The White Drin Canyon or White Drin Gorge ( sq, Gryka e Drinit të Bardhë; sr, Kanjon Belog Drima, script=Latn, ) is a small

canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

located in the southwestern

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

. The

White Drin The White Drin or White Drim ( sq, Drini i Bardhë,/ ''Beli Drim'') is a river in Kosovo and northern Albania, a ca. -long headstream of the Drin. Course Kosovo The Kosovo section of the White Drin flows entirely in the semi-karst part of ...

river runs through the canyon. The canyon is relatively short, only being about long with a depth of 45 meters. At the entrance of the canyon is Fshajt Bridge, an old Ottoman bridge which attracts divers from all over the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. Canyon of the White Drin river at Fshajt Bridge due to its hydrological and geomorphological values, in 1986 was taken under legal protection as a Natural Monument.

Geography

White Drin Canyon is located next to Fshajt Bridge near the village of Xërxë (

Rahovec Rahovec ( sq-definite, Rahoveci) or Orahovac (Serbian Cyrillic: Ораховац) is a town and municipality located in the District of Prizren in western Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of Rahovec has 15,892 inhabitants, while th ...

municipality) in

Gjakova Gjakova, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the seventh largest city of Kosovo and seat of Gjakova Municipality and Gjakova District. The city has 40,827 inhabitants, while the municipality has 94,556 inhabitants. Geographicall ...

Prizren ) , settlement_type = Municipality and city , image_skyline = Prizren Collage.jpg , imagesize = 290px , image_caption = View of Prizren , image_alt = View of Prizren , image_flag ...

road. The canyon is a morpho-hydro phenomena with genetic, visual and educational value. It was formed during the post-lacustric period of the Dukagjini neogene lake. Its formation was conditioned by many tectonic events. The gorge has typical canyon features and contains many carbonate formations.

Tourism

During a long geo-morphological process the

River opened a canyon between two calcareous rocks, by creating a very attractive and interesting canyon for researchers and visitors. Located next to the main road that connects

and

Prizren ) , settlement_type = Municipality and city , image_skyline = Prizren Collage.jpg , imagesize = 290px , image_caption = View of Prizren , image_alt = View of Prizren , image_flag ...

, the White Drin Canyon is visited by high number of foreign tourists as well as locals. The one arch Fshajt Bridge over the canyon represents another important touristic attraction in the area. A competition “the jumping from the bridge” is held every year which is attended by many regional competitors. Both, the bridge and the canyon are legally protected since 1986. The protected area surface is 199 ha and it belongs to the municipalities Rahovec (124.96 ha) and Gjakova (73.86). Close to the bridge there are two rocks known as "Eagle Rock" (Shkëmbi i Shqiponjës) and "Skanderbeg Rock" (Shkëmbi i Skenderbeut), which features an engraving of 15th-century Albanian nobleman

George Kastrioti Skanderbeg , reign = 28 November 1443 – 17 January 1468 , predecessor = Gjon Kastrioti , successor = Gjon Kastrioti II , spouse = Donika Arianiti , issue = Gjon Kastrioti II , royal house = Kastrioti , father ...

. The portrait of Skanderbeg was painted in the rock in 1968 by Mexhid Yvejsi on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of his death. At the upper end of the canyon you can find a pleasant restaurant where you can eat freshly caught fish from the

River.

Gallery

File:Ura e shenjtë.jpg, A boat at the mouth of the Fshajt Bridge and the canyon File:Ura e Shenjtë.JPG, Fshajt Bridge File:White Drini 2005 01.jpg, Frozen Drin River and the canyon seen from the bridge in January File:Ura e Shenjtë, Gjakovë.jpg, The canyon seen from north-western part

References

{{Reflist Canyons and gorges of Kosovo Ottoman bridges in Kosovo

Geography

Tourism

Gallery

See also

References