Date of travel: 7th-9th October 2019

We continued to head south if you haven’t read about Northwest Albania, please click here: Northwest Albania – Albanian Hospitality

We stepped back in time, visiting an old bazaar town in the charming Pazari Krujes.  The market sits on old cobble stone streets with traditional wooden houses above the stalls.  As you wander the narrow lanes you cant help but imagine all the 1000’s of different people that have also wandered the same lanes through the centuries.

Make sure to buy your traditional Albanian clothing, rugs and souvenirs here, as we found them to be cheaper than most of Albania.

You will also find Kruje Castle , the center of Skanderbeg’s rebellion against the Ottoman Empire.

We then continued south deciding not to go to the capital Tirana as it was raining and getting late in the evening.  (There is a cable car that takes you to the top of the mountain, we were told the views are spectacular on a clear day, so may be worth a visit).

We headed to Berat a city on the Osum River, known as the city of windows due to the white Ottoman houses.

Perched on a hilltop overlooking the city is Berat Castle, its worth the steep climb to see the beautiful view.

After a few hours of sight seeing we headed down to the new part of the city to mingle with the locals.  We watched a premier league football game in a betting shop and was made to feel more than welcome and even put a few bets on, we didn’t win.  There are many bars and restaurant’s, so the evening quickly went.

The following day we attempted to drive to Tomorr National Park unfortunately this was not possible in Doris (motor home) as you need a 4 x 4.  So instead we stretched our legs with a long walk along the beautiful river at the base of the park in Polican.

We spent the night here in Doris before heading to Southern Albania – The Riviera