Travel Guide to Berat- City of Thousand Windows

The capital was a great start to the trip and it was time to move deeper into the Albanian culture, tradition and history. My next stop was Berat, just 2 hours away south from Tirana.  So people tend to do day trips from the city as well but as I was travelling further south, I decided to stay there for 2 days. The buses to Berat leave every 30 minutes from the South bus station which is a 10 min bus ride from the city centre. The bus to the station costs 40 Lek and the bus to Berat costs around 500 Lek (4.2 Pounds / 450 INR). I left by noon and slept throughout the bus journey. As I reached, the weather did not look great. The old town where I was staying was a 30-minute walk from the bus stop or a 10 min bus ride. I decided to take the local bus costing 40 Lek which dropped me there near the Gorica Bridge.

The old town of Berat is divided by the river Osum with the Gorica Quarter on one side known for its Chrisitain population and the Mangalem Quarter which is predominantly Muslim. Of course, this population division no longer exists now, but this was the case during the Ottoman era. You can still find churches and mosques on either sides of the town and also beautifully structured houses dating back to the Ottoman era.

My hostel ‘Berat Backpackers’ was in the Gorcia Quarter. All the paths in the old town are made of stones; so if you have a suitcase then good luck dragging it around! As soon as I reached my hostel, it started raining heavily which was a buzzkill. The hostel was a small, cosy one and great to chill around. It was a quieter than the one in Tirana. It had a nice outdoor and indoor space where you can relax, play guitar or read books. I paid 2290 Lek (19 Pounds / 2000 INR) for 2 nights.The hostel does many tours such as the wine tasting tour, canyon tour, waterfall tour which costs extra but is totally worth as suggested by a few fellow travellers. Berat has some local vineyards, so tasting the local wine should be a must try here.

I sat at the window and enjoyed the views of the Mangalem Quarters and the river. I was waiting for the rain to stop and it stopped just 30 minutes before the sunset. Me and my dorm-mates decided to climb up the hill in the Gorica Quarters from where you can have a good view of the town. Up there lie the Gorica ruins which are just scattered stones from the Ottoman times. It was a short and steep 20 minutes hike. The trail begins just a bit ahead of the Hostel where you see a sign board. You follow the path and you are up there. Due to the cloudy weather, we could not see a great sunset but it has some scenic views of the town. It felt nice to sit and have lively conversations with my new found friends. The descent on the boggy paths was a bit slippery due to the rain and we got dirty.

After a quick shower, we left for dinner. We were heading to a place called “Homemade Food Lili” which according to other travellers and locals was the best restaurant in Berat. But on our arrival there, we found out that one has to book it in advance as it was heavily overbooked. We were a little disappointed, but we found the next best and closest option – “Restaurant Beratino” which had a lovely ambience and good reviews as well. I ordered Fergese which is one of Albania’s national dishes made with tomatoes, peppers and cottage cheese served with bread. I also ordered some local Albanian beer called “Korca”. The food was finger-licking, but the beer was ok. We then had some raki and ice creams before heading back to our hostel for the night. We tried the wine at the hostel which was their own and I loved it.

The next morning, after a refreshing breakfast, I was ready to climb up the Berat Castle. Built in the 13th Century, the Berat Castle is the biggest castle in Albania. What makes it unique is that people still live inside the citadel walls. So it’s like a village inside the castle complete   with houses, shops and restaurants. The entry fee is 300 Lek (2.5 Pounds / 270 INR). It is a 30-45 minutes hike up to the castle and you can find the route easily on the maps. If you have a car, you can drive up till the main gate from where you go and explore the Castle’s interiors. The castle has so many beautiful viewpoints from each and every side giving you a panoramic 360-degree perspective of the town. You can easily spend 3-4 hours here; have a cup of coffee or lunch in the local cafes and restaurant.

Walk along the walls and feel the history of this structure. Once upon a time, the Castle had around 30 churches, but today you find less than 10   including the Church of St. George, Holy Trinity church and the Cathedral Assumption of Saint Mary. While Christianity was the dominant religion among the residents of the Castle, the ruins of Red Mosque indicate the existence of a sizeable population of Muslims.
If time permits, one should visit the museum as well which houses some rich artwork, intricate wood carvings and icons, offering a glimpse into the Castle’s rich cultural heritage. Once you reach the end of the Castle you have the main viewing point marked by the Albanian flag. From here you get a stunning view of the Gorica Quarters and the hill we climbed the day before. It was quite hot and sunny so I took shelter in a small cafe near the viewing point. A local approached me, saw my camera and was so excited to show me the oldest house of the Castle and some cannons which were along the walls. Despite the language barrier, he couldn’t speak proper English, but the glimmer in his eyes showed his passion for his hometown – he wanted me to showcase his hometown’s treasures and share it with the rest of the world through my lens.

After a short break, I climbed down from the other end which was the steeper side. The descent hardly took 10 minutes and I was in the Mangalem Quarters. A few locals suggested I visit the Ethnographic Museum but unfortunately, I couldn’t due to some other commitments. The museum is said to house a lot interesting information dating back centuries showcasing the history of Albania and Berat.

I strolled down the Mangalem quarters, saw the Lead Mosque, King Mosque and Bachelor’s Mosque from the outside, grabbed a Byrek- a flaky, savoury pastry made up of paper thin layers of simple dough with different stuffing such as beef, spinach, cheese, milk, egg. It is not only a traditional Albanian dish, but also a popular street food in the Balkans. I grabbed the meat byrek for lunch from a local bakery and went back to my hostel to finish off my pending work. Byrek (pronounced as Bu-Rek) is easily available as it is consumed a lot by the locals for breakfast and as a snack. I quickly got done with my work and was thinking of going towards the new town through the Bulevardi Republika – a boulevard walk which runs through the town. But as I was stepping out, God had some other plans. Heavy rains accompanied by thunder and lightning made me stay back in the hostel to enjoy the weather. The thing I love about such situations is that being in a hostel, I had people around me to talk to and socialise; to get to know them better and learn more about their culture. These unexpected events made for some sweet memorable moments in my trip.

Finally, the rains stopped after pouring non-stop for almost 4 hours. It was already dark just after sunset which means it was the “xhiro hour”. The xhiro is an evening activity where people from all over the town congregate and walk up and down the main boulevard which is an Albanian tradition. Despite the heavy rainfall, the Republika was full of people enjoying the xhiro. All the cafes and restaurants were also full of locals. It was remarkable to see the strong sense of bonding and unity within the town.

As the raining resumed, we ran to the nearest refuge available and dined there. This place was called the Lundra fast food pizzeria, not too far from our hostel. The ATM and money exchange store too was close, so I got some cash. It was a fast food restaurant and inexpensive as well. We had Pizzas, Crepes and some more Korca. After a yummy dinner we sprinted back to the hostel in the rain. Once it stopped raining for good, all the residents of the hostel came to the common area for a bonfire night. With some more raki and wine, some lovely live music and a great atmosphere, it was time for me to bid adieu to Berat. My next destination was going to be Gjirokaster another beautiful and larger city than Berat.