Where is Himarë?
Himarë lies on the Ionian coast of southern Albania, in the heart of the Albanian Riviera, and gives its name to the municipality that also covers Dhërmi, Vuno, Qeparo and Borsh.
It is the middle of the drive: on the National Tourism Agency's Riviera itinerary, the road from Llogara runs through Himarë on its way from Dhërmi and the Llogara Pass down to Sarandë. These are the stops it names, in order.
Palasë and Dhërmi
Where the road reaches the sea after Llogara; the municipality gives Palasë beach more than 1.5 km.
Himarë
The town, its castle on the hill and Llamani beach, about 5 min away by car on the Porto Palermo road.
Porto Palermo
A sheltered bay and its castle, 8 km south of Himarë.
Qeparo
An old pier in a small bay and Skalome beach, with fine sand and shallow water.
Borsh
2 km on from Qeparo, with the longest beach of the area.
Bunec, Lukovë and Sarandë
The last villages before the road arrives in Sarandë.
What is there to see in Himarë castle?
Himarë castle is a quarter you walk into rather than a ruin you look at: it stands on a rocky hill above the town and the Ionian, and the National Tourism Agency says parts of it are still lived in.
The municipality calls it a monument to 3,500 years of human presence and dates it to at least the middle of the fourth century BC; stretches of Hellenistic wall survive. Around it stand churches from several centuries, among them Saint Michael, built in 1205–1215, and All Saints at the entrance, from 1775.
From the top, the view drops to Livadh beach. In the town itself, the tourism agency points to the church of Saint Spyridon, and inside the walls to the church of Saint Mary.
Who built Porto Palermo castle?
It depends on which official source you read, and together they tell the story. The National Tourism Agency credits Ali Pasha of Tepelena, in the early nineteenth century, and sets the castle on a hill over the bay, about 8 km south of Himarë.
The municipality of Himarë calls that attribution a mistake. In its account, a French military architect designed the castle on the ruins of a triangular Venetian fort of 1453, keeping the same triangular plan, and Ali Pasha set a stone plaque above the gate.
The castle sits on a small peninsula joined to the shore by a 50 m isthmus. The agency describes the bay as calm and sheltered, with clean water for swimming and a small beach; boats often stop there for a break.
Which beaches are around Himarë?
Several, each with its own character. Llamani lies about 5 min from town by car on the Porto Palermo road, in a small bay ringed by hills, and Jalë, which the tourism agency calls one of the most secluded bays in the south, is wrapped in Mediterranean woodland.
Further south, Qeparo has Skalome beach, with fine sand and shallow water, below a church of 1760 and a monastery of 1881. Borsh, 2 km past Qeparo, has the longest beach of the area, reached through olive groves under a castle the municipality dates to the fourth century BC.
Is there nightlife in Himarë?
In summer, yes, and mostly on the beach. The National Tourism Agency says parties and youth clubs run around the clock at Llamani during the summer; it names no venues, so we do not either.
The agency's list of international festivals also includes a Himara International Music Festival, with no 2027 dates published. For club nights with a calendar, keep going south to Sarandë and Ksamil: Saranda or Ksamil helps you choose between them, and the calendar has the dates as they are announced.
