We had gone a few years ago when my parents came to visit, but this time the weather was nicer and we're all in better shape so made the short climb to the top to see the amazing view from the top. It was pretty amazing to envision the people who built it, strategically located to look along the valley to Durres.
After that we made our way to Pëllumbas, a small village where we got a bit of lunch to eat before following a well-maintained trail along the mountains to an amazing cave called Shpella Pëllumbasit (the cave of Pëllumbas).
The silence of the mountains was only disturbed by the rushing sound of the river below, and the occasional braying of a donkey from the village. The trail was not too muddy, and there were handrails and steps installed in the trickiest spots, as well as a few benches at lookout spots like the one above. We saw a lot of mushrooms, beetles, and grasshoppers.
I was about to give up when we finally got to the cave - it was pretty impressive, having been inhabited by humans since the Paleolithic! (well, not continuously - I don't think anyone lives there now)
There were steps carved into the cave wall here near the entrance.
Apparently you can rent lanterns and helmets to do a proper spelunking, and hire a guide, but we just moseyed around the entrance and imagined being ancient humans living there. The cave floor was quite dry, so it seemed like a perfect ready-made place to hunker down in bad weather between hunting and foraging trips.
We don't know much about mushrooms, but there were a number of different kinds visible and I imagine some are edible.
It was a beautiful, amazing day trip and I'm so glad we did it.
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