ALBANIA

Albania is a country on the east side of the Adriatic Sea located on a portion of Europe called the Balkan Peninsula. Its neighbors are Montenegro to the North and Greece to the south. Albania has a current population of about 2.8 million people who were under communist rule from 1944-1991after liberation from Fascist occupation and was interestingly called the Democratic Government of Albania. It was later known as the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania. The current capital of the country is Tirana where it hosts the main administrative, financial and economic activities of the country. The Albanian Lekë is the currency used today.

The official language of Albania, known as shqip or shqipe, is the only surviving member of its branch of the Indo-European language family, descending from the extinct Illyrian tongue. It has 36 letters of the alphabet and is not an easy language learn because of the historical influences over time. Albania also has a sign language.

About ¾ of the land in Albania is mountainous which makes for small microclimates throughout the country. It offers a diverse range of ecosystems that remain largely unexplored by mass tourism. It has beautiful National Parks and four UNESCO Heritage sites of nature and or culture including: Butrint, Lake Ohrid region, Historic centers of Berat and Gjirokaster, plus the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forest of the Carpathians and other Regions of Europe.

Some of the popular outdoor activities for tourists in Albania include hiking, trekking, paragliding, kayaking, fishing, rafting, and wildlife watching.