The year · August is underlined
| Region | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Llogara pass trails |
The walk
| Distance | 8 km |
|---|---|
| Ascent | 500 m |
| Time | 4 h |
| Track | GPX in preparation |
The Llogara pass is where the Ceraunian mountains meet the Ionian, and the walking on it is the reverse of the coast below: best in April to June and September to November, worst in July and August. Eight kilometres and 500 m of climbing covers the usual circuit through the pine forest above the road, three to five hours depending on how far along the ridge you go.
What you are paying for is the drop. The pass sits at just over 1,000 m and the sea is directly below it, so the views arrive early and stay for the whole walk. The forest is Balkan pine, it is genuinely cool in it, and the ridge above the treeline is open and exposed in both good ways and bad.
Two months to skip. In July and August the road over the pass carries the entire Riviera's traffic, the parking fills, and a climb with no shade above the treeline at 30 degrees is not the walk anybody came for. The same paths in early October are empty.
Nearby
AI imageLlogara PassThe SH8 climbing through black pine and dropping in switchbacks to the Riviera. The best road in the country, and open all year.Dhërmino photograph yetA stone village high on the slope with its beaches down a steep road below it, and the Riviera's festival week in early June.Karaburun peninsula traverseno photograph yetA ridge walk on Albania's emptiest coastline, reached by boat, with no shade, no water and no way off it except the way you came.