CHUTES D'EAU DE LA MIRUSHA

This series of twelve waterfalls (Ujëvarat e Mirushës, Miruše slapovi) is beautiful. It is part of a protected area created in 1982. A small tributary of the White Drin, the Mirusha River has carved out a narrow canyon 10 km long with cliffs up to 200 m high. It can be reached on foot by a well-developed trail that leads up the last part of the canyon, about 2 km long. On this section, the Mirusha River rises from 600 to 340 m in altitude. In the process, it makes twelve waterfalls, feeding sixteen small lakes. The most important waterfall, 21 m high, is located between the sixth and seventh lake. The last lake, which is the first to be reached, is one of the largest in the canyon, with a depth of 5 to 7 m. It is fed by a waterfall of about 10 m. It is fed by a waterfall about 15 m high. In summer, it is a popular meeting place for divers who climb the nearby rocks to reach the top and jump into the lake. Cool and shady, the site attracts many visitors during the summer season and a bar is set up near the last waterfall.

Regional park. The Mirusha Regional Park (Parku i Mirushës, Miruša Park) is located around the waterfalls. Covering an area of almost 6 km2 (598.4 ha), it covers the last part of the canyon and its surroundings. In addition to waterfalls and lakes, there are also several caves and cavities along the cliff faces. In the Middle Ages, these caves were home to Serbian Orthodox hermits from the 8th century. This complex geological system is the result of a long process with volcanic sedimentary formations dating from the Jurassic period, about 200-145 million years ago. Covered by a forest mainly composed of oaks and white willows, the park is home to 330 plant species, including mosses and lichens, but also a dozen flowers of species endemic to the Balkans, including a rare yellow broom(Genista hassertiana), the Macedonian scabiosa(Knautia macedonica) with small purple petals and the Albanian sanguisorba (Sanguisorbaalbanica), which is also purple. As for the fauna, the Mirusha Park is sometimes visited by the wolf. But the most common animals here are the wild cat, the marten, the badger, the wild boar, the muskrat, the squirrel and Hermann's tortoise. Beware, you may also come across the most dangerous snake in the country, the ammodyte viper.