Month: June 2020

The Monastery of Shen Vlash, or St Blaise, is located in the Shijak District of Durres. It comprises a number of white buildings with terracotta roofs, sprawled across one of the highest hills for miles around. I was lucky enough to be able to visit, thanks to the hospitality of Fr. Emanuel Lapanxa, his wife […]

Himare is a town in south Albania and is a part of Vlore County. A part of the Albanian Riviera, it is neighboured by Dhermi, Drymadhes, Borsh, Qeparo and various other small villages. A popular holiday destination it offers stunning beaches, history, wonderful food, and unsurpassed views. Roughly 3-4 hours drive from Tirana, it is […]

This year was supposed to be Albania’s year. After years of build up, appearing on several, prominent ‘must visit’ lists, and being designated the home of a number of impossibly cool music festivals, 2020 was set to be the best for tourism. Until the pandemic. Now, as we approach the middle of June, the beaches […]

Dreaming of visiting Albania? I don’t blame you, it’s beautiful. If you are planning a trip but you want to find out a bit more before you click “book”, I hope this will be the article to motivate you. It is impossible to condense everything Albania has to offer into just one article, or even […]

A photograph taken from outer space of Lake Shkodra has been featured on the NASA Earth Observatory website. The lake caught the attention of astronauts due to the way that sediments had formed in a spiral. These are caused by the flow of water from the various rivers that deposit into the lake. They could […]

Albania’s very first Terek Sandpiper has been spotted in the country, according to the Albanian Ornithological Society. What is a Terek Sandpiper, I hear you ask? Otherwise known as a Xenus cinerus, the Terek Sandpiper is a small wader bird and it takes its name from the Terek River that flows into the west Caspian […]