Vlora Bay – Karaburun – Çika Mountain

Key Biodiversity Area of Vlora Bay – Karaburun – Çika Mountain includes the Vlora Bay, the National Park of Llogara, the Marine National Park Karaburun-Sazan, the mountain range of “Rreza e Kanalit”, the Karaburun peninsula, the Orikumi Lagoon, the Dukati valley, and Çika Mountain. All the area is under the administration of the Vlora district and it includes and two municipalities: the municipality of Vlora and Orikumi.

  • Karaburun Peninsula is part of the Marine National Park “Sazan – Karabururn” which covers a surface of 62 square km and is laid between Vlora bay in the east and the Ionian Sea in the west. Mesokanali is called the area which divides the Karaburun peninsula and the Sazani Island. From the geological point of view, Karaburuni is composed from limestone rocks. The relief contains certain hills. The average altitude is 800 m with many picks. The highest picks are the pick of Ilqe (733 m), the pick of Flag (826 m) the pick of Caderi (839 m). 
  • Vlora bay is one the largest bays in Albania. It borders with Narta Lagoon in the north and drops down until the northern corner of the Karaburun peninsula. Vlora bay represents a magnificent coastal landscape. The beaches are sandy in the Adriatic port of the bay whereas when approaching the line which divides the Adriatic Sea and Ionian sea coast becomes stony. 
  • The National Park of Llogara is situated in the north-western part of the mountain range Çika. The Çika Mountain (2045m) and Pick of Qorre (2018m) are the two picks surrounding the gorge of Llogara (1027m) and the Dukati valley. From the geological point of view, Llogara is formed by carbon deposits from the Mesozoic era.
  • The lagoon of Orikumi is placed in the southern part of Dukati bay and is connected to the sea with a channel. Nowadays only 130 ha of the lagoon have remained, as 35 years ago as a result of a drainage process, 400 ha of the lagoon have been dried. In the meantime the huge deforestation range happened in the area during the last years has changed the hydrological patterns of the area.

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