Petrela Tour

Petrela is not just the famous Castle but a beautiful village, located 12 km southeast of Tirana alongside the road Tirana Elbasan. The landscape is spectacular since Erzeni River and its valley is passing through beautiful hills of this village.

We take the bus to Petrela (7.30 am) close to Faculty of Economy in Tirana to reach the village center of Petrela. We start to walk to Persqopi Castle, also known as the ancient city of Brysaka, which belongs to the Illyrian tribe of Partheni. This town was next to the Egnatia road beneath it, along the banks of the Erzen River. It was the residence of King Illyria Glaukia, who has sheltered the Epirus leader Pirros of Epirus for 10 years from the age of 2 to 12 years. There are some other documents showing that this was the birthplace of Great Alexander of Macedonia. Persqopi was also the place where Leka i Madh, was born.

We come back from Perqopi and start climbing the castle of Mamica Kastrioti, the sister of Skanderbeg. This castle is known as Petrela Castle located in the highest hill of this area overlooking Tirana and surrounding mountains and valley of Erzen. The castle itself has no museum inside, just a restaurant but the story of this castle is very rich. It is first constructed by 6th century AD, while the actual structure dates back to 15th century. We stop here for a coffee or refreshments.

After that we walk down to the Zipline station, the first Zipline in Albania, among top ten longest Zipline in Europe. We enjoy a beautiful ride from the hill down to Erzeni valley which will give you a forgettable experience.

During all this historical and nature tour, we keep in mind to be friendly to the archaeological and natural treasures, preserving the area, not littering, not using plastics. This slow tour is designed to talk to people during all the tour, to know their stories, to tell them how to keep these treasures protected, and how to be proud for what they have.

We eat a traditional lunch in the area and come back by bus by 15.50h.

Tour (5- 8 hours)