Zone thermale de Berat

The Thermal Zone of Berat in central Albania provides geothermal resources near one of the UNESCO World Heritage City inscriptions in the Western Balkans, the extraordinary Berat, the City of a Thousand Windows, whose Ottoman-era kala fortress district, Byzantine churches, and Mangalem and Gorica neighbourhoods of whitewashed houses with distinctive large windows stepping up the hillsides above the Osum River represent one of the finest examples of Ottoman urban heritage preservation in southeastern Europe. The oligomineral spring water of the Berat area draws from geological formations in the Albanian central highlands, providing modest therapeutic resources in the vicinity of a city whose architectural and cultural significance has attracted growing international attention since its UNESCO listing alongside Gjirokastra in 2008. The combination of one of the Ottoman world's finest preserved urban landscapes, the dramatic mountain setting of the Tomori massif rising above Berat, and the accessible thermal resources of the surrounding countryside create a destination of considerable cultural and natural depth.