Sports and leisure activities Albania

Since 2022, this unusual venue has been offering painting lessons while tasting Albanian wines and rakis. Well, according to our artist friends, you have to choose between drinking and putting your brush to canvas. But it's an interesting, even fun, experience. The 2/3-hour classes are in English and by reservation only. Albana, the teacher, is friendly and you don't need any drawing skills to take part. The studio is centrally located, opposite Rinia Park, near the Lana River.

Whereas it takes 104 km by car to get from Sheper to Përmet, here it only takes 13 km. This old mule track from the Ottoman period is still frequently used by shepherds to cross from the Zagoria to the Vjosa valleys. It crosses the Dhëmbel massif via the Dhëmbel pass, at 1,428 m altitude, and on to the village of Leusa. Magnificent scenery, around 6/7 hours' walking and few difficulties. But the trail is not very well signposted. Information at the Gjirokastra tourist office and/or at the Duli Guest House in Sheper.

Borsh beach is 5 km long and yet relatively uncrowded. It is often photographed, with its donkeys and cows roaming freely on the sand or its bunker elements submerged by the waves. It is accessible from the village via paths through the olive groves. The southern part of the beach, called Qazim Pali, is inhabited year-round and can be reached by a small road from the village of Piqeras (3.5 km). Heading south towards Saranda on the SH8, shortly before the village of Lukova, you'll find Bunec beach (11.5 km from Borsh).

Arrëz/Arrëza (approx. 100 inhabitants) lies south of Dardha, close to the Greek border, at an altitude of 1,030 m above sea level. The village is linked to Dardha by a carriage road (11 km) and by a new road from Miras (to the east). We recommend walking to the village via Sinica, 4 km east of Dardha. This makes for a fairly easy 15.2 km loop (approx. 4h30). On the way, through the forests, you'll come across the Sinica waterfall, bunkers, fountains, the Devoll river and an ancient Bektashi shrine (Vakëfi i Dobërgorës).

Created in 2018 by a team of experienced mountaineers and pilots from Slovenia, Italy, Croatia and Germany, this agency offers instructor-led off-piste skiing and drops you off by helicopter in the Albanian Alps from Valbona in winter: in the Valbona valley, but also in those of Grbaja, in Kosovo, or Cijevna and Ropojana, in Montenegro. The flights are short (4 to 10 minutes), the ski descents can be very long (1,800 m) and the prices are sky-high (€9,000/person for 5 days' skiing and 6 nights' accommodation).

Albania's best address for horseback excursions. All year round, day trips (1h to 3h, every day in summer, and weekends out of season). But the best are the 8 to 10-day treks with bivouacs in the Drin, Zagoria and Vjosa valleys, or along the "Albanian Riviera". They also offer guided walking tours, 4 x 4 excursions and themed holidays (wine and poetry, mountain art and tea, etc.).

This Berat-based rafting agency is the best in terms of safety. It offers rafting, kayaking (June-November) and white-water swimming trips down the Vjosa, as well as excursions on foot to the Lengarica canyon and the Sopoti waterfall. Hiking and rafting depart from Hotel Alvero in Përmet. Kayaking departs from Peshtan (29 km to the north-west). White-water swimming (between May and June) departs from Këlcyra (18 km to the north-west).

Created in 2017 with support from the European Union, this cross-border network of mountain bike trails stretches across the Korab and Deshat massifs, between the municipality of Dibra (Peshkopi), in Albania, and Mavrovo National Park, in Northern Macedonia. The "Mavrovo-Rotuse and Dibër Trails Maps" leaflet is available from the office or on the Peshkopi tourist office website. From Peshkopi, you can reach Žirovnica in North Macedonia via a pass at an altitude of 2,000 m by following trails HT14-DI (13 km) and MTB1-DI (6.6 km) and MTB9-MR (13 km).

This zip line(zipline in English and Albanian) connects Petrela, 260 m above sea level, to the hamlet of Mullet, 150 m away, with a 1,230 m-long cable that passes over the River Erzen. The descent takes about a minute and costs 2,000 leks. It's done at 50-60 km/h with a gondola and helmet. Pretty cool. But contrary to what is advertised, this is not "the longest zip line in the Balkans". At least fifteen others on the peninsula are longer, including Krk in Croatia (2,400 m).

This network of 495 km of marked trails stretches between Kosovo, Albania and Northern Macedonia, from the Šar Mountains(Scardus in Latin) to Lake Ohrid via the Great Korab. It was created in 2017 by the German agency GIZ and the Austrian association Trail Angels, which specializes in eco-responsible hiking. On the official website (beware, there's a fake site: highscardus.com), you'll find detailed itineraries, accommodation options and prices for self-guided and guided tours.

Below the village is Dhërmi beach, followed by Dhrale beach. Further north, Drymades beach boasts hotels, bars, restaurants and three campsites. To get there, take a small dirt road halfway between the old village and the tourist village. The road winds through olive groves for almost 3 km before miraculously leading to a vast, secluded sandy beach. Finally, even further north, 8 km from Dhërmi, lies the magnificent, windier Palasa beach.

This aquatic center is the largest in the capital. Well placed, near the artificial lake of the Grand Parc, it is nevertheless noisy (very loud music), some facilities are sometimes closed or poorly maintained and access to the large slides is not free. But it's a small miracle that such a place exists in Albania. Here you'll find one of the country's few Olympic-sized pools (50 m long, 8 lines, etc.). The complex's bar-restaurant is a nice touch.

This resort (Ski-Pista Bigëll) has just two lifts (a pull-up and a conveyor belt) and 1,300 meters of pistes, located between 1,585 and 1,663 meters above sea level. Established in 2008, it is the only true ski resort in Albania. Discovering this resort is mostly a matter of curiosity, as there's little point in skiing here: once you're at the top of the slope, you enjoy a 2-minute run and then that's it. What's more, it's completely packed at weekends in winter. There's also a decent restaurant on site, open all year round.

Rock Tirana is the only climbing gym in Albania. You can go there for a session or for lessons, and the complete equipment can be rented on site. The facilities are a little outdated (importing replacement holds is very expensive for this small structure), but it's a good way to meet climbing enthusiasts here. The staff also organize outings to various sites around the country, sometimes in collaboration with the association Protection et préservation de l'environnement naturel en Albanie (Protection and preservation of the natural environment in Albania).

Moscopole's churches are well signposted and can be explored along two marked trails of 4 and 10 km. In addition to the churches of St. Athanasius and St. Nicholas and the monastery of St. John the Baptist, you can visit the Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God (Kisha e Shën Mërisë), with frescoes dating from 1712, and the Church of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel (Kisha e Shën Mëhillit), whose frescoes dating from 1722 have been badly vandalized. The village also boasts 2 beautiful bridges: the Shën Premte ("Sainte-Parascève") bridge and the Kovaçi ("Blacksmith") bridge.

Located in Turan, on the SH 63 towards Moscopole, the "House of Horses" complex includes an equestrian center, a hotel with swimming pool (the ten rooms are spacious and well-equipped) and a fine restaurant run by brothers Elton and Hilmi Myrtollari. But the main attraction is the horseback riding organized by Hilmi, a former professional rider from Greece. You can choose to sign up for 2-3 hour rides, or for two or three days at Moscopole, for example.