Roshnik, Albania – A place to forget the rest of the world

A town in the mountains off the usual path, three curious ladies, one day, and everything you need to lose track of time.
Just a 40 min drive from Berat along a tar road, enjoying the view of the surrounding landscape takes you to Roshnik. East of Berat, located in the hills, the small village mainly consists of the main road passing a tiny restaurant, leading to a roundabout, and at the end of the road, you can find a winery as well as a recently established guesthouse. Even Nina would not get lost.

Speaking about Nina…
This time the explorer team consisted of gorgeous Nina, tiny Pia and quite crazy, sweet, and a badass at the same time Keti. We stopped at the restaurant Roshniku first to have a chat with the owner. Once again, we were welcomed warmly and got offered a whole tour through the village. With the assistance of the owner, we ordered the traditional food of the region before we went on.

Just a few steps away you can find the winery which is also managed by the family Fiskas since 1994. Entering the winery, you see huge barrels and tanks – wine in the making. Not only do they produce red and white wine but not to forget, Rakia of course. From the terrace, you have a stunning view of the yard where the wine as well as other fruits are grown, and depending on the season you can even go fruit picking. We would have loved to just sit there, enjoy the sun on the skin, and have a glass of wine – or two, three… would have ended great, I guess.

However, we continued our discovery tour by crossing the street to have a look at the family-owned guesthouse. The rooms, dorms, and apartments looked quite comfy and all together they can accommodate up to 25 people. The main highlight though, speaking for myself, was the outside sitting area in the yard. I could imagine myself enjoying breakfast underneath that wooden pavilion, letting my eyes wander across the scenery, and watching the sunrise.
Picturing yourself right there at that moment?! Well then, you better get your bum moving right there…

On our way back to the restaurant you could see the oldest house in the town in the distance. It is open for everyone and no entrance fee. If you are keen for a few more kilometers there are also various hiking trails to the well-known Tomorri Mountain with different levels of difficulty, Keti would probably rather choose the 2h trail instead of the 7h one.

The restaurant Roshniku serves delicious traditional and organic food. All the ingredients are either self-grown by the family or the other villagers. You can even watch the baby goat cooked over an open fire. It was a joy eating that deliciousness, I do not think there was anything left at all.

After all, Roshnik in Albania seems so far away from stressful city life and is a perfect break from daily life. The short visit that we did was just not enough, but explorers got to move on.

Written by: Pia Marie Opitz, Intern at Elite Travel Group