One of the most attractive and fascinating territories of the Albanian lands, with many natural beauties and great tourist assets, are the Albanian Alps. They constitute the most mountainous and interesting region of our country and rank us among the few European countries with Alps. Most of Albania’s peaks above 2,000m above sea level are located here, the highest peak of the Alps, Jezerca (2,694m), the second after the peak of Korab (2,751m).
The relief has the shape of a large dome, while the mountain ridges and valleys have a radial distribution. Of special value are the forms of karst and glacial relief. There are many large karst caves, reaching up to 5 km in length (Puc cave), etc. The glacial relict relief, with a greater spread than anywhere else in Albania, is related to the high altitude, the northernmost position and the most developed pre-glacial relief.
Among the main rivers of the Alps are: Shala, Valbona, Cemi, Curraj-Nikaj, Kiri, Gashi, Próroi i That etc. There are about 30 glacial lakes, located in groups, such as in the Gashi highlands (Dobërdol and Sylbicë), in Runicë and the Jezerce block. The soils are mountain broën, forest broën and mountain meadow. The broën forest lands, developed under beech and conifer forests, have the largest extent.
The animal world is rich and diverse. It consists of many species of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. Large, protected and rare mammals are found, such as: lynx, wild goat, roe deer, bear, etc. The globally threatened otter is found in the fresh waters of alpine rivers.
The Albanian Alps are as magnificent as the European Alps, an important tourist, gastronomic, scientific and biological attraction, etc.
