Albania is a country in Southeastern Europe that lies along the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, with a coastline spanning approximately 476 km (296 mi). Situated on the Balkan Peninsula, it is one of the most mountainous countries in Europe. It is bounded by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, North Macedonia to the east and Greece to the southeast and south.
North Macedonia is a country situated in southeastern Europe with geographic coordinates 41°50′N22°00′E, bordering Kosovo and Serbia to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south and Albania to the west. The country is part of the wider region of Macedonia and makes up most of Vardar Macedonia. The country is a major transportation corridor from Western and Central Europe to Southern Europe and the Aegean Sea. North Macedonia is a landlocked country but has three major natural lakes: Lake Ohrid, Lake Prespa and Lake Dojran. It has a water area of 857 km2, while its land area is 24,856 km2.
Kukës is a city in the Republic of Albania. The city is the capital of the surrounding municipality of Kukës and county of Kukës, one of 12 constituent counties of the republic. It spans 8.2 square kilometres (3.2 sq mi) and had a total population of 16,719 people as of 2011.
The Drin is a river in Southeastern Europe with two major tributaries – the White Drin and the Black Drin and two distributaries – one discharging into the Adriatic Sea, in the Gulf of Drin and the other into the Bojana River. Its catchment area extends across Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Greece, Montenegro and North Macedonia and is home to more than 1.6 million people. The river and its tributaries form the Gulf of Drin, an ocean basin that encompasses the northern Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast.
The Accursed Mountains, also known as the Albanian Alps, is a mountain range in coastal Southeast Europe adjacent to the Adriatic Sea. It is the southernmost subrange of the 1,000-kilometre-long (621 mi) Dinaric Alps range (Dinarides), extending from northern Albania to southern Kosovo and northeastern Montenegro. Maja Jezercë, standing at 2,694 m (8,839 ft), is the highest point of the Accursed Mountains and of all Dinaric Alps, and the fifth highest peak in Albania. The range includes the mountain Zla Kolata, which, at 2,534 m (8,314 ft), is the tallest mountain in Montenegro. The range also includes the mountain Gjeravica, which, at 2,656 m (8,714 ft), is the second tallest mountain in Kosovo. One of the southernmost glacial masses in Europe was discovered in the Albanian part of the range in 2009.
Lumbardhi i Deçanit, or Deçan Bistrica or Dečani Bistrica, is a river in Kosovo. It is a 53 km (33 mi)-long right tributary of the White Drin River, passing the western part of Kosovo.
The Erenik or Ribnik is a river in Kosovo. Located in the west of the country, it measures 51 km (32 mi)-long, a right tributary to the White Drin.
Trekufiri, is a mountain located in the Albanian Alps and the Bogićevica range. Perched at 2,366 m (7,762 ft) above sea level, its summit marks the border where Albania, Kosovo, and Montenegro intersect. The height of the three-country point varies, with Albanian maps recording the mountain's height as 2,354 m (7,723 ft) above sea level while official Yugoslavian sources state it as 2366 m.
The environment of Albania is characterised by unique flora and fauna and a variety of landforms contained within a small nation. It also consists of different ecoregions, which represent the natural geographical ecosystem, water systems, weather, renewable resources and influences upon them.
Bjeshkët e Nemuna National Park is a national park in the districts of Gjakovë and Pejë in western Kosovo. It encompasses 63,028 hectares (630.28 km2) of mountainous terrain, with numerous lakes, dense deciduous and coniferous forests and alpine landscapes. The park was established to protect its ecosystems and biodiversity, as well as the cultural and historical heritage.
The Central Mountain Region is a physiogeographical region encompassing the central and eastern edge of Albania. It comprises the mountainous inland extending all the way from the valley of Drin and the mountains of Sharr, Skanderbeg, Korab, and Shebenik-Jabllanicë, through the lakes of Ohrid and Prespa, until it reaches the village of Ersekë and the mountains of Pindus close to the border between the country and Greece.
Tourism in Kosovo is characterized by archaeological heritage from Illyrian, Dardanian, Roman, Byzantine, Serbian and Ottoman times, traditional Albanian and Serbian cuisine, architecture, religious heritage, traditions, and natural landscapes. Kosovo is situated in south-eastern Europe. With its central position in the Balkans, it serves as a link in the connection between central and south Europe, the Adriatic Sea, and Black Sea.
The Northern Mountain Region is a geographical region in northern Albania. It is one of the four mountain regions of Albania, the others being Central Mountain Range, Southern Mountain Range, and Western Lowlands. The northern range encompasses the Albanian Alps extending from the Lake Shkodër shared with Montenegro in the northwest through the Valbonë Valley to the Drin Valley in the east. The area falls within the Dinaric Mountains mixed forests and Balkan mixed forests terrestrial ecoregions of the Palearctic Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests.
Prizren is located on the slopes of the Sharr Mountains in the southern part of Kosovo. The municipality has a border with Albania and North Macedonia.
For a small country, Albania is characterised by a considerable wealth of terrestrial and marine ecosystems and habitats with contrasting floral, faunal, and fungal species, defined in an area of 28,748 square kilometres. Most of the country is predominantly of Mediterranean character, comprehending the country's center and south, while the alpine affinity is more visible in the northeast.
Kosovo is characterised by a diverse biodiversity and an abundance of different ecosystems and habitats determined by the climate along with the geology and hydrology. Predominantly mountainous, it is located at the center of the Balkan Peninsula bounded by Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the north and east, North Macedonia to the southeast, and Albania to the southwest.
The Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast stretches in the south-eastern Adriatic Sea beginning at the Gulf of Drin in the north, across the port cities of Shëngjin, Durrës, and Vlorë, to the Bay of Vlorë in the south, where the Albanian Riviera as well as the Albanian Ionian Sea Coast begins.
This is a list of protected areas in Kosovo which includes 2 national parks, 11 nature reserves, 99 natural monuments and 3 protected landscapes. The total area of all protected areas in the country is 118,913 hectares (1,189.13 km2). The national policy for governing and management of the national parks is implemented by the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning.
The Sharr Mountains National Park is a national park in southwestern Kosovo. It covers 53,272 hectares (532.72 km2), centered on the northern Sharr Mountains, a mountain range which also extends into northeastern Albania and northwestern North Macedonia. It was declared a national park in 1986, and re-established in 2012 by the new Kosovan Government. The park encompasses various terrains, including glacial lakes, alpine and periglacial landscapes.
