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

Pikat e interesit

13 kala, manastire dhe vende historike brenda arritjes së lehtë nga Himara — nga fortifikimet e shekullit V para Krishtit te tunelet e nëndetëseve të Luftës së Ftohtë.

Kala

Fortifikime osmane dhe më të hershme të shtrira përgjatë bregut — eshtrat e çdo perandorie që ka kontrolluar këtë copë të Shqipërisë.

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

Manastire dhe kisha

Kisha bizantine dhe manastire në majë kodre që i mbijetuan periudhës osmane dhe shtypjes komuniste të fesë.

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

Fortesa

Fortesa në majë kodre të ndërtuara në male, kryesisht në rrënojë por shpërblyese qoftë edhe vetëm për pamjet.

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

Vende ushtarake

Relike të shekullit XX nga izolimi i Shqipërisë në Luftën e Ftohtë — baza nëndetësesh, bunkerë dhe infrastrukturë detare e braktisur.

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

Rrënoja të lashta

Vende klasike dhe parakristiane ku historia më e hershme e Rivierës është ende e dukshme.

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

Porte dhe skela

Porte në punë ku operatorët e tureve me varkë të Himarës dhe flota vendase e peshkimit ende nisen çdo mëngjes.

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

Pyetje të shpeshta për pikat e interesit në Himarë

Çfarë vendesh historike mund të vizitosh rreth Himarës?

Kryesorja është Kalaja e Himarës në majë kodre dhe qyteti i saj i vjetër, i fortifikuar e i banuar që rreth shekullit V para Krishtit. Në jug përgjatë bregut janë Kalaja e Porto Palermos — fortesa e Ali Pashës në gadishullin e vet (rreth 1804) — dhe Kalaja e Borshit, plus tuneli i nëndetëseve i Luftës së Ftohtë në Porto Palermo. Në veri dhe në brendësi ndodhen manastire ortodokse: Shën Theodhori, Athalia dhe Panagjia e Drimadheve.

A kërkojnë pagesë kalatë dhe manastiret?

Shumica janë falas, përfshirë qytetin e vjetër të Kalasë së Himarës, Kalanë e Borshit dhe manastiret. Përjashtimi kryesor është Kalaja e Porto Palermos, që merr rreth 300 ALL (~3 €), e pagueshme vetëm në lekë shqiptarë — ndaj merr para në dorë. Disa vende shtojnë një tarifë të vogël parkimi rreth 200–300 ALL.

Sa e vjetër është Kalaja e Himarës?

Shumë e vjetër. Vendi në majë kodre është fortifikuar që rreth shekullit V para Krishtit, me shtresa të mëvonshme bizantine dhe osmane, dhe pjesë të qytetit të vjetër brenda mureve banohen ende sot. Është një ecje 15–20 minuta në të përpjetë nga shëtitorja buzë detit.

Si arrihen vendet jashtë qytetit?

Shumica janë pak minuta me makinë në rrugën bregdetare SH8: kalaja dhe tuneli i nëndetëseve të Porto Palermos janë rreth 10 km në jug (15–20 min), Kalaja e Borshit rreth 20 km në jug, dhe manastiret e Shën Theodhorit e Panagjisë së Drimadheve rreth 15 km në veri. Manastiri i Athalisë është përjashtimi — është një ecje rreth dy orësh në brendësi nga plazhi i Spiles.

Çfarë është tuneli i nëndetëseve i Porto Palermos?

Një bazë detare e Luftës së Ftohtë e ndërtuar mes viteve 1969 dhe 1988, kur ushtria shqiptare fshihte nëndetëse në një tunel të gërryer në kepin e Porto Palermos. Mund ta shohësh falas nga rruga ose nga një tur me varkë; hyrja brenda është e kufizuar.

Po planifikoni ditët tuaja të vizitave?

Kombinoni pikat e interesit me plazhet aty pranë, turet me varkë dhe restorantet që e bëjnë Rivierën Shqiptare të ia vlejë të ndalesh.

Plazhet Turet me varkë Udhëzuesi i plotë i pikave të interesit