TIRANA, Nov 15 /ATA/ Just four kilometres beyond Tepelenë, along the national road towards Gjirokastër, a turn-off leads to the village of Luzat, a hidden natural gem in one of Albania’s most beautiful yet largely unexplored areas.
The village’s historic quarter, characterised by picturesque old houses set against mountains rising more than 1,500 metres, surrounded by forests and streams, now has only five inhabited homes, all occupied by elderly residents. Most of the remaining population has emigrated or moved to nearby towns and Tirana.
The houses are spacious, with courtyards adorned with grapevines and fruit trees, while chickens and other domestic animals roam freely through the village streets.
The few remaining residents are exceptionally welcoming. One woman opens her door as soon as we ask whether we could fill our water bottles before setting off for Mount Buzë Bredhit, in the highlands above the village. She lives there with her husband, while their children have moved abroad.
“You have a beautiful house,” I tell her. “We have worked our whole lives for this house,” she replies in the local Lab dialect, which sounds remarkably gentle coming from her.
Although modest in appearance, Luzat has much to offer. Located close to the national road, the village serves as a starting point for a range of outdoor activities, as well as visits to cultural attractions.
One such attraction is the Kalo family house museum, which has been reconstructed to preserve and showcase the area’s history, culture and patriotic heritage. Inside the museum, known as “Vatra”, visitors can explore objects from traditional Lab daily life, historical documents and accounts of the village’s contribution to major national events.
The village’s old school has also been transformed into the LuzatArt regional centre. Every year, usually in mid-August, the village welcomes artists from Albania, the Western Balkans and around the world, who come to stay in the village for several days.
The artists create installations, mosaics, stone and wood sculptures, as well as murals directly in the village’s outdoor spaces. One notable example is “The Moon”, a mural by Italian artist Giorgio Rizzo. These works remain permanently on display, turning the village into a veritable open-air contemporary art museum, with sculptures and installations scattered among Luzat’s hills, trees and stone walls.
Luzat’s remaining residents preserve the village’s homes and traditions, while returning families help maintain their properties and land. Despite its quiet appearance, the village offers visitors mountain trails, an abandoned quarry and the secluded Luzat Waterfall, also known as the Three Waterfalls.
The area is home to three successive waterfalls, situated just a few metres apart, with crystal-clear, icy water flowing down from the slopes of Mount Buzë Derrit. Unlike other waterfalls in southern Albania, which often dry up completely during the summer months, Luzat’s numerous natural springs keep the water flowing almost throughout the year.
Further uphill, the scenery becomes even more impressive, with a mountain trail winding through dense woodland and a rich variety of trees and shrubs covering the slopes, highlighted by striking shades of yellow and deep red.
The forests above Luzat are particularly notable for their dense vegetation, with the silver fir standing out as the mountain’s defining feature. One of the area’s best-known natural landmarks, Buza e Bredhit (Fir Ridge), takes its name from this tree and is also designated as a Natural Monument.
The red sumac is the main source of the vivid red hues that colour the rocky landscape around Tepelenë. Its rounded leaves turn fiery red and deep orange in autumn, creating a striking contrast with the evergreen fir trees of Buza e Bredhit.
The woodland also features wild maple trees, whose star-shaped leaves take on spectacular shades ranging from bright yellow to vivid red.
Within and around the village, visitors can also spot centuries-old trees, some still standing majestically with their branches reaching towards the sky, while others bear the scars of lightning strikes or the passage of time.
As the ascent continues, the sounds of the forest and mountains are interspersed with the barking of dogs from several shepherds’ huts. The corrugated-metal roofs of the buildings and the water troughs used to quench the livestock’s thirst during the summer months are clear signs that animal husbandry is the main source of livelihood for local residents. Along the trail, herds of goats are the most common sight. The area’s dairy products are renowned and sought after throughout Albania.
The trail crosses several mountain ridges before continuing above the forest line, where alpine pastures begin. As soon as you reach Buza e Bredhit, the landscape changes completely.
According to local legends, the summit of Buzë Derrit is named after a giant wild boar which, pursued by hunters, eventually became exhausted and enraged, crashed into the mountain and turned to stone. Seen up close, the legend seems almost plausible, as the deep fissures, sharply cut rock formations and crater-like meadows give the impression that some tremendous collision may once have taken place here. Of course, the unusual landscape was not shaped by a giant boar, but by geological fractures and movements in the distant past, which have created such a remarkable variety of landforms in one place.
Another possible explanation for the name is the large number of wild boars that inhabit the surrounding forests. Their tracks were visible all along the trail, particularly where they had dug into the ground in search of nutritious roots.
Local legends offer several explanations for the name Buzë Derrit, linking it to a giant wild boar said to have crashed into the mountain and turned to stone, the wild boars that inhabit its forests, or the summit’s resemblance to a snout. The peak offers spectacular views over the Vjosa Valley, while its dramatic landscape features a 700-metre vertical cliff on the southern side and vast karst sinkholes.
Beyond the Vjosa Valley, the mountain ranges of Shëndëlli, Lunxhëri and Bureto rise in a series of parallel peaks. To the north, Mount Këndërvica stands out at 2,121 metres, the highest peak in the Kurvelesh Highlands, while the view extends as far as the ridge of the Çika Mountains. Further south, the valley towards the Gjirokastër area unfolds, surrounded by hills and small, isolated villages.
The climb to the summit of Buzë Bredhit is undoubtedly challenging, but rewards those with the determination to reach it with one of the wildest and most beautiful panoramas in Labëria.
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