Location: south of Vlora
Llogara Pass is
a protected national park located between Vlora and Dermiu. You can
get here by traveling south from Vlora to the Llogara Pass, which
reaches a height of over 1000 meters. The native animals of the
Llogara Pass include wild boars, deer, wolves and many others. In
addition, the local peasant herdsmen still have large flocks of
sheep, goats and other animals, despite the fact that the villages
of Albania are clearly emptying. Be careful when you go camping in
the park Llogara. Some hillsides can become very slippery,
especially after heavy rains.
Llogara National Park (Albanian: Parku Kombëtar i Llogarasë) is
a national park located on peaks along the Albanian Riviera in
South-Western Albania, covering an area of 1010 hectares (10.1
km2). The territory of the park includes large alpine meadows, steep
rocks, precipices and dense forests. Llogara was created in 1966
to protect several ecosystems and biodiversity of national
importance. The International Union for Conservation of Nature
(IUCN) has included Llogara Park in category II. Llogara National
Park is distinguished by an exceptional variety of landscape from
the alpine peaks of the Keran mountains covered with snow in winter
to the sunny Albanian Ionian Sea. At 1,027 m (3,369 ft), the Llogara Pass has stunning landscapes with high mountains
overlooking the Albanian Riviera and several islands in the sea. The
region is dominated by a Mediterranean climate. This means that
summers are hot and winters are usually dry and temperate. Despite
its proximity to the Mediterranean climate region, the alpine
climate prevails in the Maya e Chicés region. Geomorphologically
carbonate rocks occupy most of the area, while the mountains consist
of limestone and dolomite.
Tourism is the most important
sector in the park of Llogara Pass. It has the greatest potential
for sustainable income. Along National Road 8 there are several
restaurants, hotels, and more. The area of the park and the
surrounding mountains are covered with a web of walking paths. The
Caesar Pass, named after Julius Caesar, is located at the Llogara
Pass. According to him, the great Roman commander spent his army in
pursuit of Pompey.
In the north of the pass the valley of Dukat leads
to the southern end of the bay of Vlora near Orikum. In the south it
drops steeply from the pass to the Ionian Sea, whose coast is only
three kilometers as the crow flies, but over 1000 meters lower. In
contrast to the north with a narrow V-valley, the pass opens to the
south, where only a few cuts in the steep coast lead to water after
rainfall. The pass offers impressive views of the sea and, with good
visibility, over the entire Albanian Riviera to the Greek island of
Corfu, 50 kilometers away.
The mountain crossing is part of
the Albanian coastal road SH 8, which is the only paved road that
connects the Ionian coast - the Albanian Riviera - with northern
Albania. The road over the Qafa Llogara was expanded and expanded in
2008. The whole mountain range northwest of Qafa Llogara including
the Karaburun Peninsula is uninhabited and hardly accessible.
The north and south sides of the pass differ significantly.
Although almost twice as much rain falls per year on the south side
(2000–2500 mm) than north of the pass (1200–1400 mm), the south
slope is very bare and stony, while the north slope is forested and
green. The temperatures are also a lot lower on the south side.
In 48 BC Gaius Iulius Caesar landed in the civil war near the village of Palasa at the southern foot of the Llogara pass, crossed it and moved north against Pompey to the battle of Dyrrhachium. Individual historians, however, assume that Caesar landed in a small bay ten or 15 kilometers further north, which would correspond more to the described marching time to Oricum. He would not have crossed the mountains at the Llogara Pass either.