Visit Berat, central Albania

Berat lies South of Tirana, the capital of Albania. It’s certainly a highlight of a visit to this region and a great place to use as a base when visiting central Albania. The historic centre is UNESCO listed and definitely worth a visit.

How to get there

Berat is 2-3 hours drive from Tirana. A bus costs 400 lek or you can take a furgon (minibus) for 500 lek.

Most visitors only stay 1 night but I would recommend 2 or 3 to visit the areas nearby.

Explore

Spend a bit of time exploring the two neighbourhoods either side of the Osumi River. Although the majority of the sites are on the North side, in Mangalem, the photo opportunities from Gorica on the South side are well worth it. The renowned thousand windows can be viewed across the river from various points and there is also a very good restaurant serving traditional dishes.

The cobbled streets lead to narrow alleys with many steps, so sensible shoes are a good idea.

Mangalem (north side), which is traditionally Muslim, is also where the old city area and mosque is located. The highlight is the castle or kala, which is the only remaining castle in Albania which is still lived in. It is more like a village inside castle grounds and is reasonably maintained, so a nice place to spend a few hours.

Although tourism is picking up in this area, due to its UNESCO status, the cost of things are still very reasonable. Many locals make and sell handicrafts around the castle area, and it’s really nice to see original items not mass produced. There seems to be a genuine pride and humbling feeling of just trying to earn a living.

Nearby:

Bogova waterfall

On our second day in Berat we ventured out to Bogova, hiking to the waterfall. This is a reasonably easy walk over a few wooden bridges and along the rocky path passing by large water pipes. Arriving at the falls, we had the place to ourselves, and could have gone for a nice swim in the plunge pool if we had known to bring our swim wear. However, even without taking a dip this is a lovely quiet place to sit and relax for a bit.

Osumi canyon

Popular for rafting, the canyon is 13km long and varies from 4-35 metres wide.

Cobo winery

Going against local recommendations we took a tour and tasting at the Cobo winery. There are apparently much better wineries to visit nearby, but Cobo is the most visited on the tourist trail.

A standard tasting is 2 whites and 2 reds, plus a shot of raki. The cheeses and olives which accompany the wines were pretty good and plentiful. We were once again lucky enough to be the only visitors there, it seems Albania in September is definitely at the end of the season, but I can imagine that peak season would be too hot even for wine tasting!

Don’t miss

Take a sunset xhiro (walk) along the boulevard. People watch, sip coffee and join the locals. It’s common practice in many Albania cities along the main pedestrian walking areas, and Berat has particularly great views from here.

When to visit

Anytime. Yes, there are reasons to visit Berat and Albania all year round, although of course it depends on what you want to do.

Personally I would recommend visiting in either May, when the days are generally sunny, or September once the heat of the summer is over. The end of October onwards is out of season and some what wet. Although this will be a quiet time to visit, there are still a few places open and you won’t see many other tourists.

Check out my post and Plan a visit to Albania before it changes.

If you don’t fancy travelling independently, a day trip to Berat with Good Albania with ensure an experience with locals. They offer some other great tour options around Albania as well.