Dajti Mountain National Park ( sq, Parku Kombëtar "Mali i Dajtit") is a

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

established in 1966 in central

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

, spanning an area of since 2006. The park is east of the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

and east of

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

. The area is under shared jurisdiction between Albanian Agency of Protected Areas (AKZM) and Tirana Municipality Parks and Recreation Agency (APR). It is adjacent to Shtamë Pass National Park to the northwest, Kraste-Verjon Protected Landscape to the west, and

Mali me Gropa-Bizë-Martanesh Protected Landscape The Mali me Gropa-Bizë-Martanesh Protected Landscape ( sq, Peizazhin e Mbrojtur Mali me Gropa-Bizë-Martanesh) is a protected landscape in central Albania adjacent with the border with Dajti National Park. It covers a surface area of . It is sit ...

to the east. The park is marked by an extremely fragmented, rugged topography which creates favourable conditions for a great diversity of

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

s and

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natura ...

(IUCN) has listed the park as Category II. The park has been recognised as an

Important Plant Area Important Plant Areas (IPA) is a programme set up in the UK, by the organisation Plantlife, to provide a framework for identifying and maintaining the richest sites for plant life, possibly within existing protected areas; though the protection of ...

of international importance by

Plantlife Plantlife is the international conservation membership charity working to secure a world rich in wild plants and fungi. It is the only UK membership charity dedicated to conserving wild plants and fungi in their natural habitats and helping peo ...

. In 2019, the new Dajti Mt National Park tourist information centre was opened, located near the TV and Radio towers along SH47 road in Fushe Dajt. The area is known for Dajti Ekspres Cable Car and Adventure Park in addition to the area’s long standing traditional restaurants serving local dishes according to the slow food tradition.

Geology

Dajti Dajti () standing at above sea level, is a mountain and national park on the edge of Tirana, Albania. The Dajti belongs to the Skanderbeg range. In winter, the mountain is often covered with snow and is a popular retreat for the local population ...

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

, a mountain chain that rises to an elevation of , comprises besides Dajti, Priska to the south, Tujani in the center and Brari to the north. Climbers of the mountain can view down into the city of

and over the mountains of the region. Due to the panoramic view, this place has been named as the ''Balcony of Tirana''. One of

's main water sources,

Lake Bovilla The Bovilla reservoir ( sq, Ujëmbledhësi i Bovillës) is a reservoir in Albania, approximately northeast of Tirana and southeast of Kruja, within Mount Dajt, Mount Dajt National Park. It provides most of the drinking water for Tirana. Geograp ...

, is located to the northeast of Brar with steep cliffs and a canyon. On the other extremity of the park along

Erzen River The Erzen ( sq-definite, Erzeni) is a river in central Albania. The length of Erzen is , while the catchment area is including the southern Tirana District and eastern Durrës District. Name The ancient Illyrian name of the river was ''Ardaxan ...

is found the prehistoric Pellumbas Cave located in the Skorana Gorge, which has been formed by the river. Another natural attraction is the Shëngjini Waterfalls located near

Shëngjergj Shëngjergj (Albanian for Saint George) is a village and a former municipality in the Tirana County, central Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Tirana. The population at the 2011 census was 2,18 ...

village.

Flora and Fauna

Dajti's varied geology and topography have resulted in a variety of

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

. In addition to the forests and mountain landscapes with many

wild flower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the w ...

s, numerous

mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

are protected as well. The park is inhabited by

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

Eurasian wolf The Eurasian wolf (''Canis lupus lupus''), also known as the common wolf,Mech, L. David (1981), ''The Wolf: The Ecology and Behaviour of an Endangered Species'', University of Minnesota Press, p. 354, is a subspecies of grey wolf native to Euro ...

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...

European hare The European hare (''Lepus europaeus''), also known as the brown hare, is a species of hare native to Europe and parts of Asia. It is among the largest hare species and is adapted to temperate, open country. Hares are herbivorous and feed mainly ...

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is kno ...

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...

, and

European wildcat The European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') is a small wildcat species native to continental Europe, Scotland, Turkey and the Caucasus. It inhabits forests from the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, Central and Eastern Europe to the Caucasus. Its fur is ...

. In the lower part of the mountains, the

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plant species and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic character ...

consists of

scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, Herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or ...

and

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

, myrtle and

fragaria ''Fragaria'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. There are more than 20 described species and many hybrids and cultivars. The most common strawberries grown com ...

Oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

dominates at around 600-1,000 m altitude interspersed with

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

and

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

forests and some

conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

s above 1,000 m altitude. The rocky top has little vegetation.

Forest fires and deforestation

In the 2010s,

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

has become a major problem on the mountain. In the summer of 2012 and spring 2019, forest fires burned down 10 ha of forests at the Priska summit and partially Dajti in 2017, requiring authorities to extinguish it only with the help of helicopters.http://gazeta-shqip.com/lajme/2012/08/16/zjarret-ne-dajt/ The damage was extensive at the summits and can be clearly seen from Tirana. Forest fires are happening more frequently every year, while those responsible are not being convicted.

References

External links

Dajti National Park on AKZM.net National Parks Portal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dajti National Park National parks of Albania Protected areas established in 1966 Protected areas of Tirana County 1966 establishments in Albania Forests of Albania

Geology

Flora and Fauna

Forest fires and deforestation

See also

References

External links