In the hills above the village of Tragjas in Vlorë, southwestern Albania, I run after a farmer named Sofo, a glass of raki in one hand and a triangle of panverse petulla in the other. Dusk sucks daylight from the air, we are late and the goats need to be milked.
Sofo and his wife Dhurata receive us for dinner in their rustic “restaurant”. We walk from the road to the farm through gnarled grass, gorse and rampant sage – and are greeted with lots of raki. Dhurata hands me a piece petulla filled with homemade goat cheese (a traditional fried dough dish, made when a baby is born – and a new niece is celebrated) and I rush after Sofo. Before we sit down to platters of grilled vegetables, meatballs and zgara (grilled meat), milking is required.
“This is what’s happening in Albania,” says our guide, Elton Caushi. “People want to give you things all the time and that slows you down.”
It’s true. Everywhere we go, doors open and conversations and refreshments ensue. As I travel around I meet walkers, campers, a group of Bristol University students exploring by car, and a semi-retired British couple cycling up and down the country. They all have nothing but praise for Albanian hospitality.
I’m here with tour operator Intrepid to sample part of their nine-day trip, organized in partnership with Meet (EcoTourism’s Mediterranean experience). Meet encourages residents in protected and vulnerable areas to develop authentic experiences that benefit conservation projects and local communities. Accommodation is in guesthouses, small hotels and agriturismos, and the experiences are locally led.
In recent years, Albania has started attracting sun seekers to seaside resorts such as Sarandë, Himarë and Vlorë. But it is a land of impressive natural beauty and ecological importance, as our visit will soon reveal.
The full route takes you through the blue-green waters of Lake Koman and the tranquil, beach-lined Shala River in the north of the country, for sublime diving moments. There is also an optional hike to Mollë in the foothills of the Albanian Alps, as well as time in the capital Tirana and the seaside resort of Vlorë.
In addition to measuring and monitoring the visitor footprint, Meet’s involvement in the tour has increased engagement with local people and spread spending across local communities. Where we stay, our activities, what we eat and how we travel (by electric vehicle and on foot, by bicycle and by boat) has been forensically assessed.
Our trip includes a stop at Berat’s hilltop castle complex, whose roots date back to ancient times; it is as beautiful as I have ever seen, with most of the buildings dating back to the 13th century. The historic center and two Berat codices discovered in the crypt of the famous Onufri Museum are protected by UNESCO. The city’s oldest church, the Holy Trinity, offers panoramic views over the Drinos river valley and the furrowed Shpirag massif.
While Lake Shkodër (also Skadar and Shkodra), shared with Montenegro, is one of Europe’s largest bird reserves, we visit a lesser-known but equally important reserve in the Divjakë-Karavasta national park, two hours’ drive south of Tirana. The park is rich in biodiversity and has identified approximately 25 species of mammals, 29 species of reptiles (including sea turtles), 29 amphibians and 230 species of birds. The bird sanctuary, the only one in Albania, has treated pelicans, eagles, owls, buzzards and storks.
The Karavasta lagoon ecosystem, within the park, is home to the under-threatened Dalmatian pelican – one of the world’s largest freshwater birds – and a refuge for migratory birds. We spend a few days exploring the estuaries and trails by boat and bicycle, staying overnight at the small three-star Hotel Pelikan, on the edge of the park.
Our first view of the wetlands and birds is from the top of a wooden observation tower during a picnic lunch. Along the way, Elton stops at a village hall for a spin lakror (a popular Albanian pie) and a jug of frothy salty yogurt, or dhallë.
Supplies are distributed at the base of the tower. “It’s an unorthodox location,” says Elton, “but the scenery is amazing.” I follow him, dhallë in one hand, cutlery in the other. Elton rolls out a rug and we sit in the sun and eat puff pastry filled with onion and tomato, washed down with sour milk. Then a flamboyance of greater flamingos rises into the sky.
At the rehabilitation centre, the ranger on duty, Ervin Allushi, says that the first group of British bird watchers visited in 2016. “We have pygmy cormorants, little egrets and 255 pairs of golden jackals. One group came just to see it,” he says.
The number of Dalmatian pelicans has increased from 27 nests in 2014 to 85 in 2020, but the news that a new airport will open at the end of next year in Vlorë, 72 kilometers south of Divjakë-Karavasta and in the protected landscape surrounding a lagoon , has shocked conservation groups. Ance Švajnzger of Intrepid Travel says: “Not only does the airport pose a potential risk to nature, it will also have no positive impact on rural Albania unless travelers eat, stay and shop at local businesses.”
We take a small boat along a brackish river delta for bird watching, pausing to look through binoculars at the sand island where pelicans nest.
The next morning we cycle along a promenade through a pine forest to the village of Babunjë, where Eva and Adriatik welcome us to their home. Adriatik, a woodworker and stonemason, shows us his workshop and we drink Turkish coffee while we watch him chisel stone.
Lunch consists of chicken pilaf, stuffed eggplant and duck in yogurt soup. In any case, it is freshly prepared: “I killed the chicken and the duck yesterday,” says Adriatik. “The wine belongs to my neighbor. My other neighbor is on vacation. Next time I will serve you his wine, it will be better.” We leave with arms full of fresh pomegranates.
Our immersion in nature, especially in the national park, was a highlight; our insights into rural simplicity an unexpected bonus. At Sofo and Dhurata’s farm, where cheese is aged in goat skin, pots are boiled over coals and teepees are made of fire and neighboring farmers play the flute, I feel like I have stepped back in time.
Back in the UK, when I speak to Arnau Teixidor from Meet, he tells me he is excited about the organisation’s partnerships in Albania – not just because of the work to protect the Karavasta Lagoon: “It has this unique character and a character that is hard to find in Europe now – traditional ways of doing things and craftsmen who give an insight into the place.”
After five days in the countryside I knew exactly what he meant.
The trip was arranged by Intrepid Travel; his nine-day Albania expedition starts at £1.280pp, including accommodation, some meals, activities and local transport