Shpella e Piratëve

Useful Information

Location:	Dhërmi 9440. (40.1291790, 19.6514375)
Open:	no restrictions. [2024]
Fee:	free. [2024]
Classification:	Karst Cave Sea Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:
Guided tours:	boat tours from Dhërmi
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Shpella e Piratëve, Dhërmi 9440, Tel: +355-.
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

Shpella e Piratëve (Pirates Cave) is a set of two sea caves located on the coast south of Dhërmi. Dhërmi is a seaside resort with a huge beach and numerous hotels. There are also some boat operators which start from the northern end of the beach for boat tours along the coast. And of course it is possible to rent boats or kajaks. The first Pirate Cave is located only 200 m from the southern end of the beach, the other one 800 m.

The caves are originally karst caves, which were widened by the waves of the sea and are now a kombination of karst and sea caves. The famous Albanian pirates of the 17th and 18th century used the caves as hideouts, so the name is actually well deserved. Nevertheless, it is inaccurate, as actually any sea cave along the coast is a pirate cave in this sense. This is probably the reason why there are two pirate caves in the immediate vicinity.

The name is actually from a book by the famous Albanian writer Petro Marko (1913-1991). He was born in Dhërmi, and he wrote a children’s book about this cave, which was titled The Pirates’ Cave. It is about five courageous children who are curious to act like their ancestors.