Gjirokaster Tours

Albania Rafting offer the best albanian trip on the Vjosa River, one of Europe’s last free-flowing rivers, is a class II rafting with some rapids of class III . Prepare for waves up to four feet and narrow passages that send the boat shimmying and water gushing over the sides. Vjosa river’s entire 270km course is wild and untamed and adorned with beautiful canyons, braided river sections, islands and oxbows. Meeting point – Hotel Alvero Permet In Alvero hotel our guide will meet you and after all the group is together you will go to our rafting center 10 min far from Alvero hotel.After the wearings of all the rafting equipments our minivan will pick you up and bring in the starting point onli 35 min from our base. Length of rafting trip Transportation Permet– Vjosa river – Permet 1 – 1,5 hours Preparation, instructions and downriver 2,5 - 3,5 hours Optional tour River hiking in Lengarica Canyon and Thermal Baths of Benja (35 Eur/person)

Decked with mountains, rivers, canyons, villages and churches, the Permët region makes a wonderful base to explore Albania’s natural wonders. Experience them on a horseback riding trip, with snacks and 4WD transfers from the meeting point. While the exact route will vary according to your group’s abilities, most will follow the Lengarica Canyon with its ancient bridges and lovely hills, and wrap up with a visit to the thermal baths.

You will find the landscape very interesting, changing and a bit challenging. It mixes small hills with wide valleys, waters, rare vegetation, livestock atmosphere and the charm of the rural life. Cold war bunkers can be seen along the way. Cini's lake will be an attractive stop for pictures and for the storytelling about this area. You should book this tour to meet a special horse. The horses used on this ride (Albanian horses) are a local breed, a mix of Tarpan and Arab horses. They are small but perfectly suited to the rocky terrain, being surefooted and accustomed to trekking long mountainous routes, allowing riders to feel confident, relaxed and free to enjoy the stunning views. Our horses are easy to ride and are used to riders from all over the world, in long and shorter trails. You should book this tour for the adventure, the rhythm and adrenaline. Our guides are professional and passionate aiming to keep the harmony among humans, horses and nature.

In this tour you will have the opportunity to discover some of the magic of the city by visiting the medieval Bazaar, the highlight of the city the Argjiro Castle and also one of the best preserved houses the Zekate House. We start at Cerciz Topulli square with our local guide, continuing towards the Old Bazaar stopping at the Neck of Bazaar, where we also meet some of the artisans of the town, working with old methods, and head towards the Castle. An old castle 2.5 hectares, full of history, tragedy and legends which the local guide will explain you. You`ll be 330 meters above the sea level, enjoying breathtaking views of Gjirokastra, the typical tower houses, covered with grey stone, usually two or three floors. The last stop is the Zeakte house which was a gift by Ali Pasha Tepelena for his accountant Beqir Zeko. The aim of this tour is for you to experience the unique, magical and friendly atmosphere of Gjirokastra, not just to see the most popular tourist attractions.

Rafting in the crystal clean waters of the Vjosa River will give you an unforgetable and very unique experience since its one of the last wild rivers in Europe.

You can not speak about Gjirokastra without enjoying its traditional typical food. It will be a unique experience making your mouth water and bringing back your appetite. Their tastes are similar to the preparation of centuries-old recipes which you will find and prepare instantly while you are in Gjirokastra, in addition you will taste a meal that you have just learnt to prepare.

Design and create your own piece of art in wood and take it home as a souvenir or a gift for your loved ones!

We will explore the unknown part of Gjirokaster, the magic of the town that every tourist skips. We start from “Cerciz Topulli Square” and head towards The “Old Bazaar”. It is the first neighborhood outside the castle and lies along beneath the its walls. The characteristic cobblestone the orthodox church and some of the oldest houses are the most beautiful elements. After passing the stream of Nanxa (where they are building a new street), we reach the neighborhood of “Cfaka”. Here we will pass by some first monument category houses, a rebuild mosque and then reach the last neighborhood “Dunavat” where we will find a tekke of the Bektashi Order. It is a beautiful combination of Nature and old houses before arriving to “Ali Pasha Bridge”, a remaining of the aqueduct build more than 200 years ago to bring water to the castle. It takes approximately 3 hrs and you should be prepared to walk on a not so comfortable terrain. So put on your sneakers and join us to this back in time trip.

During the tour you will have an one of a kind time travelling experience. It will be focused on the less visible sides to visitors. True stories, facts and confenssions will take you to the most dark times of the Albanian history. It will be possible to explain the main concepts that were created and that were strongly injected into the population, such as “The concept of the young man” and whatever this means in the concept of Albanian society, the dictatorship of the proletariat, the ideology of school and art, the way of life of people in the city and in the village. We will have an explanation of how these concepts were applied by the regime of the time in Albania. All these will be taken from photos preserved as facts and taken from the archives of Gjirokastra families.

Learn the secrets behind your favorite dishes of Gjirokaster with this 2-hour cooking class in Gjirokastra. Led by your local guide, step inside a traditional tavern, sip on a glass of raki or homemade wine and try your hand at some traditional food, using fresh, local ingredients. Then sit down to savor the fruits of your labor with your fellow chef. Numbers are limited to 10 to keep the experience as intimate as possible.

THIS IS THE ONLY LITERATURE TOUR IN ALBANIA. It will be lead by experts in the field of literature or by well-known critics. It introduces untold and unwritten stories seen by a local prospective. This tour impresses participants with Ismail Kadare's childhood, memories and influences. He wrote those books because he lived in such an interactive and controversial environment. All the stops of this walk can attach his readers with the starting point of his early writings. We offer unique local characters and their unknown lives for the visitors, characters that inspired Kadare to describe "secrets" from his angle of the world. This is a tour not only about literature but also about history, architectures, war, co-living, facts and thoughts. The way this tour engages your mind introducing quotes from Kadare's books is deep and thrilling. You understand that Kadare's books aren't just ordinary literature.

We meet at Cerciz Topulli square, where you join with your host and walk over to one of the oldest neighbourhoods, “Pazar i Vjeter” to meet Marjeta and her husband. We begin the class with a glass of raki or a soft drink while chatting with your group mates. The food we are going to prepare is a vegetarian menu, and under the guidance of Marjeta we will learn three dishes. The first one is called “Qofte bobollaqe” consisting mainly on yogurt, the traditional “Qifqis” found only in Gjirokaster and consisting mainly on rice and the desert called “Hasude”. All these three are accompanied by the salad of the season Marjeta has already prepared for you. After all the hard work, sit down with your group to savor each of your dishes. Pair your menu with a complimentary glass of wine, raki, or a soft drink and have a nice chat while you eat. Your cooking class will conclude after the meal. Cheers and Bon appetite!

In this experience you have the opportunity to dress up in the traditional costumes of the southern region and have one hour to walk up around the bazaar and shoot your best memories. Have a small chat with Elida Zhulati, our Artisan of the traditional costumes and learn a bit more about our intangible heritage. Then dress up in those costumes and get the attention of every visitor in the town while walking on them in the bazaar. You can also order yours and we ship it to your home after we sew it for you.

We at Cerciz Topulli Square, jump into one of our unique off-road vehicles and head towards the villages of Valare, Shen Thodher and Erind. We will than climb to the field of Cajupi to stop at a luxurious shepherds hut where we can have a shepherds style breakfast. At this point we have the opportunity to enjoy the wonderful sight and shoot magnificent pictures. We will restart the trip now through Zagoria and our next stop will be an abandoned bridge dating back in 1777. Another great place to rest cool down and then hop in the cars again towards the Holy Apostles church in Hoshteve with breathtaking paintings inside. The lunch stop will be at Policani village where we will enjoy the bio products of the region. After lunch head towards the waterfall of Selcka, an unbelievable “swimming pool”, as our last stop for a day to remember. Choose us and spend a unforgettable day in the surroundings of Gjirokaster with a mix of nature history and characteristic food. You are welcome

Therapeutic art is a unique technique for revitalizing the mind and soul through creativity and expression of emotions. We offer an ART opportunity to communicate and explore new, perhaps unfamiliar aspects, of your personality. Doodles is the embodiment of free art, inside the lines, but at the same time outside the frames. It is a method of meditation. Through repetition it stimulates concentration and hypnotizes you to another spiritual level by adding colors, to your emotions. Inspired by local motifs, you will decide with your coach the design to be drawn. This experience will be a long-term art and tea therapy option. It will teach you techniques that you might use in the future.

In this trip we will explore the unknown part of Gjirokaster, the magic of the town that every tourist skips. We start from the center of the old town the “Cerciz Topulli Square” and head towards The “Old Bazaar” which is not a Bazaar anymore. This is the first neighborhood outside the walls of the castle and lies along beneath the Castle walls. The characteristic cobblestone and some of the oldest houses are the most beautiful elements of this neighborhood. After passing the “Zerzebili” bridge, we reach another ancient neighborhood in town called “Cfaka”. Here we will pass some old houses which are first monument category and also a tekke which belongs to the Bektashi Order. It is a beautiful combination of Nature, many sheep on top of hills, and old houses to arrive in our last destination, the “Ali Pasha Bridge”.