and restaurant payments because of low incomes to the Company.
REQUIREMENTS
Equipment required for your Expedition:
MT Tires, (BF Goodrich, Malatesta, Swamper, Simex).
4x4 Car prepared with Winch and Reducer
CB radio or Mobile Radio
All the necessary documents for your Car, INSURANCE for Balkan Countries (ALB - MNE - SRB - NMK - RKS)
If your insurance company does not offers this service then I can buy it here, all you need is to send me a copy of your current insurance and I buy your car insurance an give it to you on the meeting Point. In this way you don't need to go around looking for.
Personal Documents.
Passport or ID card.
Equipment.
Camping equipment: Everything what you need for the Camp-tour. Table, chairs, gas stove, cooking pots,
cutlery, mugs, plates. etc. Catering with fresh Bio Foods and fresh Meat we can stop every two days to the
Mini Markets or Super Market.