Day tour from Tirana to Berat with lunch and wine tasting in Roshnik

Berat Albania: history and wine day tour

Join us on this day tour from Tirana to Berat, with lunch and a visit to Roshnik to taste Albanian wine. You will reach Berat, the city of the ancient Ottoman white houses, nestled in the mountains. You will walk along the narrow paths of the old town and then go up to the castle, where you can enjoy an enchanting view of the city. Here, you can admire the fascinating collection of medieval icons in the Onufri Museum. In the afternoon you will head to the small village of Roshnik to meet the Fiska family, famous for their wine production.

Berat enchanting old town and the legend of mount Tomorr

Visiting Berat gets you more involved in the culture and history of this country. The city with its province occupies a central position on the map of Albania. Berat is about 100 km away from Tirana, and if you want, you have to travel 200 km from here to reach the sea. The city today has about 60,000 inhabitants in its central core and 120,000 in the administrative area. Berat is rich in history and culture. The first to interfere with the local culture of the Illyrians (predecessor to Albanians) were the Greeks, then the Byzantines, the Bulgarians and the Ottomans came. All have left traces of their passage, which are found in architecture, folklore and gastronomic traditions.

Berat was built on the sides of the Osum river, in the valley with the same name. The landscape is mountainous, dominated by the 2417 meters of Mount Tomorr. An ancient legend says that Tomorr, before being a mountain, was a giant. Giant Tomorr one day found himself fighting with another giant. The fight ended with both contenders under the ground, giving life to the mountains. A woman passing by saw the scene and was so touched that she could not stop crying. Her tears were so copious that they gave birth to the Osum river.

Berat history and art: route and stages

Leaving from Tirana, in about two hours of travel you will find yourselves in Berat. As soon as you arrive, you will begin the guided tour of the historic center, with particular attention being given to the districts of Gorica and Mangalem. This tour will take you back in time with a historical heritage that is now protected by UNESCO. You will pass from the medieval architecture of the white houses, built in stone during the Ottoman era, to the majesty of the King's Mosque. Then you will get to Halveti Tekke, the Sufi sanctuary built by Pasha Ahmet Kurti in 1782, with its wonderful wooden decorations. After the sanctuary, you will visit Berat Castle, a real fortress built to protect the huge patrimony of churches that is found here. Inside the castle area there is also the Onufri museum, that houses the most important collections of icons in the country and the Balkans.

Albanian wine tasting in Roshnik

After leaving Berat, you will move 15 km towards the countryside to reach the Roshnik village. Here you will be guests of the Fiska family at the Kantina Alpeta, for a lunch based on local specialties, tasting the best Albanian wine produced on site. After lunch, you will take a relaxing walk in the vineyards with a panoramic view of Mount Tomorr. In the late afternoon you will leave and return to Tirana.

Passengers must be able to walk long distances.