After meeting with the guide, you will be transferred for 60 minutes towards Kruja.
As members of a prominent Albanian aristocratic family, the young George Kastrioti and his three brothers were taken hostage and brought up in the Sultan’s court where Scanderbeg attended military school and later fought in the Ottoman army. When the Ottomans were defeated by a multinational Christian army in the Battle of Nis in 1443, Skanderbeg and his troops defected and retuned to Albania where they re-took the Kastriotis’ family’s fortress at Kruje. In the following years, Scanderbeg successfully united the Albanian ruling families against the common enemy and managed to fight off the Ottoman armies until his death in 1468 thus effectively halting their invasion further into Western Europe.
Kruje was the center of the Albanian resistance against the Ottomans led by Skanderbeg. Driving along the winding mountain road, you will reach the town’s main square marked by the equestrian statue of Skanderbeg wielding his sword. Continuing uphill and above the town, you will reach the historic fortress and citadel which successfully withstood three Ottoman sieges led by Sultan Murat and later by his son Sultan Mehmed II – the conqueror of Constantinople (now Istanbul).
It was only after Skanderbeg’s death that the fortress finally fell and the Albanian resistance was suppressed. One you are in Kruja you will visit the castle and Ottoman-style covered bazaar. After the short visit of Kruja you will be transferred to city market to buy some fresh vegetables and some local products and than head to Restaurant Panorama.
After arrival, you will be welcomed inside the restaurant Panorama, meet the Chief learn about traditional Albanian cooking and food. Help the the chief inside the kitchen to prepare your tasteful lunch. Once finished lunch you will be transferred back at the meeting poing in Tirana for the end of your jorney.
Today after meeting with the guide, we will choose our bicycles and for 15 minutes you will be given information about the road that we will follow and precautions along the way. After settling everything we will cycle towards Tabakeve Bridge for approximately 20 minutes. Some free time will be given to admire the old bridge in ottoman style.
After the bridge you will cycle toward the city center of Tirana where a visit will follow to the main sights as Scanderbeg square,Ethem Beg mosque,main boulevard etc. After finishing with the visit of the city center, you will cycle towards the Bllok area which have this name because it was the place where the ex communist dictator use to live for all his life,and the area was restricted to civilians. Some free time at your leisure in Block Area before cycling back towards the meeting point.
Petrelë Castle is a castle in Petrelë, central Albania. Its history dates back to Justinian I. Petrelë Castle is situated at an altitude of 329 meters. The castle of Petrelë has a rich history, containing a tower which was built in the 6th century AD. It is one of the tourist locations close to Tirana that attracts a great number of visitors. The Castle, the prominent wooden structure is a restaurant, is perched on a rocky hill, above the village with the same name. It has a triangular shape with two observation towers. Although it was first built in ancient times, the present building dates back to the 15th century.
The Petrela Castle was part of the signaling and defense system of the Kruja Castle. The castles signaled to each other by means of fires. During Skanderbeg’s fight against the Ottomans, the Petrela Castle used to be under the command of Mamica Kastrioti, Skanderbeg's sister. Today there is a restaurant inside the castle. The castle offers spectacular views of the Erzen valley, the hills, olive groves, and surrounding mountains.
After Petrele your next destination will be Nari Restaurant in Lunder village.
Albania is an incredibly hospitable culture and has its own particular traditions of courtesy. They are very closely related to the notion of hospitality, a notion similar to that of the sacred guest from Homer and classical literature. Many Albanian traditions of hospitality come from The Kanun, or "The Code", a 15th-century text written by the powerful Dukagjin clan, although many of the laws written in the code date from earlier times.
As written in The Kanun, the guest will be shown the highest respect by being offered a seat at the head of the table. The guest is then regaled with the best the family has to offer, usually taking the form of homemade raki, traditional liquor.
After arrival, you will experience the same old rule. You will be welcomed inside the restaurant of the Lunder village, learn about traditional Albanian cooking and food such as milk, dairy of different types, honey, village eggs, whole goats roasted on a spit, trout fish, various types of soups. Help the local family collect food from the farm and help them cook your own meal by helping in the kitchen.
Once finished lunch you will be transferred back in Tirana where you will have a short panoramic tour by bus of the city and after the city tour of Tirana you will be transferred back to the meeting point for the end of your jorney.
Your day starts with the transfer from Tirana to Dajti National Park through the longest cable way in Balkan in its category with 2 stations. Mount Dajt is a mountain in central Albania, to the east of Tirana. Its highest peak is at 1,613m.
During winter, the mountain is often covered with snow, and it is a popular retreat to the local population of Tirana that rarely sees snow falls. Its slopes have forests of pines, oak and beech. Dajti Mountain was declared a National Park in 1966, and has since 2006 an expanded area of about 29,384ha and is considered the 'Natural Balcony of Tirana'.
Once you have finished the exploration of the mountain, you will have some free time before being transferred back through the same way to Tirana for the end of the journey.
After meeting with the guide you will be transferred toward Kruja. As members of a prominent Albanian aristocratic family, the young George Kastrioti and his three brothers were taken hostage and brought up in the Sultan’s court where Scanderbeg attended military school and later fought in the Ottoman army.
When the Ottomans were defeated by a multinational Christian army in the Battle of Nis in 1443, Skanderbeg and his troops defected and retuned to Albania where they re-took the Kastriotis’ family’s fortress at Kruje. In the following years, Scanderbeg successfully united the Albanian ruling families against the common enemy and managed to fight off the Ottoman armies until his death in 1468 thus effectively halting their invasion further into Western Europe.
Kruje was the center of the Albanian resistance against the Ottomans led by Skanderbeg. Driving along the winding mountain road, you will reach the town’s main square marked by the equestrian statue of Skanderbeg wielding his sword.
Continuing uphill and above the town, you will reach the historic fortress and citadel which successfully withstood three Ottoman sieges led by Sultan Murat and later by his son Sultan Mehmed II – the conqueror of Constantinople (now Istanbul). It was only after Skanderbeg’s death that the fortress finally fell and the Albanian resistance was suppressed. One you are in Kruja you will visit the castle,the Scanderbeg and Ethnographic museum and Ottoman-style covered bazaar. After the visit of Kruja you will have lunch at Restaurant Panorama.
After lunch your next destination will be Durres. Durres is the largest port of Albania. It also has the status of one of the oldest settlements in Albania being founded in 7th century BC from Greek colonists.
Being in such favourable position in the Adriatic Sea, Durres (named Epidamnum from Greeks and Dyrrachium from Romans) has always been envied and was a very influential city under the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Empires as an important connection point. Its importance still lives today as being one of the most influential cities in country’s economy.
Arriving in Durres, the exploration of the city starts with a visit of the Roman Amphitheatre of Durres, the largest in the Balkans built since 2nd century BC. Roman influence here continues with the Trajan’s Baths and the Roman Forum. The famous road of Roman Empire, Via Egnatia, started from Durres as the gateway to the Balkans and hence the Romans fortified the stronghold in Durres which was later reconstructed again by Byzantine Empire and the Venetians, from which Durres inherited the Venetian Tower standing at the beginning of the boulevard.
Next follows a relaxing stroll along the boulevard alongside the shore of the sea. Colorful buildings on one side and the sea on the other offer a special pleasure. On the boulevard there are monuments like the Unknown Soldier, a tribute to the lost soldiers of the liberation army of WW2, etc.
After the visit in Durres, you will be transferred back to Tirana.
The best way to see Tirana? On two wheels! Ride along city streets and take in Tirana’s most famous sites, from the city castle to the bizarre bunkers to that weird pyramid. Then, once you’ve absorbed 1,500 years of history, pedal your way to an authentic Albanian lunch and well-deserved local beer.
Your Tirana bike tour will start at the city’s centre, at Skanderbeg Square, where you’ll find the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet, and the Museum of History. We’ll take off pedalling toward City Hall and onto Pedonalja, a lovely car-free street only open to pedestrians and bicycles. It’s an old-fashioned neighbourhood, but still a place where locals meet for barbecues and live music. It’s here that you’ll also find the Castle of Tirana (also known as the Fortress of Justinian), which dates back to the 6th century. Justinian was an imperial bodyguard who reached the throne and is considered today to have been one of the greatest Roman and Byzantine emperors.
We’ll then leave behind the calmness of Pedonalja and weave our way through city traffic, passing the Parliament, the new mosque of Tirana (fun fact: it’s going to be one of the biggest in the Balkans), and the Catholic Cathedral. But the highlight of all these sites will be the bizarre Pyramid of Tirana, which once was a museum and conference centre but is now an abandoned building and a canvas for graffiti. We’ll make a stop to see some of the Albanian “mushroom” bunkers, another remnant of communist leader Hoxha’s rule. There was once a bunker for every four residents in Albania, and while there aren’t as many as there once were, they’re still scattered throughout the Albanian countryside. Some of them have been converted into cafés, storage spaces, and even shelters for animals or the homeless.
We’ll finish up our Tirana sightseeing tour at Mother Teresa Square, where the University of Tirana and the Academy of Arts are located. Finally, no doubt hungry from all the biking, you’ll refuel with an authentic lunch at a traditional Albanian restaurant, where you’ll get to try local meat-lovers’ delicacies like kernacka and shishkebap, washed down, of course, with an Albanian beer.