Check Shkodra

Butrint, Albania

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Duration

10 Hours

Tour Type

Daily Tour

Group Size

53 people

Languages

Deutsch, English

Overview

Let’s start our day in Shkodra with a coffee and a croissant, at one of the typical Pastry Bar’s along the promenade of Kolë Idromeno street, packed with cafés, restaurants and boutiques.

Then we will walk toward the Ebu Bekr Mosque, which is the main Mosque and one of the most important in Shkodra. Near with the Mosque (3 minutes away by foot) we find the modern Orthodox Cathedral of the Nativity.
A symbol for the Albanian religious tolerance.
As we know Shkodra is the city of culture and arts, and this is confirmed by The Marubi National Museum of Photography, which is the only Museum dedicated completely to the art of photography, taken from the year 1858 by Pjetër Marubi. Also The Venice Art-Mask Factory, a must have experience if you’re passionate about handmade Venetian carnival masks.
We will continue our trip by the St. Stephen’s Catholic Cathedral, which was dedicated to Saint Stephan, the first Martyr of Christianity. During the Siege of Shkodra (1912–1913) the cathedral was damaged by the Montenegrin army, that’s why it was closed in 1967 and then reopened in 1990 after the renovation.

Before visiting the last attractions, we will take a break and stop by one of the traditional Restaurants in Shkodra to charge our body and stomach

Itinerary

The Rozafa Castle

The Rozafa Castle, the most beautiful fortress in Albania. This stunning building offers stunning views over the city and Lake Shkodra. It was founded by the Illyrians during antiquity and was later rebuilt by the Venetian and Turkish communities. Inside the castle, you can see the ruins of various structures and walls built by previous inhabitants.

Around afternoon, while going back to where the journey started, we’ll visit also The National History Museum of Shkodra, which was founded in 1949, based on collections gathered by the Jesuits and Franciscan monks at the end of the XIXth century, and also on private collections donated by different families of Shkodra.

Mes Bridge

A bridge in the village of Mes. For foreigners the architecture of the bridge is intriguing with round slick stones and stone plates. The surrounding panorama gives the bridge an even more picturesque view. It was built in the 18th century, around 1770, by Kara Mahmud Bushati, the local Ottoman pasha, and spans the Kir River. The building was divided in 2 phases where the first phase was only the middle arc and the arc near it and the second phase included the other 11 arches. The purpose was to connect the city of Shkodër with the city of Drisht and other cities of the northern side.

Ruins of Shurdhah Island

An island in northern Albania. Shurdhah Island is located in the Vau i Dejës Reservoir, which is fed and drained by the river Drin. It is the largest island in the reservoir with an area of 7.5 hectares. Shurdhah was founded between the 6th and 7th centuries. The town was strategically located on the old road from the Adriatic Sea to Dardania and served as a resting point along the trade route. The island was the original settlement of the feudal Lekë Dukagjini patriarch, famous for the rules of the Kanun. It was ravaged by the Ottomans in 1491. In 1973, when the dam was completed, the city of Shurdhah became an island on the left bank of the river Drin.

The Lake Skadar

The Lake Skadar lies on the border of Albania and Montenegro, and is the largest lake in Southern Europe. It is named after the city of Shkodër in northern Albania. It is a karst lake. The Montenegrin section has been designated as national park, while the Albanian section as a nature reserve.

The Lake Skadar system is a well-known hotspot of freshwater biodiversity and harbors a highly diverse mollusc fauna. Lake Skadar is one of the largest bird reserves in Europe, having 270 bird species, among which are some of the last pelicans in Europe. The lake also contains habitats of seagulls and herons.

Komani Lake

Komani Lake is a reservoir on the Drin River in northern Albania. Lake Koman is surrounded by dense forested hills, vertical slopes, deep gorges, and a narrow valley, completely taken up by the river. Besides the Drin, it is fed by the Shala and Valbona Rivers.

The Lake Koman Ferry operates daily on the lake from Koman to Fierza. The ferry connects the city of Bajram Curri to the region of Tropojë. The journey takes about two and a half hours and is also popular with the foreign tourists. Smaller boats bring people and goods to remote villages, which are often far away from the lake, but can only be reached by water.