GORGE DE KËLCYRA

Here, the Vjosa flows through a superb 13 km-long narrows (Gryka e Këlcyrës), near the small town of Këlcyra (population approx. 2,500). It's a beautiful stopover in the Vjosa National Park, along the SH 75 road to Tepelena and Gjirokastra. Wedged between the Trebeshina (1,922 m) to the north and Lunxhëri (2,155 m) to the south, the river forms a narrow corridor with cliffs up to 1,000 m high. The gorge ends with the magnificent falls of the "Black Water" river (Ujit të Zi), which flows into the Vjosa. At this point, the panoramic hotel-restaurant Gryka e Këlcyrës offers fine views of the left bank over a frail iron bridge. The site is also the base for several rafting agencies offering trips down the Vjosa from Përmet. The site is best known by its ancient Greek name of Klisoura/Κλεισούρα, which comes from the Latin clausura meaning "narrow passage". This was the site of several important battles. The Romans won a decisive victory here against the Macedonians in 198 BC. From January 6 to 11, 1941, during the Battle of Klisoura, the small Hellenic army succeeded in breaking through the lines held by Mussolini's troops, who had attempted to invade Greece three months earlier. About 1 km from the hotel-restaurant Gryka e Këlcyrës, on the right bank, is a Greek military cemetery containing the bodies of around a thousand Greek and Italian soldiers.