Himare (Albanian: Himarë or Himara) is a town of 3,000 inhabitants located in the district of Vlore and along he Ionian coast of Albania, in the extreme southwest of the country, opposite the Greek island of Corfu. Himare is the village from where the founders of Piana degli Albanesi (in Italy) left.

Pictures

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Beaches
Himare is known for its beautiful beaches, most of which are pebble beaches, although some are of sand. Spilia, the central beach of Himare attracts many tourists in summer. Some later there are Prinos, Potami, Filikouri. In southern direction there are Laman, Kipar, Borsi, Pikerni, Bouneci, Loukovo, Kakomaea and Nivitsa (reachable with a very dangerous road). Under the Castle of Himare lies Livadi, and then to the north there are Giali, Foussa, Zissos, Zypaea, Karkaniki, Gialiskari to Drymades, Palassa and Dralaios. At various points on the beaches of Himare the water is cold because of underground springs that exists. A few meters away from these points, however, the water temperature rises again to normal levels. During the summer months many small boats offer excursions to the beaches near Spilia.

Castle of Porto Palermo
South of Himare on a small peninsula there is a closed bay and around it there is the castle of Porto Palermo, built by Ali Pasha of Ioannina in the early nineteenth century. It’s still in excellent condition. The castle was built on the site of an existing monastery described by British traveller Leake, and an older castle. Along the link with the mainland there is the beautiful church of Agios Nikolaos, which is connected with various legends and stories for the construction of the castle.

Sources: wikipedia.org, himara.eu