LEUSA CHURCH

This beautiful Orthodox church dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God (Kisha e Shën Mërisë) is one of the largest in southern Albania. Hidden in a forest at the entrance to the village of Leusa, it can be reached on foot in 25 minutes from Përmet. Built in the ^18th century on the site of a ^6th-century Byzantine church, it is covered in slate and features superb ^{early-19th-century} frescoes. The guardians live in a house to the right of the site entrance and ensure that visitors are properly dressed.