Where two national parks meet at Përmet.

The position where two parks meet

The National Tourism Agency officially associates two national parks with Përmet: the Vjosa Wild River National Park and Hotova–Dangëlli National Park. The town lies in the Vjosa valley between the Dangëlli and Trebeshinë ranges, far from large urban centres.

This is the position that sets the town apart: a free-flowing river corridor meeting the forest massif that closes the valley to the east. A longer visit moves naturally from water to woodland.

Vjosa Wild River National Park

The park was declared on 15 March 2023 and is Europe’s first Wild River National Park. It is protected under IUCN Protected Area Management Category II.

The figures come straight from the IUCN announcement: the park protects over 400 kilometres of free-flowing river; Phase I covers 12,727 hectares; the river and its surroundings host over 1,100 animal species, of which 13 animal species and 2 plant species are assessed as globally threatened on the IUCN Red List.

The park was created by the Albanian Government, IUCN, and Patagonia, together with Save the Blue Heart of Europe campaign NGOs and over 30 specialists. The river runs from the Pindus range in Greece — where it is called the Aoös — to the Adriatic. Phase I became operational by early 2024; Phase II will add further tributaries.

Hotova–Dangëlli: the park that gives no easy figures

Hotova–Dangëlli National Park represents the forest and mountain environment east of the valley. AKT’s documentation names the park alongside Përmet and stops there: exact acreage, founding date, species inventories, and trail networks are not published in the primary fact sheet.

The limits of the information apply to the landscape itself. A forest photograph does not identify a trail. A visit requires choosing an entrance and a route suited to conditions — signal, weather, and services may be limited.

Practical details are on the Fir of Hotova profile ↗.

The other mountains around Përmet: precision before names

The Dangëlli and Trebeshinë ranges border the valley, according to AKT. Nemërçka rises further into the district’s landscape — but it is not one of the two national parks associated with Përmet, and precision matters here: protection names should not be mixed up.

For Nemërçka, the verified fact sheets are empty: the glacial cirques, shepherd routes, and endemic flora described by blogs are not supported by any official source checked by this portal. They remain to be documented — or go unwritten.