Dajti National Park

Dajti National Park (Parku Kombëtar i Dajtit) is situated around the mountain of the same name, which closes the horizon to the east of Tirana. If you don’t want to do sports, take the cable car. There are great views of the capital from here. The park offers many trekking opportunities and is an ideal place for a day trip from the Albanian capital. The most picturesque part of the park is the area around Lake Bovilla.

Dajt is easily accessible: The four-kilometre-long Dajti Ekspres cable car (Wed-Fri, 9-18:30, 9-19 on weekends, closed on Tuesdays except holidays, return ticket 1400 lek) takes you up to 1000 meters altitude. You can get to the lower station by bus from Skanderbeg Square (towards the Porcelan district). Get off at the final stop of Teleferik and from there it’s just a few minutes walk.

TIP: Combine a trip to Dajti with a visit to the Bunk’Art 1 museum, housed in a former fallout bunker just a short walk from the lower cable car station. The exhibition is one of the most interesting attractions in Tirana.

Going with the cable car is an experience in itself. There is a hotel, several restaurants, a children’s playground, and ideal picnic spots with beautiful views of Tirana at the upper station of the cable car. There is also the possibility of horse riding, in the rope park Dajti Adventure Park. The upper station of the cable car can also be reached by car, but an entrance is charged.

The highest peak of the mountain is the Mali i Dajtit which rises directly above the upper station at a height of 1,613 meters. It seems a short distance, but you will still have to climb a good 600 meters of altitude. The relatively popular ridge walk from the summit towards the southeast (see map) tends to be overgrown and does not offer many views. At the cable car there is an information board with a map of other hiking trails.

TIP: Try paragliding! Dajti is one of the places in Albania where you can try this adrenaline sport. A tandem jump costs about 100 euros, you can make a reservation here.

The area around the Bovilla reservoir (alb. Liqeni i Bovillës) in the northern part of the park is even more beautiful. Because of the bad road it is best to visit the lake with an tour operator (book here). The trip is usually combined with a visit to a panoramic restaurant and a climb to the iconic viewpoint on Gamt Mountain.

But Dajt offers much more to nature lovers. The southeastern part of the national park includes the Mountain with Holes (Mali me Gropa), a little-visited – yet beautiful – area full of karst sinkholes. It is best reached from the village of Shëngjerg, where an asphalt road from Tirana ends.

The opening of the Rruga e Arbërit highway, which cuts the park roughly in half, has opened up the north-eastern parts of Dajt, until recently largely isolated from the capital. The best hike you can make here is the one to Papat Mountain (Mali i Papatit, 1613 m, see cover photo, route here). The forrests here alternate with lovely alpine meadows filled with daffodils in the springtime.

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