Travel Guide Cerkovica

Cerkovica/Cerkovicë (pronounced "tserkovitsa"/"tserkovitseu"), or Τσερκοβίτσα/Tserkovitsa in Greek, has around 200 inhabitants and is part of the Finiq municipality (population 9,000), within the Vlora district. The village lies 22 km southeast of Mesopotam, 30 km southeast of Saranda and 37 km northeast of the archaeological site of Butrint. No connection by minibus.Welcome to one of the wildest corners of Albania! We're here on the edge of Greece, in the beautiful, historic region of Theologos, populated exclusively by the Greek minority. Situated at an altitude of 372 m and dominated by the Isauros/Kazanja (1,296 m) to the north and Siedenikos/Shendenikut (1,615 m) to the east, the village of Cerkovica is crossed by the Theologos river. Its Slavic name means "place of churches". Indeed, around Cerkovica there are some forty post-Byzantine churches. The region benefits from European Union support for the development of cross-border tourism, but many inhabitants have emigrated to Greece and most of the historic buildings are derelict. Accommodation is scarce and paved roads are almost non-existent. We advise you to come by 4 x 4, as the only roads connecting the pretty surrounding villages are passable. You can continue off-road eastwards to join the SH 4 road, which leads to the border post of Kakavia (26 km to the northeast) or to Gjirokastra (60 km to the north).