Vjosa Wild River National Park National Park

Address: Vjosa Wild River National Park, Vjosa River corridor, Albania

The Vjosa Wild River National Park is a protected area in Gjirokastër County, southwestern Albania, formally designated in 2023 as a national park. It is noted for protecting a near-natural river corridor and associated floodplain habitats.

The park was created in 2023 following a multi-year campaign by scientists, local communities, and conservation groups to prevent dam construction and conserve the river in a near-natural state. The designation consolidated legal protection for a continuous stretch of the river and its immediate floodplain.

The park lies in southwestern Albania within Gjirokastër County, along a stretch of the Vjosa river corridor flowing toward the Adriatic Sea. It sits between mountain foothills and the coastal plain and is accessible from towns along the river valley.

• Establishment: Declared by the Albanian government in 2023 after a long conservation campaign.
• River length: The Vjosa river’s total length is about 272 km, making it one of the longer near-natural rivers in Europe.
• Significance: Designated as Europe’s first Wild River National Park, it protects a contiguous stretch of free-flowing river and its floodplain habitats.

The Vjosa corridor can be reached from Gjirokastër, Tepelenë, or Përmet. Road travel from Tirana to the towns near the park takes several hours; local operators in Tepelenë and Përmet offer rafting, canyoning, and guided walks. Many access points are riverside parking areas and small village launches rather than developed visitor centres.

• Hire a licensed local guide - Albanian rangers and local NGOs know the best river access points and the fragile side-valleys most visitors miss.
• Bring waterproof footwear for river crossings; many of the best vantage points require fording small tributaries.
• Go early in the morning to hear the river without the motorboat traffic that builds later in the day.