Çorovodë is the main town of the Skrapar region, and it sits at the upper end of one of the most photographed gorges in Albania. The Osum river leaves the mountains here through a canyon cut into pale limestone, with walls up to a hundred metres high and clear green pools below, and in spring, when the river is high, rafting groups come from Berat and Tirana to run it. The town itself is a modest place of apartment blocks and low houses, standing on a plateau above the river, with high ridges to the east and the long chain of the Tomorr massif visible to the north-west on a clear day.
By road, the route in from Poliçan is a long, rolling climb through oak and juniper, with villages and stone bridges along the way. The bends are wide and fairly easy, but road conditions vary, with patches of broken asphalt and the usual livestock. The canyon viewpoints lie a little outside town, and some of them involve a short walk or a rough track, so check what you can handle on the bike. In hot months the canyon is cool and shaded, and the sound of falling water carries a long way. Water levels drop through summer, so spring is the best season for seeing it at full strength.
The town has a past that is a little hard to read, as much of its recent history is bound up with the communist era and with the emigration of the last thirty years. Many families have members in Greece or Italy, and houses with new facades stand beside abandoned ones. The area is also known for walnut trees and for fruit, and the local cuisine includes grilled lamb, fresh cheese and hearty bean dishes cooked in clay pots. There is a long tradition of mountain festivals in the Skrapar villages, with polyphonic singing that sounds startling the first time you hear it.
With about fourteen thousand people counted in the municipality, Çorovodë has fuel, shops and places to eat, and it is the last sizeable service point before the higher mountains. Fill the tank and take water before going deeper, and allow time at the canyon, because it is one of those places where the photographs are plain correct.