FILIKUR BEACH: THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BEACH IN HIMARË, ALBANIA
The Albanian Riviera has such a good amount of the most beautiful secluded beaches in all of Eastern Europe, but Filikur Beach in Himarë just has such a special energy, and I made such amazing memories there this summer. No visit to Himarë is complete without at LEAST one visit to Filikur Beach (and the Old Town and castle of course).
Filikur Beach at Sunrise, July 2023
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FILIKUR BEACH OVERVIEW
Tucked away on the super southern coast of Albania, Filikur Beach is around a 25 minute walk from the main stretch in the center of Himarë (and only around a 10 minute walk down from Filikur Hostel).
Surrounded on three sides by these insane cliffs, the walk down to the beach is not bad, but after making it about 75% down, you are going to have to hold on to a rope, and quite literally scale straight down the rocks.
It is SO (!!) important to wear good shoes, there were so many people that were coming down in sandals that had to take them off and go barefoot down on the rocks so they did not slip. It is also smart to bring a backpack, or something that allows both of your hands to be free to hold on while climbing.
HOW TO GET TO FILIKUR BEACH
There are a couple of small boat companies that will take you to Filikur during the days that you can hire, but most people are making it down to the beach by walking. It is free, more fun, and you can go down at whatever time all day, and all night.
To get to Filikur Beach on foot, first you will have to make it to the southern end of the Main Street in Himarë, and walk up the hill to Filikur Hostel at the top. From the end of the main stretch it is about a 5 minute walk uphill to get to the hostel.
From the hostel, you will continue walking up the street straight across the way, until you get to an old abandoned building and a small little dirt parking area where the trail starts.
The Top Of The Valley Where The Trail Starts
From here, you will make your way down the cliff by following the trail that is pretty well maintained and easy to keep track of. The first 8 or so minutes down the trail is easy and straight forward, and you will come out to an opening that overlooks the whole beach from that.
After making it to the lookout, you will begin to make the decent straight down the cliffs, by holding onto a rope and scaling down backwards for a couple of minutes until you get to the bottom. I know that might sound stressful for some, but it is not too bad at all.
BEST TIME OF THE DAY TO VISIT FILIKUR BEACH
Though Filikur does get a little busier as more people are finding out about it and there are lots of backpackers at both Filikur Hostel and Sunbaker’s Hostel right near by, it was never actually crowded and there is plenty of room.
When you don’t have to worry about arriving and beating around the crowds, you will have to plan in account for the extreme heat in Albania during the summer season when Himarë is at its peak.
The water is so refreshing and beautiful, but to get down to that water you have to get to the shore first, and in the extreme heat it gets extremelyyyyy warm. Through out the day the shade comes and goes on the beach, but during most of the afternoon the northern part of the beach is shaded by the cliffs overhead.
One of my favorite memories of Himarë is when I woke up in the middle of the night and decided to hike down alone for sunrise.
The purple sky over the water and the valley while walking down, turning into a golden pink sky as the sun comes over the cliffs is something that I am going to remember for a long time. I really would recommend hitting Filikur for a sunrise swim at least once.
HOW TO VISIT FILIKUR BEACH ETHICALLY
While it is so great that tourism is really ramping up in Albania and that we are lucky enough to visit their unreal nature, it is important to remember what happens when tourism does explode in some places-especially in countries that are still developing important resources and infrastructure.
TRASH: The biggest thing that I encourage people to really take into consideration on the beaches is the trash problem. Though Albania really has been improving on their waste management services, less than 80% of the population has access to these services and there are no real efforts to establish and fund recycling facilities.
The Albanian government and military make great efforts to keep the country clean before the tourists come in for the peak season, especially down on the southern coast-but still on some beaches you will see beer bottles, cigarettes, plastic wrappers and other random rubbish, even on some of the most secluded beaches only accessible by boat. The problem does not only stem from the foreigners during the summer, it is a work in progress to start to change the mindset of the Albanian’s on the litter issue as a whole.
It is so important that we all remember how lucky we are to have the access to visit these beautiful beaches, we all need to do our part of both remembering not to leave anything behind and to spend time picking up trash that you come across.
THE LAND: The mountains and the coast here have been here much longer before us, seen more than we can imagine, and it will all be there long after we are gone-it is so necessary to try our best to leave the land as we found it.
There were a couple of instances of people just really going at it and making their way down fast and carelessly, of course causing the trail to give out, sending boulders and dirt flying down to the beach below.
Another problem was people grabbing onto small growing trees and bushes to grip onto while climbing down, ripping them out of the ground while there is fully a rope there that is meant to support you, as well as ledges in the rocks that will help you stay sturdy. Let those sweet little trees grow :).
Pro-Tip: For real heads up while sitting directly on or below the cliffs while on Filikur as when those rocks all came eroding down, a girl almost seriously got taken out by them if people did not yell at her when we saw it all start to fall. That is SUCH a good way to get seriously hurt.
This has been my year of finding and visiting small, off the beaten path beaches and Filikur is so high up on my list, even though it was not the most secluded and empty by any means. Floating in the water and looking up at the towering cliffs above, thinking about everything that the land has been before is the best feeling and I will cherish my days there for as long as I can, and I will go back as soon as I can as well.
THINKING OF TRAVELING TO HIMARË? DO IT.
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