Pogradec, Korçë County, Albania
While Albania does not look very big on the map, it takes
several hours on winding two lane roads to get from Tirana and Elbasan to Lake
Ohrid. Most of the distance is in the Lingiaca
River valley and looks a lot like the central Appalachians in U.S., not just in
terms of natural landscape but also declining towns and derelict industry. Once you cross a pass at about 3,600 feet
(1,100 meters) Lake Ohrid comes into
view in all its glory, sometimes compared too Lake Tahoe of Lake Atitlan
(Guatemala) in appearance, other high altitude lakes ringed by mountains.
Lake Ohrid is the largest natural lake in the Balkans and is
designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO for both its unique natural
characteristics (200+ endemic fish species) and its cultural and historical
importance. Most of the Christian
heritage sites, however, are on the North Macedonian east side of the lake
rather than in Albania. I saw those on
by 2015 Undiscovered Balkans trip with Explore.
I recall back then Lake Ohrid being very high on my literal list of
places I want to go, which now makes me realize that I’ve spent the last 11 or
12 years checking off places around the world I want to travel to.
That list just keeps getting longer as add
more places to it than I check off. So
many places, so little time!
Our first stop was at a lakeside village named Lin at the
bottom of the descent from the pass.
Lunch was at a lakeside restaurant with tables on a wooden platform
literally above the water. I naturally
chose the regional specialty, a species of trout unique too Lake Ohrid that’s
locally known as Koran. According to
guide Dennis, it’s all caught wild in the lake since it can’t be farmed like
most trout are. That was accompanied by what
they called a mixed salad, an enormous platter of various vegetable salads that
is apparently intended to be shared between several people. I managed to polish it all off myself,
though.
After that it was a walk from the village up to the ruins of
a Paleo-Christian Basilica perched on a peninsula high above the lake. Lin basilica is one of relatively few ancient
Christian sites on the Albanian site of the lake and is most famous for its
well-preserved mosaic floor dating from the 6th century. Honestly, the views over the lake are at
least as impressive and to historical site.
We spent to night in Pogradec, the largest lakeshore town at
the southern end of the lake. It brought
back memories from 2015 when I also stayed at Hotel Enkelana on my tour. Pogradec is pretty much of a resort town with
a long lakeside promenade and lots of bars and restaurants for summering
Albanians. It was quite lively my first
time there in September of 2015, but at the end of April is still too cool for
activity on the lake and was relatively deserted. It was perfect, though, for evening and
morning power walks on the promenade.
2025-05-23