Is your cycling holiday heading south-east next year? If so, there are more and more destinations to choose from these days. Croatia, Slovenia or Greece are familiar options. After watching the Netflix documentary 'Biking Borders', we became totally captivated by cycling in Albania. This Balkan country is known to many from the Eurovision Song Contest and UEFA qualifying competitions. This part of Europe often has to work a bit harder to get into the picture as a cycling destination. Unjustified as far as we are concerned. Albania offers many opportunities for a wonderful cycling holiday. The organisation Cycle Albania gave us some beautiful inspiration! Enjoy!
Douze Points!
We couldn't resist making this joke. After all, the link with Albania and the song contest is a familiar one. But as Max and Nono showed in Biking Borders: Albania offers so much more. For us Dutch, a cycling holiday will not immediately offer all the luxury we are used to. But is that a bad thing? It is often called 'managing expectations'. Because the luxury of a stay is usually not what you talk about for days to come. It is about the experience, the surroundings and that is more than a luxury hotel.
Gravel AND race
Ok, we'll get right to the point. This destination may be more suited to the gravel bike, but certainly don't underestimate the road bike possibilities. That's also the beauty of unknown Albania. If you descend to this Balkan country, at least keep in mind: it will be climbing anyway! For a cool and an almost unreal gravel adventure, also check out this blog by Lola Bikes and Coffee. We wanna go now.
UNESCO ROUTE
As mentioned, here we want to zoom in on the UNESCO route, as Cycle Albania offers. In 10 days, you make a round trip from the capital Tirana southwards and do an 'edge of Albania'. The route officially starts at the northern tip of beautiful Lake Orhid. You can brilliantly explore the area there. Admittedly, there are worse places to stay.
South into the mountains
From the south side of the lake, head towards Körçe via Pogradec. It is climbing here. First to a slightly higher mountain plateau, where a few hundred altitude metres are covered in a short time. Once in Körçe, which is known as the Paris of Albania, things take off quickly. The town of Körçe is definitely worth a stop. It is an important site for several religious movements.
Once out of the city, it heads to the mountains of Grammoz and the Bramash Pass, eventually ending up in Ersekë, Albania's highest city. It goes up and down in this stretch between Körçe and Sotirë, and in 72 kilometres you'll be over 1,100 altimeters. Das not nothing. You also ride through Albania's wine region here, so a delicious glass of the local red awaits at the end for those who love it.
Vjosa - Permet
It then continues undulating south via the Vjosa past Permet, which is known for its good cuisine and strong Raki (for those in the know: that's like Ouzo, so don't overdo it). It really is gorgeous here, with so much beautiful nature, high mountains, vistas and good local cuisine too. In Langarica you also have the thermal baths, where you can relax after the ride. what more could a person want?
Southern tip
Albania is neighbours with Greece to the south. You can also see the typical Greek landscape here. Because of its proximity to 'ancient' Greece, you also have beautiful old cities here, such as Gjirokastër, whose centre has UNESCO status. . This is perhaps the most beautiful 'museum' town in the country. After this, we come to the second UNESCO point on this route, in Butrint National Park. Here you will find Greek and Roman history together. It was even part of the Venetian empire as well. An interesting stop on this tour when cycling in Albania.
Corfu is not far away
By the sea, Greece is not far away, as the island of Corfu is quite prominent off the coast. For the last part of this UNESCO ride, we quickly dive back inland, towards Vlöre and Llogara National Park. There lies with yet a rammer of a climb. Pictures often say more than words can describe. We are already gearing up for a trip to this crazy part of the country. We said it before: Albania offers many opportunities for a wonderful cycling holiday!
Back home
It is truly incredible what you can see in this unknown cycling country. Albania has a lot more to offer besides this route through the south. A place to definitely come back to because honestly, if we had the choice, our 'douze points' really did go to Albania. Cycling in Albania is going to be the trend for years to come.
