Shpella e Haxhi Aliut

Useful Information

Location:	Karaburun Peninsula (Albanian: Gadishulli i Karaburunit). (40.4299661, 19.3067236)
Open:	no restrictions. [2024]
Fee:	free. [2024]
Classification:	Karst Cave Sea Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:	L=30 m, W=12 m, H=18 m.
Guided tours:	boat tours from harbour at Orikum
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Shpella e Haxhi Aliut
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

Description

The Shpella e Haxhi Aliut (Haxhi Ali Cave) is a cave with many names, it is also called Shpella e Ilirëve (Cave of the Illyrians), and as it is located at the tip of the Gadishulli i Karaburunit (Karaburun Peninsula), it is also known as Shpella e Karaburunit (Karaburun Cave). The peninsula is a mountain ridge which consists of limestone or marble. Since Antiquity ships anchored behind the peninsula, and there were marble quarries. The peninsula is karstified, and there are numerous caves, a total of 20 caves are known to the cavers. One of them, Shpella e Haxhi Aliut, is located at sea level, at the tip of the peninsula facing north. The fact that the cave opening is hit by the waves of the Mediterranean has enlarged the portal quite considerably. The cave is only 30 m long, but the entrance is 12 m wide and 18 m high.

The cave was named after Haxhi Aliu, also Hadji Alia or Haxhi Aliu Ulqinaku (*1569–✝1625). He was a famous Albanian warrior, sailor, and pirate lord from Ulcinj, one of the most legendary pirates of the Mediterranean Sea. He had a military education from the Ottoman Empire, where he served in the army from 1587 to 1593. Then he went to Istanbul, where he studied until 1597 at the Naval Military School, then he served in the Ottoman fleet until 1609. Then he moved with his two sons and other Albanian sailors, and his two sailing ships, type Tartane, to the Karaburun Peninsula. He became a prominent defender of the Albanian coast from the various pirates of the time. According to local lore, he sailed to the northern coasts of Africa, Misir (Egypt) and Spain. At this time the Mediterranean Sea was under the control of the French and Venetian fleets. They used the "hunt for pirates" to get rid of opponents. In 1623 or 1624, he encountered several English and Venetian warships, which tried to eliminate all rebel vessels operating in this area. They were more numerous and stronger, but they could not capture him. He used the wealth he acquired with the raid sto support poor families in Tivar and Ulcin. In the summer of 1625 he met the Venetians in the Canal of Otranto, they were superior in means and strength. Haxhi Alia with his fast ship was able to break through the siege and approach the Cape of Gjuhza. But they followed him to Karaburun peninsula where he was killed together with his son fighting with a sword in hand.

This cave is visited regularly by boats which cruise around the peninsula. There is no road or trail, so this is actually the only way to visit the cave. The boat tours also show other, less spectacular, sea caves, like the Shpella e Panajt (Plane Cave), Shkembi Labë-rrinë (Labirynth Cave), or Shpella Blu (Blue Cave). The Shpella e Dukgjonit (Dukgjon Cave) is higher up, on the hillside, and published on some websites. However, there is no trail to the cave and signs for the cave are at least inaccurate, reaching this cave requires several kilometers of hiking and a good map. So we must advise skipping that cave, unless you are willing to hike a day and have an accurate map and gps.