The Ali Pasha Bridge walk is the most popular trail in Gjirokaster and feels very remote despite being so close to the city. It’s a short walk but offers stunning scenery as you head through a rugged gorge to reach the famous bridge. The bridge is incredibly picturesque and you can walk across it for some great photo ops.
Come late afternoon the gorge echoes with the sound of tinkling bells as shepherds move their goats from the hillside.
Although the walk is short, it’s very steep, however you can cut a little of the hillier section off if you don’t start the walk in the city centre.
Here’s everything you need to know before visiting.
The Ali Pasha Bridge Walk
The stats
Distance: 1.2km each way
Elevation gain: 150m
Difficulty: Easy, but steep in parts
Trailhead: Parking area, Rruga Bule Naipi
Summary: As there is no public parking close to the trailhead (or none we spotted anyway) the start of the walk, either from the public parking we used, or from the city centre, is going to be very steep.
Once you start the proper trail through the gorge it is mainly flat, though you could walk down into the gorge to see the bridge from below.
Even if you do this it’s only a tiny descent. The gravel path is narrow but nice and stable unless you take one of the unofficial social trails which are steeper and can be loose and slippery.
Starting the trail: reaching the gorge
There are several different routes you can take to reach the official trailhead, we’re sharing our route which we think is the easiest. We walked a slightly different way back and preferred our original route.
We started the walk from the closest public parking we could find. It was 37C and we’re not gluttons for punishment! Were it to have been cooler we’d have probably started from town.
If you want to do that and save the parking charge (more on that at the end of the post) then it would add on around 750m each way when starting at the Qafa e Pazarit Bazaar (the main pedestrianised area in the old town). Some of that distance is going to be uphill.
From the parking area we used, the walk is signposted in two different places. We used the path to the left of the car park as that’s the way the woman who owned the car park pointed us.
It’s a baptism of fire with a climb up one of the steepest roads I have ever walked in my life - the photo does not do it justice! I mean laughably steep, but thankfully it wasn’t slippery. It’s hard to imagine driving up it but people must!
Make sure you turn around as you climb because the view of the castle and surrounding valley is pretty spectacular.
After 335m you’ll head left, at first the bridge is always well signposted, though we have our suspicions that’s because the restaurant Ali Pasha’s Table has tried to direct you via their restaurant - the signs mysteriously vanish after you pass the restaurant : )
Though in fairness the other possible route (a left turn before the left turn you’ll take at the 335m mark) is via a lot of stairs with a particularly ferocious dog which would see me avoid ever walking that way again!
At the 530m mark keep straight, passing around the ice cream shop. There’s a narrow lane way and then after 70m you’ll head right, continuing uphill.
You’re now just 50m from the gravel path which marks the official start of the Ali Pasha Bridge walk.
Reaching the bridge
I’ll admit that up to this point I was questioning whether the steep walk was going to be worth it. We were visiting Albania during a prolonged and brutal heatwave and five weeks in it was getting wearing. However, that all changed when we left the roads and laneways behind and began the proper trail.
From the start of the gravel path it’s only 100m to your first view of the bridge, and the views just keep getting better and better.
You’ll follow the gravel/rubbly path slightly downhill as it curves right and heads through the gorge. The views are just beautiful and reminded us a lot of the more dramatic parts of the Peak District in England.
Roughly 400m from the start of the official trail you’ll reach a junction and can either go left, downhill to view the bridge from a lower level, or right to walk up to and over the bridge.
There is a little connector path between the two levels, so you don’t have to double back on yourself, but it’s a social trail and a bit steep and eroded.
I would rather walk up it than down it so I’d recommend starting with the lower path. You’ll reach a great view of the bridge quite close up after 100m.
You could also take a left down into the dry river bed too - assuming it is dry on your visit!
Ali Pasha Bridge
The bridge is the partial remains of an aqueduct built to service Gjirokaster castle’s water needs and was constructed by Ali Pasha of Tepelena over 200 years ago.
The view from the upper path is probably my favourite, especially if you head a few metres back to appreciate the bridge fully surrounded by the steep sided gorge.
Continuing on to the upper path (it only takes a few minutes to backtrack if you don’t like the look of the steep dirt track) offers easy access to walk across the bridge.
Walking over the bridge was the highlight of the walk for me, it’s really wide, much more so than it looks from afar, so there’s nothing precarious about it.
The views on both sides, as well as down into the riverbed were special, especially as it was full of cheeky goats on our visit. It definitely made up for the steep start in such harsh heat.
There are much longer walks you can make around the gorge but we chose to return the way we came.
Well, almost the way we came - we did switch on to the stepped path with the ferocious dog, but I don’t recommend that route!
Parking for the Ali Pasha Bridge walk
There are a couple of tiny car parks you can use which are almost next door to each other, located here (Google maps). They are basically residential houses private car parks which they allow you to use to do the walk. It may be that there are other similar spots higher up the road, but we didn’t spot any.
The charge for the parking we used was 200 Lek (2 Euros) an hour. You might find something a little cheaper but we didn’t quibble.
Another Ali Pasha aqueduct nearish by
If you love this Ali Pasha bridge and would like to see another one, or you don’t want to do a hike, there is another aqueduct around a 30 minute scenic drive from Gjirokaster.
This one can be viewed from the side of the road, or you can walk down to it in just a few minutes.
The aqueduct is another of Ali Pasha’s handiworks, this time to service the castle at Tepelene.
It has been partially reconstructed following an earthquake, but it’s a fabulous structure and the gorge it’s located in is also incredibly beautiful.
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