On this ultrarunning destination weekend, I flew into the Tirana International Airport on a Friday afternoon. The day started extremely early as there were reports of the Stockholm Arlanda Airport being overwhelmed by summer travelers, so I arrived at 3:30am to ensure no problems getting through security. While the main hall was packed beyond a level, I’d ever seen in an airport, I could get through security in just minutes, leaving me with a long wait at the gate.

On the approach into Tirana, Albania one already gets an appreciation for the beauty of the location given how the city is nestled into the surrounding mountain range. In addition, Tirana is just miles from the Adriatic Sea with miles of sandy beaches. I’d scheduled a taxi ahead of time, so my taxi driver was waiting and we had a non-eventful 30-minute ride to the hotel.

I’d picked the Select Hill Resort Hotel purely because it sits immediately next to a trail that winds up to the top of the Dajti Mountain. The area is also a national park, Dajti National Park. Most visitors to Tirana take an easier way up the mountain on the Dajti Ekspres cable car, but the climb was the main attraction of my run. Despite my logic for picking the hotel, it turned out to be an excellent place to stay for the weekend given its excellent outdoor pool, outdoor eating areas, and one of the best indoor pools I’ve ever swam in. My hotel room also had a small balcony overlooking the pool area. The front desk staff was extremely friendly, and the service was friendly and attentive throughout. I also very much enjoyed the fresh fish at dinner and the breakfast buffet with so many choices.

What made this experience in Tirana so great, was that my trip included running and also touring activities. On the first day, I had a rugged trail running experience with plenty of elevation gain, and on day 2, a nearly 8 hour walking tour of the downtown, including a lunch with traditional Albanian food.

Day 1 - Mountain running

I woke up early and started my day with an espresso. The hotel breakfast didn’t open till 8am, so I got in some coffee prior to having a quick breakfast and getting on the trail before it got too hot (which it was anyway). The trail starts about 100 yards (meters) from the door of the hotel on a gravel road. What’s especially cool about this run is that you can see your final destination, the radio towers at the top of the mountain from the very start. In addition, there are amazing views of the hotel and city just as you start off but only get better the higher you go.

The first part of the trail is a heavily rutted dirt road, with a few signs that show you are on the right track. I always have my map downloaded to Gaia GPS though, which even on this mostly well-marked trail still proved to be very beneficial. Right at the point where the trail transitions from the gravel road to single-track there had been a large washout of the trail recently so it wasn’t clear where to go. By using Gaia GPS I could figure out where I needed to get despite the trail having disappeared.

The single track portion of the trail is very rocky, and extremely steep. During the day I climbed just about 5000 feet (1524m). The trail is easy to follow as there are no other places to go beyond where the trail has been carved out. At least in this time of the year it’s not heavily used, as I didn’t see another person on the trail the entire day, except for just near where the cable car dropped people off.

At the top of the mountain there are two main peaks, but 3 different trails you can follow. As you are heading up, the trail to the left will take you to Mount Tujanit, and the trail to the right will take you to Mount Dajti along the Dajti Ridge Trail. I went left first to Mount Tujanit, mistakenly thinking that it was the higher peak. But, once there I could see the higher peak of Mount Dajti to the east. After spending some time having a snack, I headed back east along the Dajti Ridge Trail which was a nice out and back that also passed by some very interesting soviet era buildings still used for telecommunications equipment. This is the trail used by the Dajti Trail Ultramarathon. I originally had ideas to run part of the racecourse, but the ascent of the mountain was much longer and steeper than I expected. If you plan to run the ultramarathon trail on your own, then I’d suggest using the cable car to the top first so you have more time to run the 20km loop on the backside of the mountain. There is another trail that winds around to the back of the mountain that takes you all the way to the peak.

One thing to note is that I talked to a local the next day about my run, and he was surprised I did it in my regular trail running shoes. He said there are snakes on the mountain, but in my experience, on such a hot day one is not going to see the snakes. While rare, the nose-horned viper would be nasty to come across. On the back side of the mountain he said there are also brown bears. I didn’t realize that brown bears were found outside of Alaska, but it seems they are dangerous similarly to grizzlies. There are few Albanian brown bears remaining here, but this is their habitat, and he thought it was most safe to travel in groups of no less than three.

At the peak of Mount Dajti, there is an old sign telling all visitors to stop for the guards. Just past this gate is an entry to a bunker complex. Upon further research, I found Albania was known for the 173,371 bunkers built throughout the country. Bunkers were the cornerstone of Albania’s defense strategy during the cold war, and you will see many of them around as you tour. I saw one of the kind with a domed top on the mountain, but at the time assumed it had something to do with water collection.

While you should carry a lot of water because of the heat and sun exposure, as long as the cable car station is open you can stop there to get water and a snack (or even lunch if you like). There is also a full-service restaurant and even a putt putt course! Be sure to take cash as they didn’t accept credit cards at the cafe!

The run back down the mountain was uneventful, and I was rewarded with plenty of expansive views of the city.

Tracks

Select Hill Resort to Mount Tujanit and Dajti - Tirana, Albania

Start and End: Select Hill Resort
Elevation Gain: 5000 feet (1424m)
Distance: 14 miles (22.5km)

Gallery

Day 2 - Walking Self Tour of Tirana

Tirana turned out to be an excellent city for a walking tour because of so many interesting sites to see in a walkable area.

I came to find out that Albania is well known for its coffee culture, but it primarily consists of informal cafes, and having an espresso, always with 2 sugars and a glass of water. While I didn’t see it, my understanding is that while not specified, these cafes are for men or women. Their coffee culture is why my day started with espresso at that hotel, since while I don’t normally drink espresso, when I asked for coffee, this is what I was served. The other thing I found out was that Albania is a country of smokers, only second to Turkey for per capita consumption. They still put ashtrays on the tables at restaurants!

My tour of the city started off with a cab ride to the BUNK’ART cold war bunker. What was cool about the taxi services in Albania is that many of them use WhatsApp for their dispatching. Since it's easy to share one's location through WhatsApp, WhatsApp works really well for calling a cab. It was also helpful to have someone on the other end answer some of my questions about travel in the city, as well as plan for the trip back to the airport on Monday. I used DoTaxi, they were very helpful and responsive the entire day. However, as with travel in any city, I always map the destination on my phone and show it to the cab driver so they know that I’m watching the distance and how to get there. Also, be sure to get cash, the drivers don’t take credit cards.

The places I toured during the day:

BUNK’ART - Cold war bunker complex on the edge of the city.
Grand Park of Tirana - A large lake with walking and biking trails surrounding it. Many areas with tall trees offer shade on a hot day.
BUNK’ART 2 - A bunker that is an excellent example of one of the larger domed bunkers found throughout Albania
Skanderbeg Square - Central point of Tirana, with a massive area tiled with marble, and a large statue
Oda - Traditional Albania Cuisine - Excellent restaurant with its own outdoor courtyard just a short walk from Skanderbeg Square. Offers many traditional dishes.
Et'hem Bej Mosque - A small mosque closed until 1991 when a crowd of 10,000 people turned up to worship. One of many actions that led to the fall of communism in Albania.
National History Museum - A large museum with collections spanning ancient to modern times in Albania
House of Leaves - A museum in the building used by the Albanian government to spy on citizens throughout the cold war
Tanners Bridge - A bridge that no longer spans a river, moved some time ago. From Wikipedia, “The bridge is now seen by the municipality of Tirana as one of the most important cultural heritage monuments of the city. The bridge is considered as a testimony of Tirana's urban development in the 18th century. The Tanner's Bridge is also a testimony of fine bridge construction from the area of Tirana.”
Colored Buildings - Located throughout the city, but many are along the Lana River.
Lana River Walk - A great way to explore the city from the central parts to the outskirts. Tree lined in most places to help escape the strong sun.