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

Zabytki

13 zamków, klasztorów i miejsc historycznych w zasięgu Himara, od fortyfikacji z V wieku p.n.e. po tunele okrętów podwodnych z czasów zimnej wojny.

Zamki

Fortyfikacje z czasów osmańskich i starsze, rozsiane wzdłuż wybrzeża – ślady każdego imperium, które panowało nad tym fragmentem Albanii.

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. That makes the old town, locally called Kastro, one of the few castle villages on the Albanian Riviera still lived in. Stone houses stand on the hillside between Byzantine church ruins and faded frescoes, and on a clear day you can see across the Ionian Sea to Corfu.

In town, 15–20 min walk uphill from the promenade·1–2 hours
Porto Palermo Castle on its peninsula overlooking the turquoise bay
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 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
The stone restaurant building and terrace within Lëkurësi Castle on the hill above Saranda
1537 (Ottoman, under Suleiman the Magnificent)

Lëkurësi Castle

Lëkurësi Castle is Saranda's viewpoint rather than its monument, a modest 16th-century Ottoman hilltop fort whose draw is the panorama over 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

Klasztory i cerkwie

Bizantyjskie cerkwie i klasztory na wzgórzach, które przetrwały okres osmański i komunistyczne prześladowania religii.

Hilltop above Dhermi where Saint Theodore Monastery overlooks the Ionian coast
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
Panoramic view of Himara and the surrounding mountains where Athali Monastery is located
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.

~10 km by trail from Spile Beach (2 hr hike)·3–4 hours round trip including the hike and time at the monastery
Dhermi village below and the hilltop where Panagia Drymadon monastery overlooks the Ionian coast
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 least-visited churches, a twin-towered Byzantine building dated in its present form to around the 11th century, and once the centre of 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

Twierdze

Warownie wbudowane w górskie zbocza, w większości w ruinie, ale warte wizyty choćby dla samych widoków.

Ruins of Borsh Castle perched on a hilltop above the Albanian Riviera coastline
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 ruin, free to visit, and the steep uphill hike ends 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

Obiekty wojskowe

XX-wieczne pozostałości zimnowojennej izolacji Albanii: bazy okrętów podwodnych, bunkry i opuszczona infrastruktura marynarki wojennej.

Porto Palermo submarine tunnel entrance carved into the cliffs at the northern end of the bay
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 isolation between 1961 and 1991. You cannot go inside, since 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

Starożytne ruiny

Stanowiska antyczne i przedchrześcijańskie, gdzie wciąż widać najwcześniejszą historię Riwiery.

Ancient hilltop ruins and stone walls of Phoenice (Finiq) overlooking a green plain near Saranda
Hellenistic, Chaonian capital; Treaty of Phoenice 205 BC

Phoenice (Finiq)

Phoenice, ancient Φοινίκη and 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 survive, 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 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 and walls, with wide views over the valley.

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 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

Porty i przystanie

Czynne porty, z których co rano wciąż wypływają organizatorzy rejsów z Himara i lokalni rybacy.

Himara Mini Dock and the small fishing fleet at the south end of Spile Beach
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

Bunkry to osobny temat

Betonowe stanowiska ciągną się wzdłuż całego wybrzeża, żadne nie jest oznakowane ani datowane. Ich historię i mapę tych, które da się faktycznie znaleźć, opisaliśmy na osobnej stronie.

Zabytki Himara: najczęstsze pytania

Jakie miejsca historyczne można zwiedzić w okolicy Himara?

Najważniejszy jest położony na wzgórzu zamek Himara wraz ze starym miastem, ufortyfikowany i zamieszkany mniej więcej od V wieku p.n.e. Na południe wzdłuż wybrzeża leżą zamek Porto Palermo, twierdza Ali Paszy na własnym półwyspie (ok. 1804 r.), i zamek Borsh, a także zimnowojenny tunel okrętów podwodnych w Porto Palermo. Na północy i w głębi lądu znajdują się prawosławne klasztory: św. Teodora, Athali i Panagia Drymadon.

Czy za wstęp do zamków i klasztorów trzeba płacić?

Większość jest bezpłatna, w tym stare miasto w Zamku Himara, Zamek Borsh i monastery. Główny wyjątek to Zamek Porto Palermo, gdzie wstęp kosztuje ok. 300 ALL (~3 €), płatne wyłącznie w albańskich lekach, więc weź gotówkę. W kilku miejscach dochodzi niewielka opłata za parking, ok. 200–300 ALL.

Ile lat ma Zamek Himara?

Bardzo dużo. Wzgórze było umocnione mniej więcej od V wieku p.n.e., później dochodziły warstwy bizantyjskie i osmańskie, a część starego miasta w obrębie murów jest zamieszkana do dziś. Z nadmorskiej promenady idzie się pod górę 15–20 minut.

Jak dotrzeć do miejsc poza miastem?

Do większości jest krótki dojazd nadmorską drogą SH8: zamek i tunel dla okrętów podwodnych w Porto Palermo leżą ok. 10 km na południe (15–20 min), Zamek Borsh ok. 20 km na południe, a monastery św. Teodora i Panagia Drymadon ok. 15 km na północ. Wyjątkiem jest Monaster Athali – to mniej więcej dwugodzinna wędrówka w głąb lądu od plaży Spile.

Czym jest tunel dla okrętów podwodnych w Porto Palermo?

To baza marynarki wojennej z czasów zimnej wojny, zbudowana w latach 1969–1988, kiedy albańskie wojsko ukrywało okręty podwodne w tunelu wydrążonym w cyplu Porto Palermo. Można ją zobaczyć za darmo z drogi lub podczas rejsu łodzią; wstęp do środka jest ograniczony.

Planujesz dni na zwiedzanie?

Połącz zabytki z pobliskimi plażami, rejsami łodzią i restauracjami, dla których warto zostać na Riwierze Albańskiej dłużej.

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