The Road to Leskovik Traditional Cache
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A small green micro canister hidden in a scenic location in the vicinity of Mount Melesinit (1411M) in Kolonje County just off the Leskovik road, where there is a view down into a gorge of a waterfall.
The aim of this cache is to encourage travellers to take the Leskovik road from Korca to Permet and experience some of the most stunning, impressive and awesome scenery in Albania. The road is reasonable and can be travelled by car in a day.
KORCA: The region has been inhabited for the last 6000 years. The area was important in the spread of Byzantine Christianity and a church was established in Korca in 898. The modern town was founded by Sultan Mehmet II in the 15C. It became an important stopping place on the caravan routes. In 1887 the first school teaching in the Albanian language was started by Albanian Christians.
Follow the road south across the PLAIN of KOLONJE. 33km from Korca you could take a detour to VITHKUQ which once rivalled Korca and has three fine churches worth visiting.
You then travel through the QALA e QARRITT (Oak Tree Pass)with extraordinary views of the Grammos Mountains.
We stayed in a nice cheap hotel on the outskirts of ERSEKE on the left about 2km before the town centre.
After Erseke you enter the BARMASH PASS - a beautiful and remote area of pine forest, and the last stronghold in this part of the Balkans of wolves, bears and jackals. The tiny roadside village of BOROVA was the scene of a massacre of the inhabitants by the Nazis in WWII and it was through these mountains that the Democratic Army of the Greek retreated in 1949 after their defeat at the Battle of Grammos.
Leskovik was an important town in the 19thC and it was here that the Bounday Commissioners stayed in October 1913 when they drew up the current Greek/Albanian border.The cache is a few km outside Leskovik where there is a layby on the road. Some scrambling over rocks and through scrub is required!
Eventually the road follows the VJOSES Valley. I highly recommend a right turn a few miles before PERMET down the Lengarices to BANJA which is the site of a spectacular limestone gorge, a beautiful Ottoman period bridge and numerous blue sulphur springs which the locals believe have therapeutic qualities. Be warned though - the air smells of bad eggs! The lady in the cafe told us that you can walk for 3 hours up the gorge (if you dont mind getting your feet wet!) and we walked about 1km upriver and found the sulphur pools get warmer the further up the gorge you go. Try a dip in them - we did and enjoyed it!
PERMET: Known as "City of Roses". Climb the limestone outcrop at the end of town near the mosque and Evangelical Church for great views of the town, mountains and river valley! There are metal stairs round the back of the rock.
Don't miss this beautiful part of the Land of the Eagles!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ba gur evtug haqre gur svany ebpx jurer lbh fgnaq gb frr gur jngresnyy qbja va gur tbetr.
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