The preparation of the trip to the Albanian mountains.
Here we’re going to share all the information we’re gathering to prepare this exciting journey so that everyone who’s thinking about discovering this beautiful part of the world that is Albania can serve.
We would appreciate any information and help to complement everything we have put together on this website, making it easier for future canyoning explorations and trips.
So, if you want to provide information, please contact us!
Faleminderit for leximin!
The Albanian Canyoning Guide Book
Why this trip?
Months ago, the Albanian Canyoning guide that Guillaume Coquin published in 2020 fell into our hands, and after having traveled there for tourism in 2018, in 2021 we planned to travel there to discover the possibilities of canyoning and to trace with our feet what our eyes have so far traced in the pages of this guide.
NEW ALBANIA CANYONING guide book
As a result of numerous years of explorations and growing canyoning activity in this balkan country, a new updated canyoning guide has appeared covering the entire country.
With texts in English, you’ll find 49 main canyons plus 35 secondary descents, with useful information about the equipment of the descents, all grouped by prefecture.
The guide includes 33 canyon topos, 48 maps and photos. In addition, it details the height, length, ropes, time of the routes, and GPS coordinates of the entrances and exits of the canyons.
Undoubtedly the most complete guide for lovers of canyoning and Shqipëria.
The Albanian Canyons on a map
In order to make planning a trip to Albania easier, we have tried to locate the canyons listed on the map below.
Bookmark colors indicate:
Yellow – Alpine / discovery canyon
Red – Canyons from which we have only a few references
Green – Canyon listed as the most interesting in the area
Blue – Parking or access to a “minor” canyon
Topographic maps of Albania
It is not easy to find good maps of the country of the eagles, in our trip in 2018 the only map we found in the country is the one published by Vektor (www.vektor.al) and can also be purchased through internet, but which are limited to a series of six maps comprising very limited areas.
We also reached the Geospatial.com portal via the internet, where it seems that they have the only topographic maps of Albania that cover the whole country, the well-known K-34 series from the time of the Soviet Union. However, it is a very expensive option, as they only have paper maps at a rate of $ 39.9 per unit, and there can be a hundred!
Finally, these maps can also be obtained in digital format on the mapstor.com portal, where they also include the georeferenced files to be able to work the maps with programs such as Land, CompeGPS and thus be able to use them as a basis for to generate tracks and waypoints, really the best option.
We are grateful to Ruben del Rio for making it easier for us, it really took almost a whole day to get rid of the entanglement of all this and although the maps have all the toponyms in Cyrillic, they are a very good starting point to plan the trip.
Canyoning in Albania, the precedents
There have been many expeditions to Albania today to explore the possibilities for our sport. The first precedent that we find coming from Spain is the 2010 expedition that is explained in the Xankleteando blog (LINK in spanish).
Some videos found on the networks of other canyoners and their experiences in Shqipëria
LIST OF KNOWN CANYONS IN ALBANIA
In the following table we reproduce the descents mentioned in the guide Canyoning in Albania, the culprit of this project, as well as other ravines from which we can collect information during the preparation of our trip.
| Interès | Aprox | Descens | Retorn | Corda | Shuttle | Guia Antiga | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shkodër | Cemit | 2.5 | 5' | 2h | 20' | 12 | 2.5 | |
| Shkodër | Grencarit | 2.5 | 0.0 | 40' | 30' | 10 | 1.5 | |
| Shkodër | Lugu i Volsit | 2.5 | 50' | 3h | 15' | 45 | 10.5 | |
| Shkodër | Shilapit | 2.5 | 1h30' | 3h30' | 30' | 80 | - | |
| Gusinje | Grlja | 4.0 | - | 1h45' | - | 25 | 3.0 | |
| Shkodër | Grunasit | 3.0 | 1h30' | 4h | 30' | 52 | - | |
| Shkodër | Cam Dedaj | 3.0 | 50' | 3h | 20' | 27 | - | |
| Shkodër | Nikes | 2.5 | 1h20' | 2h | 30' | 24 | - | |
| Shkodër | Bobit | 3.5 | 1h10' | 6h | 1 a 4 h | 55 | 2.0 | |
| Shkodër | Pepajve | 3.0 | 15' | 2h30' | 1 a 4 h | 16 | 3.5 | |
| Kukës | Milloshit | 2.5 | 1h30' | 2h30' | - | 32 | - | |
| Kukës | Brisës | 3.0 | 30' | 3h | 1h | 34 | - | |
| Kukës | Shizës | 2.0 | 50' | 1h30' | - | 20 | - | |
| Shkodër | Pajës | 1.5 | 20' | 1h30' | - | 35 | - | |
| Gusinje | Belicki Potok | 2.0 | 5' | 2h | 30' | 12 | - | |
| Shkodër | Menollave | 1.5 | 25' | 1h | 1h15' | 45 | - | |
| Shkodër | Lumi i Thethi | 1.5 | - | 1h | 20' | 25 | - | |
| Shkodër | Bjeshkes | 1.5 | 20' | 2h | - | 30 | - | |
| Shkodër | Celave | 1.5 | 20' | 2h | - | 30 | - | |
| Shkodër | Abatit | 0.5 | - | - | - | 15 | - | |
| Shkodër | Hasanaj | 0.4 | - | - | - | 15 | - | |
| Shkodër | Norrit Afluent | 2.5 | - | 5h | 30' | 40 | - | |
| Shkodër | Shpendëve | 1.5 | - | 1h | 20' | 25 | - | |
| Kukës | Valbona (Riu) | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Kukës | Bardhe | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Kukës | Bicaj | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Dibër | Zalli i Pirës | 3.0 | 25' | 2h30' | 10' | 12 | 1.3 | 104 |
| Dibër | Ndërshenës | 2.5 | 5' | 4h | 5' | 50 | 6.5 | |
| Dibër | Setës | 2.0 | 1h15' | 1h30' | 15' | 15 | - | |
| Dibër | Lumi i Setës | 2.5 | - | 4h | - | - | - | |
| Dibër | Daznjanës | 1.5 | 30' | 1h15' | - | 16 | - | |
| Dibër | Qafa e Ndërshenës | 2.0 | 30' | 45' | - | 15 | - | |
| Dibër | Urakës | 3.0 | 20' | - | - | 25 | - | 106 |
| Tiranë | Samodea / Shëngjergji | 2.5 | 40' | 2h | 15' | 36 | 9.6 | |
| Tiranë | Zallit Të Korrës / Grika e Murdharit | 3.0 | 1h30' | 2h15' | - | 12 | - | 92 |
| Tiranë | Erzenit | 2.5 | 1h | 2h | 25' | 12 | - | 96 |
| Tiranë | Terkuzës / Bovilla | 2.0 | - | 1h30' | 20' | 12 | - | 100 |
| Durrës | Vajës / Droja | 2.5 | - | 2h | 35' | 12 | 4.5 | 98 |
| Durrës | Gryka e Zëze | 2.0 | 45' | 1h | 5' | 16 | - | 100 |
| Lezë | Shutreies | 2.0 | - | 1h30' | - | 25 | - | 106 |
| Lezë | Plocka | 1.0 | 1h | 30' | 15' | 20 | - | 100 |
| Elbasan | Garës | 3.0 | 45' | 2h30' | 5' | 30 | 8.0 | 86 |
| Elbasan | Shushices | 3.0 | - | 2h45' | 1h | 15 | - | 82 |
| Elbasan | Vlides | 2.5 | 20' | 1h45' | 45' | 15 | - | 80 |
| Elbasan | Arcovës | 4.0 | 45' | 1h30' | 50' | 15 | 4.2 | 78 |
| Elbasan | Holtit / Holta | 4.0 | - | 3h30' | - | 20 | 15.0 | 74 |
| Elbasan | Gjëzerzë | 3.0 | 1h40' | 4h | - | 40 | - | 72 |
| Elbasan | Qanol | 2.0 | 1h | 1h15' | 40' | 20 | - | 88 |
| Elbasan | Kushes | 1.0 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Elbasan | Kopacit | - | - | - | - | 20 | - | |
| Elbasan | Sinecit | 1.0 | - | - | - | - | - | 68 |
| Berat | Sotirasi | 2.5 | 50' | 1h30' | 10' | 25 | - | |
| Berat | Lacistit | 2.5 | 50' | 1h45' | 5' | 60 | - | |
| Berat | Dobrushës / Bogove | 3.5 | 1h | 5h | 10' | 60 | - | 68 |
| Berat | Çorovodës | 3.5 | 40' | 4h30' | 15' | 15 | 16.0 | |
| Berat | Fakekuki | 2.5 | 15' | 1h30' | 25' | 10 | 2.6 | |
| Berat | Bigasit | 2.5 | - | 1h15' | 30' | 30 | 2.0 | 64 |
| Berat | Prishtes / Blezenckë | 3.0 | - | 1h15 | 45' | 45 | 2.0 | 66 |
| Berat | Kanioni Gradeci | 4.0 | 45' | 5h | 15' | 20 | si | 56 |
| Berat | Thelle | - | - | - | - | 40 | - | 68 |
| Berat | Ari | 1.0 | 30' | 1h30' | 2 a 4h | 40 | si | 58 |
| Berat | Radeshit | 2.0 | - | 1h45' | 15' | 30 | - | |
| Berat | Kade | 1.5 | - | - | - | 50 | - | |
| Berat | Zogasit | 2.0 | 10' | 1h | 45' | 70 | - | 60 |
| Berat | Kalanjasit | 2.0 | - | 1h | 1h | 90 | 1.0 | 62 |
| Berat | Boronecit | - | - | - | - | 20 | - | |
| Korcë | Çarçovës | 3.5 | 15' | 2h30' | 20' | 30 | 5.0 | 20 |
| Korcë | Virkës | 1.5 | 15' | 40' | 15' | 10 | - | |
| Vlorë | Gjipe | 2.0 | - | 2h | 1h15' | 15 | - | 50 |
| Gjirokastër | Babos | 2.5 | - | 2h | 45' | 30 | 3.5 | 22 |
| Gjirokastër | Lengaricës | 2.5 | - | 2h30' | - | - | 9.0 | |
| Gjirokastër | Benjës | 3.0 | 50' | 2h | 20' | 20 | - | 24 |
| Gjirokastër | Frasherit | 2.0 | 10' | 2h | 50' | 40 | - | 28 |
| Gjirokastër | Lomincës | 2.0 | 1h10' | 1h30' | 20' | 30 | - | 30 |
| Gjirokastër | Hotovës | 3.0 | 1h20' | 2h | 1h30' | 30 | - | |
| Gjirokastër | Vagalatit | 3.0 | 25' | 2h45' | 50' | 30 | - | 32 |
| Gjirokastër | Zephë | - | 50' | 2h | 50' | 20 | - | |
| Gjirokastër | Nemercka | 1.5 | 1h | 1h | 1h | 40 | - | 34 |
| Tepelenë | Vinjes | 2.5 | 10' | 5h | 1h30' | 80 | 26.0 | |
| Tepelenë | Ademit | 3.5 | - | 5h | 1h30' | 90 | 25.0 | 42 |
| Tepelenë | Kozica | 3.0 | - | 6h | 1h30' | 70 | 21.0 | 46 |
| Tepelenë | Gjikelës | 2.5 | 10' | 4h | 1h30' | 60 | 19.0 | 47 |
| Tepelenë | Gurës | 3.5 | - | 7h | 1h30' | 60 | 13.0 | 38 |
| Tepelenë | Bënçës | 2.0 | 20' | 7h | 1h | 50 | si | 47 |
| Tepelenë | Kolibaq | 1.5 | - | 3h | - | 32 | 21.0 | 47 |
Gjipe Canyon
