Shpella e Pëllumbasit — Attraction in Tirana Municipality

We did this hike from Tirana with the bus. There are not many buses, best check the Tourist info bureau behind the historic museum, they did great at explaining where to take the bus and the timetables. They said there should be more busses but I think the limited hours 7h00, 13h00 and 17h00 are indeed the only ones. The bus of 7 took off at 7h30, they wait for passengers to get in to earn more. Still the ride is only 100lek. (For info for the way back by bus read at the end)

Your first stop is the pasha restaurant, the owner gives a short explanation and has both lamps (400 lek) and helmets (200 lek).

The hike towards the cave (60min) is very nice and doable. Be careful for spiders when you are one of the first hikers in the morning. You maybe think the hike is descending but its more up down up down and has a good variety of some more intense and some more easy parts with amazing views along the way.

The cave (15min + 15min) itself is cold, you can feel the cold coming out of the cave. But for us doable without any extra cover since it was 35 degrees C outside. The cave dark and the lamp comes in handy for seeing further then a couple of meters. Your flashlight of your phone is not enough but it can help you during the walk. The cave is covered in bat poop which is slippery but with hiking shoes totally doable. Though we slipped a few times. On one instance we slipped a bit and our head bumped the wall. But we both took a helmet which proved their point. Better be save them sorry, though you have to carry them all the way.

From the cave there is a steep path towards the River Canyon (30min). The owner of the restaurant suggested to go to the cave and come back and go to the river on another path since the path between the cave and river is steep and dangerous. But we had time and would be carefull. You need the help of the trees to go safely down. But on the last part we just went butts down towards the River. Don't do this part without good shoes and without good condition. Be carefull, at the end you will understand it's a dangerous descent but you won't regret a thing when you are down. Do so at your own risk!

The canyon is amazing. The water is clear and refreshes you after a hot day. 10/10 would recommend to swim in it. There are other places further down stream you can use as well for your dive, but after the decent you probably want a dive in the water right away.

The way back (60min) to pasha was not easy. While you follow the river downstream it is not always clear which "path" is the best one. You have paths in the woods that split up and don't show enough 'use' to be clear understood as 'path'. Sometimes the path ia pretty close to the river as well. This means the paths have much greenery and branches touching your legs and maybe your backpack. So hold a distance for hitting branches and maybe use long pants for this part if you like. After you leave the river you have the remaining hike (15min) in some fields and it should be clear from there.

To get back to Tirana it's a bit more complex if you go by bus. Since there are not many busses back you are stuck a bit in the restaurant. We waited for the bus of 18h. He arrived at 18h30 and only took us down the mountain. Another 15 minutes walk took us to the road towards Tirana and the busstop. After you crossed the bridge you are almost there, just ask people or just join people that are waiting at the T-junction. Apparently that's the invisible busstop towards Tirana (to the right). Lifting would be possible as well I heard. But the bus ride is an experience on its own.

Times written exclude photos, pauzes and time at the river. I do suggest this as a one day hike with little experience and a half day hike with a lot of experience.

No photos for no spoilers, it's fantastic, trust...

First let me tell you how to reach this village using public transport. There are three buses daily from the South East bus station. At 7am, 1pm and 5pm. I suggest you take the 7am bus as I did. The same buses return from Pellumbas village at 8.30am, 2.30pm and 6.30pm. It goes by a lovely side road. The village itself is beautiful with amazing mountains around. Get off at the last stop and head into the visitor center and the cafe next door. You will find young boys (12 yr old) manning the center. To hire a guide, which you should if you are not experienced, along with helmet, headlamp it is 1000Lek and totally worth for a big group. I went by myself as I had my own headlamp and helmet. There is no entrance fee. And please try the burek at the restaurant before and after the hike. It's not only delicious but piping hot, organic and you will need it. Now about the hike.

From the start to the cave it took me 20min but for average fitness person it would take at least double that amount. The path is well marked with red and white lines but it is steep at places and on a rainy wet day you must be very careful. Great views along the way of the mountains and the gorge river below. The cave is slippery inside and of course pitch dark. There's a silvery rope inside to guide you to the very depths, though after sometime it disappears. Please take a guide if you are not experienced. You can easily get lost inside. There are many sub chambers and tunnels to explore, which I did. But I was fully equipped with clothes, light etc. It's a typical cave, not very deep or high but deep and high enough. You will enjoy the experience if this is your first time in a cave. Sad to see that people had thrown litter inside and the walls were full of grafitti. On our way back I bought tons of organic fruits from local farmers at dirt cheap price. By the way, the young kids at the center are the guides. Don't get fooled by their age, they...

The black cave or Shpella e Pëllumbasit is one of the places to visit if you are in Tirana. It takes a bus ride or a taxi to get here,its not far. Once you reach the village by bus or car or bike,there is a parking place next to the Info point. You can get a guide here which we did and he was good.The info point has deals for the lights and the helmets and food as well.You can easily agree on which package you wont. DISTANCE it took us around one hour to reach the cave.It wasnt very easy and I would advise to be cautious.There are some parts not as safe as it looks, and metal rods are sticking out in some places which used to hold wooden panels. WEATHER if it is sunny and dry it is better to use that day to visit.If it rains it can be muddy and slippery.I wouldnt recommend a rainy day. THE CAVE it is very interesting and rare to see the formations, maybe thousands of years old.It is a pitty that the entrance is free and that the cave is not protected and preserved. Many people have broken pieces from the formations and taken them with them.That is really bad. Some have written graffiti and some carved their names on these formations.How stupid can man be? PLEASE DO NOT LITTER If you visit,please take your trash with you,since there is no one who takes care of this jewel.I hope the locals will realize soon what they have and protect this cave from being a garbage dump. BEST TIMES TO VISIT not on weekends as many tourists are ther.Try Monday or days of the week.We were only 4 people with a guide that day.A German couple came after us and that was all for the day. Make sure you rent the lights since you cant see anything without lights inside. I would recomend even the restaurant at the info point.It has great food and great hospitality. Our friends from Austria really enjoyed the cave and the walk to it. I am sure you will too.Just be careful and take sports shoes and something warm for the cave because its...