Elbasan is a town in central Albania. Albania's third largest city is located on the Shkumbin River in the district of Elbasan. The current name derives from the Turkish il-basan ("the fortress"). In August 2010, archaeologists discovered two Illyrian graves near the castle walls of Elbasan. In the second century B. C. a trading post called Mansio Scampa developed near the present-day Elbasan, close to a crossroads of two arms of an important Roman road, the Via Egnatia. Via Egnatia connected the Adriatic coast with Byzantium. It was one of the most important routes of the Roman Empire. In the third to fourth century A. D. this place had developed into a rather big city which was protected by a Roman fortress with towers. It took part in the spreading of Christianity along the Via and had already in the fifth century a bishop, a cathedral and basilicas. In 2014, ruins of an early Christian basilica from the 5th or 6th century AD were found. The place seems to have been abandoned until the Ottoman army built a military camp there, which was followed in 1466 by urban reconstruction under Sultan Mehmet II, who built a massive four-sided castle with a deep moat and three towers. He had built the castle because of an ongoing conflict between Ottomans and Albanians and to fight against Skanderbeg, the National Hero of the Albanians.

After lunch we will take a hike 40 minutes to the Cave. We will bring head lights that can be rented at the village for 500 leke (4Eur). The cave of Pellumbas (Spella e Pëllumbasit or Shpella e Zezë) is a karstic cave in central Albania, located in the gorge of Skorana near the village of Pëllumbas in the Tirana region. The cave is one of six karstic caves in Europe. The cave has a length of 360 m and a width that can vary from 10-15 m. The height of the cave can reach up to 45 m. Despite its small size, it is considered one of the most beautiful caves in the country and attracts numerous visitors. The cave is located in the Dajti National Park. The importance of the complex can be traced back to the remains of the ancient human culture that belonged to the Paleolithic period. The cave was inhabited by the extinct cave bear that lived 10,000 to 400,000 years ago.