If you like unspoiled beaches, the most crystal clear turquoise waters surrounded by canyons from one side and the endless sea from the other and you want it all just for yourself without hotels, resorts and crowded tourists around then you can have it in Albania and Himare is one of those places to enjoy it.
The way from Berat to Himare by bus was spectacular. It was my habit to sleep on bus, train or plane. But I was lucky enough to wake up to enjoy a big part of the trip.
The airbnb place we booked was in Himare new town which was a cute little town beside the coast with beaches, pubs, restaurants and guesthouses. The beaches around the town are quite nice, wide, the water is pretty clear and its sunsets are magnificent.
We spent our new year time with a Greek old couple. You can read the article about it via this link https://secretsdaventure.wixsite.com/english/blog/greeknewyear
Himare was just a stop for us on the way to Athens and the place didn’t seem popular so we didn’t expect much from it. However, it brought us a big surprise when discovering the area during our stay.
The Porto Palermo Fortress was on a little peninsula, about 8 km from Himare. They said that most probably it was built by the Venetians as it could be relieved by sea and it has the same triangular plan with round towers found in the Venetian fort at Butrint. The fortress is situated in the closed bay of Porto Palermo and makes nearly an island that is connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land. The fort served as former Soviet submarine base during the communist regime in Albania, and nowadays its semi abandoned tunnel and barrack attract attention of visitors, as well as the stronghold walls and gates built by the powerful Ali Pasha of Ionina. From the fortress, you can enjoy very nice view around.
There are many beaches along Himare coast for you to enjoy sunbathing or swimming such as Livadhi beach, Spile beach, Sfageio beach, Marachi beach, Llamani beach and other countless unnamed beaches. Llamani beach and other countless unnamed beaches are located far from major towns, surrounded by spectacular landscapes. And the fact that they are located between the rocky coast makes them even more attractive.
We accidentally discovered Llamani beach and other unnamed beaches when walking toward the south of Himare new town and hiking up to the hill about 3 km further. The hiking on the hill along the coast was wonderful. We had mountains on one side and the endless sea on the other side. The hill was pathed with rocks and was filled with herds of goats finding food, wild flowers and grass as well as a lot of abandoned bunkers.
As I learnt later that Huffington Post ranked Porto Palermo first among 15 Undiscovered European Destinations for 2014. The area together with Llamani beach will be proclaimed a protected area holding the status of Protected Landscape by the Albanian Government.
There are also other places worth to pay a visit in Himare which we missed such as Himare old town and two hidden paradises in Himare - Jala beach and Gjipe beach.
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