This tour, is different from the others, a bit out of the proposed classic routes will immerse you in an unusual and unknown Albanian also to many Albanians. It will take you to the south of Albania on the border with Greece and Macedonia in a truly spectacular green valley in a small town called Permet (Permet is a small town located in the south of Albania, on the banks of the Vjosa river, in a valley of great beauty: from here you can reach the Redhi i Hotovës National Park, and immerse yourself in its forests, visiting the canyons and historic sites such as the ancient Ottoman bridges and the Orthodox monasteries, but also immerse yourself in one of the thermal baths enjoying the natural corollary.
Permet is a little known place, this is perhaps its fortune. The tourists who arrive are fascinated by this place and above all by its uncontaminated nature.)
We will take you with short walks on dirt paths, headlands and cobblestones visiting small groups of houses some of which are not supplied with electricity to introduce you to the locals, their customs and their daily life.
You will visit the ancient religious structures and public use lost in the green, you will immerse yourself in the warm thermal waters, and you will enter a canyon in an adventure that you will always remember, especially the night spent in the tent embraced by the high banks of the canyon (alternative hotel accommodation).
You will then be able to taste some local dishes, here in Albania the food and wine is enhanced by natural products – organic fruits and vegetables, but also from fine wines (from the native grapes of the white Debine, with its highly organic products, we will taste some of the most famous dishes including the ‘Tave Dheu and Kosi’, the oven-baked or spit-roasted kid, the famous and delicious ‘Byrek’, the delicious ‘Kos’ cheese, the white ‘Feta’ cheese and the salted sheep butter and then the liquid yogurt, but also desserts such as Bakllava, Kadaif and Ballokume but especially in Permet the very famous Gliko here is a true local tradition, a whole fruit compote that is produced in families and served as a welcome to guests usually accompanied by a teke(small glass) of raki the local alcohol made by grapes but also of blackberries, you will warm up with the mountain tea, which the expert hands of the mountain women gather in places not very accessible.
Program
1st day
Arrival at Tirana airport in the afternoon, where there will be our guide who will take you to Permet, passing through Kelcyre with a short stop at his falls.
Arrival in Permet.
Accommodation in hotel– We’ll walk through the city: in characteristic neighborhoods, we will visit a typical Permet house.
Dinner in a restaurant with traditional cuisine and overnight in a hotel in Permet.
2nd day
Breakfast at hotel.
Departure from the hotel to reach the workshop where the Gliko (traditional gastronomic product of Permet) is handmade produced.
Here it will be possible to see live the way it’s made it, then taste and buy Gliko.
Return to Permet and lunch in a restaurant.
In the afternoon we will go to Kelcyra and Baxho (Kuqar), in these places cheese, salted butter and other dairy products are produced in the particular traditional way of the area.
In the late afternoon return to Permet and dinner in a traditional restaurant.
Overnight at Hotel.
3rd day
Breakfast at hotel.
Departure by car to the area of Benje village located about 8 km from Përmet, visit of the village of Benje, from here you can enjoy a wonderful view on the ridge of Trebeshine-Dhembel-Nemercke, during this journey on the path we will go in a truly spectacular valley with hot waters at about 28 degrees and where you can immerse yourself in one of the six natural pools that collect it (according to the locals the water that flows from every small lake has some peculiarities curative for skin diseases, bones, stomach), in the area there is the Ottoman bridge of Kati on the Lengarica stream that, before flowing into the river Vjosa, draws for miles a magnificent Canyon that can be visited during the summer season.
From here we will proceed with the trekking in the canyon of Lengarica where it will be possible to go inside the canyon and get to the Dash bridge (a breathtaking place with 30 meters rocky walls and a maximum width of 15 meters); legend has it that the monks ascetics lived in these caves.
Weather allowing, it will be possible to see the “Cave of Pigeon“, a prehistoric settlement.
Arrived on a small beach in a creek of the stream inside the canyon, we will camp for the night in a tent (we provide a tent and a sleeping bag).
We will spend the night next to the fire listening to the absolute silence in nature, dining with cheese, byrek, fruit and many other delicious local cuisine. The first half of the route on dirt roads is relatively easy on a gravel road and the second half is a bit ‘more challenging (4 hours walk) in the canyon where we’ll have to cross the river several times so maybe we’ll wet our shoes (better provide for the evening in a tent a pair of slippers and socks so as not to stay with wet feet and clothes for the cool night of the canyon).
Packed lunch in Benje.
In case it is not possible or you do not want to proceed with the evening in a tent, the day will be rescheduled with a visit to the village of Benje, visit to a house to know how to live far from the modern world, with trekking to the area of ottoman bridge, bath in the thermal waters and access to the Lengarica canyon as far as possible safely, packed lunch and return in late afternoon at the hotel with dinner in the restaurant.
4th day
Return in the morning from the canyon and beautiful relaxing walk from the city of Permet from where you leave to get to the village of Leusë in just over an hour’s walk. Leusë is a small village a couple of kilometers from Përmet with pretty stone houses. Here is the church of Santa Maria, the oldest of the area dating back to about 400 years ago is home of true artistic gem of the Byzantine religious art, it has beautiful frescoes.
Packed lunch.
Return in the afternoon in Permet and free afternoon.
Overnight in hotel in Permet and dinner in a restaurant with traditional cuisine.
For those who have not done the night in a tent, then stay at the hotel the day begins with breakfast at the hotel and then proceeds as above mentioned.
5th day
Breakfast at the hotel, and transfer in the morning to the airport in Tirana to return.
End of service
THE QUOTES INCLUDE
–3 nights in a standard double room with services in Hotel in Permet. and 1 in a tent. Possible night in a substitute hotel with breakfast·
–4 breakfast buffets in the hotel;·
–4 dinners as scheduled in the hotel’s on-site restaurant (including water 0.33 l and 1 glass of wine or draft beer p.pax.) Coffee and bitters excluded.·
–4 packed lunches.
–Transport to and from Tirana airport by private car and / or minivan (depending on the number of participants). For other locations, a new quotation will be provided.·
–Tourist guide in Italian or English during the above-mentioned service hours, with good knowledge of the locations that we’ll visit.
THE QUOTES DO NOT INCLUDE:
-Ferry and flights to and from your country to Albania.
-Lunches, snacks or anything not mentioned above in the aforementioned program.
-Drinks at meals (except those mentioned in “the quotes include”).
-Drinks, snacks etc … during the tour.
-Medical insurance (obligatory)
-Personal extra and anything not expressly indicated under “the price includes”
-Single room.
-Tips.
STRUCTURE DESCRIPTION
Hotel in Permet 3 *. The hotel is located in the center of Përmet. It offers comfortable accommodation and quality services and a great breakfast buffet. The hotel has double rooms with TV, Wifi internet, air conditioning and bathroom. The restaurant is in the immediate vicinity.
EXTRA * A DAY TO VISIT TIRANA.
For those who want, it is possible to extend the tour by one day and visit the capital of Albania, Tirana.
Extra day – Transfer from Permet to Tirana with arrival scheduled for 11.00 am.
Our tour begins with a visit to the center of Tirana, to the Scanderberg square (Giorgio Castriota Scanderberg, the national hero who for twenty years resisted the invasion defending Albania and Europe and its Christian moral and religious values from the Turkish invasion- ottoman) symbolic place of the City (Ethem Bey Mosque, the Clock Tower) and the beautiful National Storic Museum located on the west side of the square.
Walk in the Taiwan park and boulevard ‘Deshmoret and Kombit’ (Pyramid of Enver Hoxha, Government Palace, Qemal Stafa Stadium). (Tirana, the capital of Albania, has almost one million inhabitants, almost a third of the entire Albanian population, a city of business excellence, a western city for the quality of life.
Nightlife is the same of any other European city, very different from all other Albanian cities, here it is spoken Italian and especially English). We will go to the Block (Blloku) former residential district of the Communist nomenclature, now a prestigious area of the city full of bars, restaurants and shops.
From 13:30 to 2:30 pm free time for lunch, shopping etc ..
In the afternoon visit to the great anti-atomic Bunker of the dictator Hoxha (BunkArt) with a photographic and educational path inside, a true example of the dictatorship to which the country was subjected for almost 50 years). The bunker is inside a military base, to enter it’s needed an authorization that we obviously have. We’ll go underground for seven floors, not claustrophobic sensations because the corridors are spacious and high and is well ventilated.
The visit lasts about 30/45 minutes.
Overnight in 3 * hotel in Tirana, dinner in restaurant included.
Next day breakfast at the hotel, and transfer in the morning to the airport in Tirana for return.-
** EXTRA RAFTING ON THE VJOSA RIVER / PERMET
It is possible for those who want to make the rafting excursion on the Vjosa river. You will experience awesome adrenaline, of course safely, in the crystal clear waters of the river, enjoying one of the most beautiful natural scenery in Albania.
A guide will assist you during all the preparations for the excursion.
The tour lasts 2- 3 hours, depending on the water level.
Lunch bag, Helmets and other things will be provided.
Difficulty level: III ° degree. Period: March – November
*** VISITS OF OTHER LOCALITIES OF SOUTH ALBANIA Other visits to places in South Albania are possible, such as: Gjirokaster, Saranda, Ksamil, Butrint, Apollonia and other locations for which an appropriate quotation will be given on the basis of the request.Any changes to the program are to be agreed in advance.
Recommended:
Minimal equipment and trekking clothing with towel, swimsuit, flashlight, water bottle, trekking poles, hat, trekking shoes and anything else that can be considered personally necessary for a trekking in mountain and one night in tents.
With the acceptance of the package and its participation, the Customer expressly dispense the Puravida Albania Sh.p.k. from any liability inherent and consequent to the activity carried out during the days of the aforementioned package / tour.
