The Divjaka-Karavasta National Park, declared a nature protected area since 1995 and with its protected territory expanded to 22 389.08 ha, is home to a diversity of complex and extremely rich ecosystems and natural resources.

The green arch-shaped area on the Adriatic cost is located about 5 km from the town of Divjake and around 70 km from the Albanian capital of Tirana.

Divjake-Karavasta National Park is an important tourist destination and home to 228 of Albania’s 330 native bird species, 25 species of mammals, 29 species of reptiles and 29 amphibians. The most notable is the rare Dalmatian pelican, the largest bird in Europe.

Large flocks of white storks, flamingos, cattle egrets, little egrets, hoopoes, yellow-egged gulls, yellow wagtails, woodchat shrikes, bee-eaters, oystercatchers, Kentish plovers and more are found in the area.

The park is also home to forests with typical flowers, lagoons, agricultural land, and sand dunes, as well as unproductive land. The Karavasta Lagoon has been declared an Emerald Site under the Bern Convention in 2008, an Important Bird Area (IBA), and a Wetland of International Importance (Ramsar Site) since 1994.

Protected Area Specialists across the country conducted the International Winter Waterfowl Census in January this year.

The 2024 census included 33 wetlands (rivers, lakes, reservoirs, coastal ecosystems, etc.) throughout Albania. Some 66 bird species were recorded, with a total number of 114, 293 birds.

The largest number of birds has been recorded in the Managed Nature Reserve of Lake Shkoder with 32,089 individuals and 23 species, followed by the Divjakë – Karavasta National Park with 25,757 individuals and 52 species

The number of migratory birds coming to wintering grounds in Albania keeps growing each year, providing a new dimension to bird watching tourism in the country.

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