The second day of our recent trip focused on the spectacular natural beauty of Albania, in particular the area around the Osum Canyon, southeast of Berat. It is honestly a bit of a challenge to get there- an SUV would have come in handy (rather than our Mercedes minibus aptly named "Sprinter"), but for me, part of what made this trip memorable was the sense of adventure we felt in the journey itself. Sure, a new road would make it easier, but in this case part of the wonder of a remote place like this lies in the excitement of the actual drive. Luckily, all of us had strong stomachs and no one seemed to suffer from any motion sickness. The road is bad in some places and very, very bumpy, but no worse than many other country roads. 
Rafting trips can be arranged on the Osum River through a local adventure company in Berat, and we all agreed it would be a lot of fun to do sometime in the future. The water is clean and if we had been down in the canyon we would have been tempted to go for a swim somehow. The canyon is not as immense as the Grand Canyon, but it is really very impressive. At the moment there is no development in the area at all, though there used to be a hotel (now demolished). It is a rare place nowadays where you can stand and look around you and not see any advertisements or buildings, but here in this very special part of Albania you can experience just that. And that is an awesome feeling.
13 comments:
It is so BEAUTIFUL. There really are few untouched places, particularly in Europe...
What a lovely opportunity.
Hi Travellerone, We met you at S and F christmas do! We rafted the osumi canyon this past weekend--my 9 year old son and me plus another guy and 2 sons. It was a real treat and more awesome at the bottem of the canyon than the top. It is just nothing short of awesom. Trips can be arranged at www.outdooralbania.com they do a good simple job for such trips and was about 90 euor per person for transport (SUV), 2 meals, overnight camping, and use of thier wetsuits, raft, etc.. We love to discover such gems in Albania. Later, R
Wow. I didn't even noticed there was such a possibility to visit the Canyon. But judging from the regular tourist spots, I know what you mean by very bumpy roads...
Wow, what gorgeous scenery! I think I could spend hours looking at that canyon.
That is absolutely stunning :)
Wow. That canyon drop makes my stomach do jumps a bit! It looks beautiful, though.
By the way, I tagged you for an interesting worldwide restaurant meme. No obligation though, I know how such things go!
spectactular
spectacular
i'm afraid, i will(or shall) grab this pics one day:(
Home sweet home.
ET
Beautiful! Albania keeps climing my list of places to visit. But the no hot water part keeps pulling it back down.
The Osum Canyon may be less immense than the Grand Canyon but it looks like it beats it hands down on sense of adventure! What a great journey!!
espectacular canyon !!!!
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As we know, Kim, it's not just the Destination but the Journey there!
This does look like a place flowing with milk and honey. Thanks for educating us on Albania!
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