Vjosa River National Park Guided Rafting Tour Permet

Permet and the City Rock

Permet is a small town on the banks of the Vjosa in the far south of Albania, close to the Greek border, known across the country for its roses, its fruit preserves and its slow pace. The town is built around the Guri i Qytetit, the City Rock, a huge limestone boulder rising from the riverbank in the centre with steps to a viewpoint on top. The rafting base sits a 5-minute walk from the main square, near the rock, so the whole day can be done on foot from any accommodation in town.

Most visitors arrive from Gjirokaster, about an hour's drive, or on a longer loop from Saranda or Tirana, and ask how to get to Permet for rafting: the simplest answer is to drive or take a bus to the town and walk to the base. Check-in is relaxed, with a garden, a cafe, toilets and free secure parking, and the team fits your equipment to your size before the short drive to the river.

Vjosa River National Park

The Vjosa rises in the Pindus Mountains of Greece, where it is called the Aoos, and runs for roughly 270 kilometres through southern Albania to the Adriatic without a single dam on its main course. In March 2023 the river and its free-flowing tributaries were declared the Vjosa River National Park, the first wild river national park in Europe, protecting gravel islands, braided channels and canyons that are rare on the continent. The water is a milky turquoise in spring and crystal clear by summer.

The stretch around Permet is the most scenic part of the whole river, hemmed in by limestone gorges and wooded slopes. Rafting the Vjosa River National Park is the most direct way to experience it, because the gorge walls that hide the river from the road are exactly what you drift beneath from the raft. Birds nest on the cliffs, and the guide stops where the views are best.

The rafting route: canyons and rapids

From the base you ride about 15 minutes by vehicle to the launch point upstream, where your guide runs through paddling commands, what to do if you fall in and how the raft behaves in moving water. A short practice session on a calm stretch follows, then the descent begins. The route alternates lively rapids with long quiet pools, so there is time to look up at the gorge as well as to paddle hard when the guide calls for it.

Water levels change through the year: spring snowmelt makes the Vjosa rafting route faster and more exciting, while summer brings warm water and gentle rapids ideal for families and first-timers. Whatever the season, the guide chooses the lines through each rapid and keeps the pace suited to the group, and the descent of about 2.5 hours ends at a take-out a few minutes' drive from the base.

Swimming stops and cliff jumping

Between rapids the guide pulls into gravel beaches and rocky ledges for breaks. This is when you slip out of the raft and swim in the river, floating in the current with your life jacket on or lying on the warm stones. The water is some of the cleanest in Europe, and in summer it is warm enough to stay in for a long while. Bottled water is carried in the raft so everyone stays hydrated.

For those who want more adrenaline there are optional jumps from low rocks into deep pools, always at spots the guide knows are safe, and always optional: nobody is pushed to jump. Your guide also takes photos and videos during the descent and at the stops, so you leave with pictures of the rapids and the canyon without worrying about your own phone in the water.

After the river: Benja thermal baths and Permet lunch

The descent finishes a short drive from the base, where hot showers, changing rooms and toilets are waiting. Many guests then round off the day with one of the two optional extras the base offers: a traditional sharing-style Albanian lunch with fresh local ingredients, or a visit to the Benja thermal baths, about 15 minutes away on the Langarica, a tributary of the Vjosa, where warm mineral pools lie beside a single-arched Ottoman stone bridge at the mouth of a canyon.

Neither is included in the rafting price, and both can be arranged at the base on the day. If you are planning a Permet day trip from Gjirokaster, pairing a morning raft with the thermal pools in the afternoon is the most popular combination, and it fits comfortably before the drive back.