Divjaka-Karavasta National Park

Dalmation pelican in Divjakë-Karavasta .

The Karavasta Lagoon is the largest lagoon in Albania and one of the largest in the Mediterranean Sea.

The lagoon is situated in the west of Albania and the largest town found near the lagoon is Lushnjë.

Understand

The National Park of Divjaka-Karavasta is the biggest park and lagoon in Albania. The lagoon itself has a surface of 4300 ha and the forest is 1200 ha. It is known for the rich biodiversity and it is a Ramsar zone by being an important area for water birds. Tourists are very much interested in the nature and lagoons of this kind of park. On top of the hill close to the lagoon there is an observation tower to view all the landscape. From that observation point, tourists can see the Seman river, Spille beach and surrounding hills. The tourists that visit this place are mostly foreigners and people from the area are trained in terms of touristic guide in order to develop the economy of the zone. Apart from being an attractive place, the park is populated by abundant mosquitos. However, there are programs of spraying organic pesticides all over the lagoon especially in the areas close to places where people live. When visiting the park, tourists bring insect repellent spray with them.

Landscape

The lagoon is cut of from the Adriatic Sea by a long sandy bar and has many pine trees and small sandy islands.

Flora and fauna

The lagoon is famous for the rare Dalmatian Pelican which nests there: In fact 5% of the world's population of this type of pelican is found in this lagoon. There are 250 types of vegetation.

Get in

To get into the park, you should walk about 20-25 minutes from Divjaka town towards the park of Divjaka. Once you are in the park, you can visit the Visitor center to get information about the park and lagoon.

Fees and permits

There are no entry fees or special permits needed to visit the zone.

See

• The flocks of pelicans.
• The old beach huts used by Albanians as a resting place during the communism regime.

Do

• Go for a hike.

Eat

• Local seafood.
• Varaçja - the most favorite mussels in Divjaka. If you want to have varaçe you shoud order it on the phone. A plate of spaghettis with varaçe costs 4000 lekë.

Drink

• Traditional Albanian raki.
• Wine.
• Beer.

Stay safe

• Some insect repellent may be needed to keep off the mosquitoes

Go next

• Fier
• Vlorë
• Spille
• Durrës