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Berat & Belshi Lake Day Trip from Durrës

Based in Tirana instead, or want a winery rather than a lake? See the Berat day trip from the capital →

5.063 Google reviewsDay trip from Durrës, Golem or Qerret

Berat earns its nickname the moment you come around the last bend: two hillsides of white Ottoman houses facing each other across the Osum, each one a grid of tall windows, all of them catching the light at once. UNESCO listed the whole thing in 2008 and it has barely changed since.

Itinerary

For reference only. Itineraries are subject to change.

  1. 07:00

    Pickup along the Durrës coast

    Collected from your hotel and south through olive country towards Elbasan.

  2. 08:45

    Belsh lake stop

    Coffee on the water and a short swim if you want one. Belsh sits on a plateau of about eighty small lakes surrounded by olive terraces.

  3. 10:30

    Berat Castle quarter

    Up through the gate into the inhabited fortress: Byzantine churches, cobbled lanes, and the view straight down onto the Osum.

  4. 11:45

    Onufri National Museum

    Housed in the Cathedral of the Dormition inside the walls. Icons, an iconostasis in carved and gilded wood, and the Onufri red.

  5. 13:00

    Mangalem and the stone bridge

    Down into the old quarter, across the Ottoman bridge to Gorica, and the classic view back at the thousand windows.

  6. 15:00

    Lunch at Belsh

    Late lunch at a lakeside restaurant on the way home: grilled fish or meat, village salad, olives from the trees around you.

  7. 17:00

    Back to the coast

    Dropped at your hotel around 17:00 to 17:30.

Experience & Highlights

  • The Mangalem and Gorica quarters, windows stacked up both hillsides
  • Berat Castle, a walled quarter people still live in
  • Onufri National Museum and its 16th-century icons
  • A swim and a lakeside lunch at Belsh
  • Hotel pickup from Durrës, Golem and Qerret

Full Description

We walk up into the castle quarter, which is still a living neighbourhood rather than a monument, with families and washing lines and cats between the Byzantine churches. Inside is the Onufri Museum, a collection of 16th-century icons by a painter who mixed a red nobody has since reproduced.

From the Durrës resorts the route runs through Belsh, a plateau of small lakes and olive groves that most Berat trips drive straight past. We stop there both ways: a swim and a coffee on the outbound leg, and lunch at a lakeside restaurant on the way home.

What's included

  • Hotel pickup and drop-off in Durrës, Golem and Qerret
  • Air-conditioned transport
  • English-speaking guide in Berat
  • Lunch at Belsh with soft drinks
  • Bottled water

Not included

  • Berat Castle entry (€2, paid on the gate)
  • Onufri Museum entry (€3)
  • Alcoholic drinks

Good to know

  • The castle lane is steep and cobbled. Flat shoes with grip make it much easier.
  • Bring a swimsuit and a towel if you want the Belsh swim. The stop is short but the water is warm all summer.
  • The Onufri Museum closes on Mondays. On Mondays we extend the castle walk and the Gorica side instead.
  • This is a ten-hour day. If you would rather have a shorter one, the Tirana departure is an hour less driving.

Good questions, honest answers

How far is Berat from Durrës?

About two and a half hours each way via Belsh, so a full ten-hour day door to door. The direct route is slightly quicker but skips the lake district, and the Belsh stop is what makes this version worth the extra half hour.

Why is Berat called the city of a thousand windows?

The Ottoman houses on the Mangalem and Gorica hillsides are built in tiers, each one wider at the top than the bottom and fronted with rows of tall wooden windows. Seen from the river they read as one continuous wall of glass, which is where the name comes from.

Can you swim at Belshi Lake?

Yes. Belsh is a freshwater plateau lake with easy shore access and no current, and it stays warm from June into September. Bring a swimsuit and a towel; the morning stop is about forty minutes.

Plan the rest of your trip

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