Keep exploring

Before we finish, here’s a short aside to mention a few other places of interest that couldn’t be included in the itinerary. You can extend your visit in Gjirokastër itself by discovering the Zekate House, a large nineteenth-century Ottoman residence open to visitors, which offers a clear picture of traditional architecture and the lifestyle of wealthy families of the time. Just outside the city, many remarkable sites are easy to reach. About fifteen kilometres to the east lies Antigonea, an ancient city founded in the third century BC by Pyrrhus of Epirus, where fortification walls, paved streets and wide views over the Drino Valley still reflect Hellenistic urban planning. To the south-west, around thirty-five kilometres away, the Syri i Kaltër, or Blue Eye, is famous for the intense blue colour of its powerful karst spring, set in a cool, wooded landscape. Closer by, the village of Labovë e Kryqit is home to one of Albania’s most important Byzantine churches, dedicated to the Dormition, and offers a glimpse of traditional rural life. In a quiet natural setting, the Ottoman bridge of Ali Pasha recalls the old routes linking the valleys of southern Albania, while the Zagoria region to the north-east attracts visitors with its mountain villages, stone bridges and hiking-friendly landscapes. Further south, Progonat marks the entrance to the Kurvelesh massif, an area of pastures and remote villages where pastoral traditions are still very much alive. To the north, Tepelenë stands at the meeting point of several valleys and is closely associated with the figure of Ali Pasha of Tepelena. To the west stretches the Vjosa Valley, one of the last great wild rivers in Europe, known for its preserved environment and rich biodiversity, while the village of Hormovë, more discreet, remains a place of memory linked to the region’s turbulent history at the end of the Ottoman period. Finally, to the east of Gjirokastër, the Lunxhëri mountains offer wide panoramas, hiking trails and perched villages, revealing a quieter and more untouched side of Albania. Taken together, these places form a rich and varied region where history, nature and traditions can all be discovered just a short distance from the city, and they give you more than enough reasons to stay a little longer.