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

Obiective turistice

13 castele, mănăstiri și situri istorice ușor accesibile din Himara, de la fortificații din secolul al V-lea î.Hr. până la tunelurile pentru submarine din Războiul Rece.

Castele

Fortificații din epoca otomană și chiar mai vechi, înșirate de-a lungul coastei: urmele fiecărui imperiu care a stăpânit această porțiune a Albaniei.

Stone walls and Byzantine church ruins at Himara Castle on Barbaka hill
5th century BC – present

Himara Castle & Old Town

Himara Old Town and its castle sit 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

Mănăstiri și biserici

Biserici bizantine și mănăstiri de pe culmi care au supraviețuit perioadei otomane și reprimării religiei de către regimul comunist.

Saint Theodore Monastery building on the hilltop above Dhermi
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
Panagia Drymadon basilica on the hilltop above Dhermi
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

Fortărețe

Cetăți de pe culmi, construite în munți, în mare parte în ruină, dar care merită vizitate fie și doar pentru priveliște.

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

Situri militare

Relicve din secolul XX ale izolării Albaniei în Războiul Rece: baze de submarine, buncăre și infrastructură navală abandonată.

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 the Cold War submarine base of Porto Palermo Bay: 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

Ruine antice

Situri clasice și precreștine unde cea mai veche istorie a Rivierei este încă vizibilă.

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

Porturi și debarcadere

Porturi active din care operatorii de excursii cu barca din Himara și flota locală de pescuit pleacă și azi în fiecare dimineață.

Aerial view of Himara Mini Dock with tour boats moored along the pier and Spile Beach curving behind
Built around 2015

Himara Mini Dock

The Himara Mini Dock is the small jetty at the south end of Spile Beach and the boarding point for most Himara boat tours: Pirate's Cave, Grama Bay and Porto Palermo trips all leave from here or the rocks beside it. Himara Water Taxi, for one, takes the balance in cash here before departure. In the evening locals walk the breakwater for the sunset view back at Himara Castle on the hill above.

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

Buncărele sunt o poveste aparte

Fortificații din beton se înșiră de-a lungul întregii coaste, fără niciun indicator și fără nicio dată. Am adunat istoria lor și o hartă a celor pe care chiar le puteți găsi pe o pagină separată.

Întrebări frecvente despre obiectivele din Himara

Ce situri istorice poți vizita în zona Himara?

Atracția principală este Castelul Himara, pe deal, cu orașul său vechi, fortificat și locuit încă din jurul secolului al V-lea î.Hr. Spre sud, de-a lungul coastei, se află Castelul Porto Palermo, fortăreața lui Ali Pașa de pe propria peninsulă (cca 1804), și Castelul Borsh, plus tunelul pentru submarine Porto Palermo din Războiul Rece. La nord și în interior se găsesc mănăstiri ortodoxe: Sfântul Teodor, Athali și Panagia Drymadon.

Se plătește intrare la castele și mănăstiri?

Majoritatea sunt gratuite, inclusiv orașul vechi din Castelul Himara, Castelul Borsh și mănăstirile. Principala excepție este Castelul Porto Palermo, unde intrarea costă aproximativ 300 ALL (~3 €), plătibili doar în leka albanezi, așa că aveți la voi numerar. Câteva obiective percep și o mică taxă de parcare, de circa 200–300 ALL.

Cât de vechi este Castelul Himara?

Foarte vechi. Situl de pe deal este fortificat încă din jurul secolului al V-lea î.Hr., cu straturi bizantine și otomane ulterioare, iar o parte din orașul vechi din interiorul zidurilor este locuită și astăzi. Urcușul de pe promenada de la malul mării durează 15–20 de minute pe jos.

Cum ajungeți la obiectivele din afara orașului?

Majoritatea sunt la mică distanță cu mașina pe drumul de coastă SH8: castelul și tunelul pentru submarine de la Porto Palermo se află la circa 10 km spre sud (15–20 min), Castelul Borsh la aproximativ 20 km spre sud, iar mănăstirile Sfântul Teodor și Panagia Drymadon la circa 15 km spre nord. Excepția este Mănăstirea Athali, la care se ajunge printr-o drumeție de aproximativ două ore spre interior, pornind de pe plaja Spile.

Ce este tunelul pentru submarine de la Porto Palermo?

O bază navală din Războiul Rece, construită între 1969 și 1988, când armata Albaniei își ascundea submarinele într-un tunel săpat în promontoriul de la Porto Palermo. Îl puteți vedea gratuit de pe drum sau dintr-un tur cu barca; accesul în interior este restricționat.

Vă planificați zilele de explorare?

Combinați obiectivele turistice cu plajele din apropiere, turele cu barca și restaurantele care fac din Riviera Albaneză un loc în care merită să zăboviți.

PlajeTure cu barcaGhidul complet al obiectivelor