The southern parts
Date: 4 – 7 July 2025
July 3 | Dolna Garica – Kamenice
We rode just beyond Korçë (too big, too busy) and stayed that night in Kamenicë, a small, spread-out village nestled into the head of a valley. Lodge Veis is a log cabin run by a very nice couple. The hostess and her mother milk their ten goats twice a day and make feta, and brought us a generous sample after dinner along with her raki. Donkeys are used routinely for transport in the village, and the free-ranging livestock wear gently clonking bells that make calming background music. That sound will forever trigger happy memories.
July 4 | Kamenice – Lake Shelegur
I didn’t take many photos today, which surprised me because it was immensely enjoyable, with alpine meadows backed by steep, heavily treed slopes stretching up forever. Very light traffic even on the state road and virtually none on the wiggly old road when we had the opportunity to use it.
And absolutely no rubbish! Everywhere else on this tour, increasingly as we moved south, we’ve been struck by the casual attitude towards littering. Not far north of here, roads were continuously fly-tipped and we supposed their houses must be impeccably clean. Strangely, when we went to put a plastic bottle in a bin, there was always a show of thumbs up and a “bravo” or two, but the litter was overwhelming. Not so in this part of the south at all.
Our accommodation was an unpretentious small hotel looking over a very attractive small alpine lake in a National Park jointly cared for by a Greek–Albanian partnership. Just another very good day.
July 5 | Lake Shelgur to Kelcyre
We left too early for breakfast, trying to beat the heat, but had a great omelette in Leskovik. Then we headed down a back road that none of our bike routing apps would recommend. It was about 700 m of a slow, winding descent on broken and washed-out macadam, as they call it here – gravel held together with tar. There was no traffic, because this road has been replaced by a flash new one, but there were a few older men gathering herbs for their mountain tea.
On the other side of a deep and impossibly steep valley there were a few vineyards, and at the end of the valley, faraway mountains loomed so large they never seemed to get closer. I think we let out more involuntary “wows” per kilometre than even in Durmitor, and it scored very highly. This road, and yesterday’s, will one day be a major scenic route.
At the end we emerged in Çarçovë, where Bar Restaurant Ana deserves a Michelin star for the best grilled veges on bread – all home grown by Ana – which fuelled us for the next 30 scenic kilometres through the Këlcyrë Gorge. It was hot as hell and we jumped into the river fully clothed, splashed ourselves at ice-cold roadside springs, and pressed on.
July 6 | Kelcyre – Gjirokaster
A day when I really felt that the title of this website fits me properly – I turned 75.
Our next stop was Gjirokastër which sounds like a brand of fishing reel and was the birthplace of Enver Hoxha, but apart from that we knew nothing about it. It was a hot and uninteresting slog along a state highway, and a final very stiff climb up to the old town, where we had booked an apartment in the old Diplomats House – a UNESCO-protected landmark. This town is a bit of a local tourist mecca, and we sat on our balcony looking out over stone roofs to the Ottoman houses below the enormous castle, as tour groups lined up to take photos of the uniquely yellow house. We were given a guided tour of the interior by our host’s mother – I think the eighth generation to live here.
After dinner we walked further up the hill to the buzzing TMZ and sampled the local dessert, oshaf – sheep milk yoghurt with figs and cinnamon – and I felt thoroughly birthdayed.
July 7 | Gjirokaster – Saranda
Our last day in Albania was punctuated by a few attempts to sightsee. An old bridge, some Greek/Roman ruins, a field of bunkers, and a Blue Eye (a spring with an extensive TMZ) were hardly a reason to pause, so we carried on to Saranda and caught the next ferry to Corfu for a brief holiday before the final leg – tracing the ancient Via Appia from Brindisi to Rome.
Gorica e Vogel to Kamenice
Accom: Lodges Veis
Max elevation: 1124 m
Min elevation: 842 m
Total climbing: 707 m
Total descent: -621 m
Total time: 05:27:38
Kamenice to Lake Shelgur
Accom: Resort Mezini
Max elevation: 1147 m
Min elevation: 832 m
Total climbing: 1260 m
Total descent: -1189 m
Total time: 05:39:45
Lake Shelgur to Kelcyre
Accom: Cosy Riverside Apartment
Max elevation: 1040 m
Min elevation: 186 m
Total climbing: 717 m
Total descent: -1535 m
Total time: 07:37:04
Kelcyre – Gjirokaster
Accom: The Home of Diplomacy
Max elevation: 271 m
Min elevation: 142 m
Total climbing: 385 m
Total descent: -294 m
Total time: 03:24:19
Gjirokaster to Saranda
Max elevation: 535 m
Min elevation: 5 m
Total climbing: 907 m
Total descent: -1177 m
Total time: 10:52:50