Travel Guide Leskovik

Leskovik/Leskoviku has a population of around 1,500 and is part of the municipality of Kolonja, within the Korça district. The village lies 36 km northwest of Konitsa (Greece), 44 km south of Erseka and 49 km southeast of Permët. Two minibuses a day between Gjirokastra and Korça.Dominated by Mount Gramos, this village at 913 m a.s.l. boasts a number of cafés, restaurants and shops, as well as a gas station. It was once a bustling little town, with up to 10,000 Greek, Aromanian, Bulgarian and Albanian inhabitants in 1910. Most of the population emigrated to Greece in the 1990s. Leskovik is marked by a charmless Communist architecture, but is nevertheless a pleasant town with a few old houses in the upper part. Today populated by Albanian Bektashis, Orthodox and Sunnis, the village was founded by Bulgarians in the 8th century and retains a Slavic name meaning "hazelnut river". It was an important partisan base during the Greek Civil War (1946-1949). Leskovik remained isolated from nearby Greece until the creation of the Tre Urat-Mertziani border post in 2002. The SH 75 road to Përmet is difficult. But after 15 km, it offers beautiful scenery, with the Hotova-Dangëll Fir National Park on one side and the Vjsoa National Park on the other. The Vjsoa is spanned by impressive footbridges for shepherds and their flocks, such as the one at Zhepa, 17 km south-west of Leskovik.