What historic sites can you visit around Himara?

The headline is the hilltop Himara Castle and its old town, fortified and lived in since around the 5th century BC. South along the coast are Porto Palermo Castle — the Ali Pasha fortress on its own peninsula (c. 1804) — and Borsh Castle, plus the Cold-War Porto Palermo submarine tunnel. North and inland sit Orthodox monasteries: Saint Theodore, Athali and Panagia Drymadon.

Do the castles and monasteries charge admission?

Most are free, including Himara Castle's old town, Borsh Castle and the monasteries. The main exception is Porto Palermo Castle, which charges about 300 ALL (~€3), payable in Albanian lek only — so bring cash. A couple of sites add a small parking fee of around 200–300 ALL.

How old is Himara Castle?

Very old. The hilltop site has been fortified since roughly the 5th century BC, with later Byzantine and Ottoman layers, and parts of the old town inside the walls are still lived in today. It's a 15–20 minute walk uphill from the seafront promenade.

How do you reach the sites outside town?

Most are a short drive on the SH8 coast road: Porto Palermo's castle and submarine tunnel are about 10 km south (15–20 min), Borsh Castle roughly 20 km south, and the Saint Theodore and Panagia Drymadon monasteries about 15 km north. Athali Monastery is the exception — it's a roughly two-hour hike inland from Spile Beach.

What is the Porto Palermo submarine tunnel?

A Cold-War naval base built between 1969 and 1988, when Albania's military hid submarines in a tunnel carved into the headland at Porto Palermo. You can see it for free from the road or from a boat tour; going inside is restricted.

Porto Palermo Castle on its peninsula overlooking the Ionian Sea — one of many landmarks near Himara

Lugares de interés

13 castillos, monasterios y sitios históricos al alcance de la mano desde Himara, desde fortificaciones del siglo V a. C. hasta túneles de submarinos de la Guerra Fría.

Castillos

Fortificaciones de época otomana y anteriores repartidas por la costa: los huesos de cada imperio que controló este tramo de Albania.

Stone walls and Byzantine church ruins at Himara Castle on Barbaka hill

5th century BC – present

Himara Castle & Old Town

Himara Castle sits on Barbaka hill above the modern town. Fortifications here date to the 5th century BC and have been continuously inhabited since — making the old town, locally called Kastro, the only living medieval village on the Albanian Riviera. Stone houses cling to the hillside between Byzantine church ruins and faded frescoes, with panoramic views stretching across the Ionian Sea to Corfu on a clear day.

In town — 15–20 min walk uphill from the promenade·1–2 hours

Early 19th century (c. 1804)

Porto Palermo Castle

Porto Palermo Castle is a triangular Ottoman fortress with three round bastions, built on a narrow peninsula in one of the most photogenic bays on the Albanian Riviera. Commissioned in the early 19th century by Ali Pasha of Ioannina, the castle is the headline landmark of every southbound boat tour from Himara — and the easiest, most rewarding half-day trip from town by car.

~10 km south on SH8 (14–20 min drive)·1–1.5 hours at the castle, 2–3 hours including a swim in the bay

16th century (Ottoman)

Lëkurësi Castle

Lëkurësi Castle is Saranda's viewpoint rather than its monument — a modest 16th-century Ottoman hilltop fort whose real draw is the best panorama on the southern coast. From the ruined towers you look down over Saranda's bay and town, south to the Ksamil islands and the Butrint lagoon, and west across the strait to Corfu. A restaurant built into the walls makes it the town's go-to sunset stop.

Above Saranda — roughly a 1–1.5 hour drive south of Himara·30–60 minutes, or longer for a sunset dinner

Monasterios e iglesias

Iglesias bizantinas y monasterios en lo alto de las colinas que sobrevivieron al periodo otomano y a la supresión comunista de la religión.

14th century (built on ancient Temple of Zeus ruins)

Saint Theodore Monastery

Saint Theodore Monastery (Albanian: Manastiri i Shën Theodhorit, Greek: Μονή Αγίου Θεοδώρου) sits on a hilltop between Dhermi and Gjipe Beach — one of the most historically layered sites on the Albanian Riviera. Built on the ruins of an ancient temple to Zeus, converted into an Orthodox monastery in the 14th century, repurposed as a Soviet navy holiday resort in the 1950s, then an Albanian military post until the late 1980s, and now under restoration. This single hilltop tells the entire story of Albania in compressed form.

~15 km north on SH8 (20 min drive)·1.5–2 hours including the walk up from the parking

18th century

Athali Monastery

Athali Monastery (Albanian: Manastiri i Athalit, Greek: Μονή Αθαλιού) sits high on Athali Mountain above Himara — a remote 18th-century Byzantine-style pilgrimage site reached only by a 2-hour uphill hike. The monastery is small but significant: a continued site of Orthodox pilgrimage, associated with reports of miraculous healing, and built into one of the most panoramic positions on the Riviera. Most travellers never make the climb, which is exactly why it remains one of the most atmospheric landmarks in the area.

~10 km by trail from Spile Beach (2 hr hike)·3–4 hours round trip including the hike and time at the monastery

13th–14th century

Panagia Drymadon Monastery

Panagia Drymadon Monastery (Albanian: Manastiri i Shën Mërisë, Greek: Παναγία Δρυμάδων) — also called the Monastery of Saint Mary — sits on a hilltop at 257 m elevation above Dhermi village. Built in the 13th–14th century, it is a Cultural Monument of Albania and one of the best-preserved examples of Byzantine-era religious architecture on the Albanian Riviera. The monastery operated continuously for over 600 years — through Byzantine decline, Ottoman rule, and Italian occupation — until 1967, when the communist regime forced the last nun to leave.

~15 km north on SH8 (20 min drive + 15 min walk)·45 minutes – 1 hour

The Byzantine brick-and-stone facade of St. Nicholas Monastery church at Mesopotam near Saranda

~11th century (Byzantine), on a 6th-century site

Mesopotam Monastery (St. Nicholas)

The Monastery of St. Nicholas at Mesopotam is one of southern Albania's great hidden churches — a striking twin-towered Byzantine building, dated in its present form to around the 11th century, that once anchored the largest monastic complex in the country. It carries genuine mysteries: carved relief blocks of an eagle, a lion, a dragon and a stranger creature that may pre-date Christianity, and Byzantine frescoes uncovered beneath later whitewash.

Inland near Saranda — roughly a 1–1.5 hour drive south of Himara·30–45 minutes

Fortalezas

Bastiones en lo alto de las colinas, integrados en las montañas, casi todos en ruinas pero que merecen la pena solo por las vistas.

4th century BC – Ottoman period

Borsh Castle

Borsh Castle (Albanian: Kalaja e Sopotit, Greek: Κάστρο του Σόποτου), historically known as Sopot Castle, sits on a rocky hilltop 500 meters above sea level overlooking Borsh Beach — Albania's longest stretch of sand at 7 km. The fortification has been continuously occupied since the 4th century BC, layered by every power that controlled the Ionian coast: Chaonian acropolis, Byzantine stronghold, Venetian outpost, Ottoman fortification under Ali Pasha. It now sits in picturesque ruin, free to visit, and rewards the steep uphill hike with 360° views over beach, valley, and mountains.

~20 km south on SH8 (25 min drive)·2–3 hours including the hike up and down

Sitios militares

Reliquias del siglo XX del aislamiento de Albania en la Guerra Fría: bases de submarinos, búnkeres e infraestructura naval abandonada.

Built 1969–1988 (Cold War)

Porto Palermo Submarine Tunnel

The Porto Palermo Submarine Tunnel is a 650-meter tunnel carved straight through the peninsula at the northern end of Porto Palermo Bay. Built during the Cold War to shelter four seized Soviet Whiskey-class submarines, the tunnel is a monument to Enver Hoxha's paranoia and Albania's extraordinary isolation between 1961 and 1991. You cannot go inside — it remains a restricted military zone — but you can see the entrance from the coastal road and from boat tours that pass through the bay.

~10 km south on SH8 (15–20 min drive)·20–30 minutes from the roadside viewpoint

Ruinas antiguas

Yacimientos clásicos y precristianos donde aún es visible la historia más temprana de la Riviera.

Hellenistic — Chaonian capital; Treaty of Phoenice 205 BC

Phoenice (Finiq)

Phoenice — ancient Φοινίκη, modern Finiq — was once one of the wealthiest cities in Epirus and the capital of the Chaonians. Today it's a quiet hilltop archaeological site above Finiq village, just inland from Saranda, where fortifications, a theatre and the outlines of the ancient city reward the few who venture up — including the spot where the 205 BC Treaty of Phoenice ended the First Macedonian War between Rome and Macedon.

Inland near Saranda — roughly a 1–1.5 hour drive south of Himara·45–60 minutes

Ancient stone foundations of Antigonea on a hilltop overlooking the green Drino valley near Gjirokastër

Hellenistic — founded ~295 BC by King Pyrrhus

Antigonea Archaeological Park

Antigonea is one of southern Albania's most atmospheric ancient sites — a Hellenistic city founded around 295 BC by King Pyrrhus (of "Pyrrhic victory" fame) and named for his wife Antigone. It once commanded the Drino valley from a long hilltop ridge; today it's an archaeological park of foundations, walls and a powerful sense of scale, with valley views that reward the climb as much as the ruins do.

Drino valley near Gjirokastër — roughly a 2–2.5 hour drive east of Himara·1–1.5 hours

The semicircular ancient Roman stone theatre of Hadrianopolis in a green Drino-valley field with mountains behind

2nd century AD (Roman); later Byzantine under Justinian

Hadrianopolis Roman Theatre

Hadrianopolis is the rare ancient site that reads instantly even without a guide: a compact Roman theatre, its stone seating intact enough to sit where audiences sat 1,800 years ago, set in a quiet green field in the Drino valley. Founded in the 2nd century AD and named for Emperor Hadrian, it's one of southern Albania's most accessible and underrated archaeological stops — a short drive from Gjirokastër, free to wander, and almost always empty.

Drino valley near Gjirokastër — roughly a 2–2.5 hour drive east of Himara·30–45 minutes

Puertos y dársenas

Puertos en activo desde donde los operadores de excursiones en barco de Himara y la flota pesquera local siguen zarpando cada mañana.

Built around 2015

Himara Mini Dock

A small jetty at the south end of Spile Beach. Boat tours leave from here during the day, and locals walk the breakwater in the evening for the sunset view back at Himara Castle on the hill above.

In town — 2 min walk south from Spile Beach promenade·15 minutes

Preguntas frecuentes sobre los lugares de interés de Himara

¿Qué sitios históricos se pueden visitar en los alrededores de Himara?

El plato fuerte es el castillo de Himara en lo alto de la colina y su casco antiguo, fortificado y habitado desde alrededor del siglo V a. C. Hacia el sur, por la costa, están el castillo de Porto Palermo —la fortaleza de Ali Bajá en su propia península (c. 1804)— y el castillo de Borsh, además del túnel de submarinos de la Guerra Fría de Porto Palermo. Al norte y en el interior se asientan monasterios ortodoxos: San Teodoro, Athali y Panagia Drymadon.

¿Cobran entrada los castillos y monasterios?

La mayoría son gratuitos, incluidos el casco antiguo del castillo de Himara, el castillo de Borsh y los monasterios. La principal excepción es el castillo de Porto Palermo, que cobra unos 300 ALL (~3 €), pagaderos solo en lek albanés, así que lleva efectivo. Un par de sitios añaden una pequeña tarifa de aparcamiento de unos 200-300 ALL.

¿Qué antigüedad tiene el castillo de Himara?

Muchísima. El emplazamiento en lo alto de la colina está fortificado desde aproximadamente el siglo V a. C., con capas posteriores bizantinas y otomanas, y partes del casco antiguo dentro de las murallas siguen habitadas hoy. Está a 15-20 minutos a pie cuesta arriba desde el paseo marítimo.

¿Cómo se llega a los sitios de fuera del pueblo?

A la mayoría se llega con un corto trayecto por la carretera costera SH8: el castillo y el túnel de submarinos de Porto Palermo están a unos 10 km al sur (15-20 min), el castillo de Borsh a unos 20 km al sur, y los monasterios de San Teodoro y Panagia Drymadon a unos 15 km al norte. El monasterio de Athali es la excepción: es una caminata de unas dos horas tierra adentro desde la playa de Spile.

¿Qué es el túnel de submarinos de Porto Palermo?

Una base naval de la Guerra Fría construida entre 1969 y 1988, cuando el ejército de Albania escondía submarinos en un túnel excavado en el promontorio de Porto Palermo. Puedes verlo gratis desde la carretera o desde una excursión en barco; entrar está restringido.

¿Preparando tus días de visitas turísticas?

Combina los lugares de interés con las playas cercanas, las excursiones en barco y los restaurantes que hacen que merezca la pena demorarse en la Riviera albanesa.

Playas Excursiones en barco Guía completa de lugares de interés