Things to do in Berat

Berat has three quarters and one river. The Osum separates the castle quarter and Mangalem on one bank from Gorica on the other. Stacked Ottoman houses with rows of windows gave the town its nickname, the town of a thousand windows.

The old town gained UNESCO status in 2008. Tours in Berat are built from the old town and the mountains behind it. A guided walk through the old town takes about two hours.

What the old town holds

• The castle. A walled quarter on the hill, with churches inside. One of them holds the Onufri Museum, named for the 16th-century icon painter.
• Mangalem. The houses stacked above the river, and the mosques of the lower town. The King Mosque dates from 1481 to 1512, the Lead Mosque from 1555.
• Gorica. The far bank, reached over the old bridge. From there you look back across at the windows of Mangalem.

Mountains and canyons

• Bogova and the Osum canyons. A drive of about an hour and a quarter, with a breakfast stop in Polican. A short walk leads to the Bogova waterfall, then comes the canyon area. Rafting and canyoning are practised there.
• Mount Tomorr. A full day by 4x4 to about 2,400 metres, with a Bektashi shrine on the way up. Pilgrims gather at the summit mausoleum for five days in late August.
• Gorica hill. A six-hour guided trek from the town centre, over the old bridge and up to a viewpoint.

Many visitors come on day trips from Tirana or Durrës. Tirana is roughly two and a half hours away.

Practical

• Weather. Afternoons reach about 33C in high summer, with around 30 mm of rain a month in July and August. The year totals about 930 mm, mostly in the cooler months.
• Tomorr. It is far cooler at 2,400 metres than in town. Bring a jacket, hiking shoes and water.
• Lanes. The castle climb and the old lanes are steep and cobbled. Comfortable shoes matter.
• Mosques. Shoulders and knees should be covered, and shoes come off at the door.