Albania

How to get to Bogove Waterfall and Osum Canyon [2025]

The Bogove Waterfall and Osum Canyon is the most highly recommended excursion in Berat but how do you get there?

In our case, with a little bit of determination and a lucky meeting with the right person. Don’t worry though, you won’t have to do the same as I’m sharing exactly where you need to go right here.

Berat Bogova Waterfall

Getting from A to B in Albania famously has its challenges (although it’s clear that many locations are rapidly becoming more easily accessible) and finding any clear directions to either destination in my previous research was tricky.

In the end, it was well worth that bit of extra research and I’ve used my experience to put together this guide that contains everything you need to know for finding the Bogove Waterfall.

Don’t have time to read this now or want to save it for later? Pin it so you don’t forget!

How to find the Bogova Waterfall & Osumi Canyon, Berat Albania

Can you visit without a car?

Of course! We had a little Skoda Fabia secured so wanted to sightsee on our own schedule (and save some money in the process) but visiting on a guided tour is still the most common option by far.

When you arrive in Berat, you can ask your hostel or guesthouse in Berat for a recommendation – we stayed at Berat Backpackers Hostel who were offering tours for around €40-45 per person.

If you’re keen to book in advance, GetYourGuide has some great tours on offer too.

How to find the Bogove Waterfall

From Berat to the village of Bovoga (or Bogove as it’s interchangeably called), the drive is one hour long through quaint farmland, hillside roads and small villages.

Tip: I purchased an Albanian Vodafone SIM card so we were able to use Google Maps, but you can also download the offline map if you’re travelling without signal – something I always do for backup, just in case!

I’d read that the trail from the village was an unpaved track but construction was well underway and there is actually a paved road running from the village to the local waterworks. Much of Berat and the surrounding area actually gets its water from this river as it’s super fresh and delicious, directly from the mountains.

To find the best parking spot, enter Roi Bogova into Google Maps: we’d parked in the village to protect our little car on the ‘rubble track’, but it actually would have been completely fine and saved us a 30 minute walk in July’s scorching heat.

Bogove Waterfall Bridge
Path Bogova Waterfall

From here, it got a little more tricky, as it wasn’t too obvious which way we were supposed to go from the waterworks. Unsure whether we needed to look for a bridge or continue along the road blocked by construction equipment (which then did turn into an unpaved, rocky path), we opted for the logical choice and followed the road. It runs along the river so we figured eventually we’d find the waterfall.

From here, you can’t really go wrong. It’s a fairly easy 20 – 30 minute walk from the waterworks if you don’t have any mobility issues (although relatively unshaded, something to bear in mind during the summer months), although you do need to cross three or four makeshift bridges along the way.

The bridges vary in quality – the most nerve wracking of the bunch was a couple of thin metal beams and wooden branches – but are easily manageable. Update 2025: as part of the building work, rumour has it these bridges have now been replaced with proper ones!

Bogova Waterfall Bridge
Bogova Waterfall Bridge

As you start getting more tree cover, you’ll know you’re close to the waterfall and soon, we heard voices indicating we’d made it!

Gorgeously blue and clear, the powerful waterfall gushes into a four-metre-deep pool – cliff jumpers, you’ll love this spot! With a maximum temperature of around 10 degrees Celsius, the water is quite literally breath-taking and as I’m the very opposite of an adrenaline junkie, I opted to dip in and out from the surrounding rocks.

Despite visiting in peak season, one of the most amazing things about this waterfall was how it still felt so tranquil.

We’d spent around two hours there, arriving around midday, and I’d estimate there were never more than 15 people there at one time. Given the area around the waterfall is fairly small and secluded, it was wonderful to have the opportunity to relax there without feeling crowded or pressured to move away quickly to allow others to capture ‘the shot’ for Instagram. Yes, it’s one of the most touristy activities in Berat, but it still feels like a hidden gem.

How much longer that’ll last for, it’s hard to say, as tourism is growing in the country once more.

Planning a road trip? Check out my incredible two week Albania itinerary!

How to find the Osum Canyon

If I’m honest, we were on the fence about whether it was worth visiting the canyon. In the summer, water level subside (it’s usually well known for white-water rafting) but this is where someone stepped in to help.

The night before, we’d eaten at Lili Homemade Food and a few of our fellow diners were at the falls too. We’d got chatting and as we enjoyed the falls, a local guide from Tirana who was visiting for the day with his family introduced himself. When he was planning to leave, he offered to show us the way to the Osum (or Osumi) canyon.

This moment of putting our trust in the kindness of one man, passionate about helping visitors experience all of Albania’s highlights, really highlights one of the most things I find most beautiful about travelling. With a couple from Holland and two sisters from Spain, we headed back to our respective cars and set off in convoy for the next hour to the canyon entrance.

Writing this back in the UK, it’s taken hours to find the exact location we stopped at as I don’t think it’s signposted on the road. However, trusty Google Maps will come to the rescue again and if you put in Summer Bar & Restaurant (near the‘Ura E Vjeter E Zaberzanit’ – a footbridge with awesome views of the Osum canyon), it’ll take you to a cliffside spot where you can park just after the restaurant.

If you’re driving a 4×4, you can head directly down the hill and park at the canyon’s edge, but we opted to stay up high and quickly walk down.

Although it was tempting to immediately head for the water, we stopped for a bite to eat at the restaurant and the food was far tastier than I expected: think grilled meats and vegetables like aubergine, salads and oregano-dusted fries. Plus, our dip in the canyon turned into a spontaneous two-hour expedition deep down the river, we returned to find the owner had kindly brought our bags close to watch them – although maybe that was because we hadn’t yet paid the bill!

While it may be different with winter’s crashing rapids, there was an incredible air of tranquillity about the canyon in summer with towering cliffs, birdsong and many banks and extremely shallow parts you can rest on.

Depending on if you visit after rainfall, the water can be dazzlingly blue or milky from the clay-like mud. Side note: use this mud to give yourself a face mask or even a full body treatment – it’s the cheapest spa treatment you’ll ever get! Our self-appointed guide was heading to the canyon to collect the mud and dry it for use in his line of skincare products, so that’s all it took to convince me to give it a try.

If you’re going hiking in Albania, check out the 11 things you’ll need to know about hiking Valbona to Theth.

If you’re planning to swim in the canyon, be aware that even in the hot weather there are a few deep pools with stronger currents. Being relatively strong swimmers, it felt safe to continue swimming for most of the way, but I’d be careful if the weather has been more rainy as I’m sure it could become wild pretty quickly!

I’ve not got a single photo or video of our journey up the canyon but somehow, that makes the memories even more special. The scenery around every bend was equally stunning and for much of it, we were entirely alone, making it feel like a mindfulness activity or visualisation I’d dream of during a stressful day at my desk back home.

After finally emerging from the canyon, we headed back to Berat via some of the beautiful viewpoints on that winding road – look out for the spot just after Gjurma e Abaz Aliut as it’s just perfect around sunset!

It was only our third day in Albania, but I already knew that I’d just experienced one of the highlights of the trip and if the rest of this article hasn’t been enough to convince you to visit, I hope that statement does.

Laura x

Read more about Albania

The ultimate two week Albania road trip itinerary
9 surprising things about Albania
Homemade Food Lili: Berat’s best restaurant
Hiking Valbona to Theth: 11 things you need to know

Looking for places to stay in Albania? I book most of my accommodation via Booking.com!

 

Like it? Pin it!

You Might Also Like

11 Comments

  • Reply
    Jac Schmitt
    January 8, 2023 at 9:57 pm

    This is fantastic. You’ve provided all the basic information about the canyon that I’ve been struggling to find. I’m determined to go now – planning a trip this summer. Thank you!

    • Reply
      Laura
      March 4, 2023 at 9:30 pm

      I’m so happy it was helpful – I’d really struggled to find the right information beforehand too! Have an amazing trip, I loved every minute of Albania.

  • Reply
    Alison
    August 31, 2023 at 7:59 pm

    Thank you, Laura. We used your guide to help us find the waterfall today. I would like to let people know that the rickety bridges have been replaced with concrete ones and ask you let people know to drive to the left of the blue gates and park at the plateau past the Ujë building.

    • Reply
      Laura
      October 1, 2023 at 8:46 am

      Thanks so much for the update Alison!

  • Reply
    Katie Dolan
    September 9, 2023 at 2:56 pm

    Just did this exact trip thanks to your advice! It was an awesome day

    • Reply
      Laura
      October 1, 2023 at 8:46 am

      Amazing – I’m so glad it helped! Definitely worth the trip, such a stunning place.

  • Reply
    zidane
    September 20, 2023 at 10:46 am

    thanks for the great article, keep up the good work

  • Reply
    Sophie
    June 29, 2024 at 12:23 am

    Osum Canyon Part, did you do this in a normal car?

    • Reply
      Laura
      June 29, 2024 at 8:48 am

      Yes, just a small car is fine on the road – just park up top rather than driving to the bottom

  • Reply
    Maia
    September 8, 2024 at 6:57 am

    Hi Laura, thanks for putting together this guide! Quick question – if we’re to visit Osumi Canyon on our own without a guide, is it easy enough to swim/travel down the river and then hike back to your car if we park by the restaurant you suggested? Or is the only option to walk back along a main road / go with a guide for someone to pick you up at the end?

    • Reply
      Laura
      September 16, 2024 at 8:15 pm

      Hey – great question and I’m actually not sure I can answer properly! We just swam down the canyon some way and turned back around towards the restaurant, so you could definitely do this, but I’m not sure exactly where it would finish or what route guides would take you to hike the return trip.
      I do know that how safe it is really depends on the water levels in the canyon: they were super low when we visited, but apparently the currents can be strong at times.
      Sorry I couldn’t be more help but have an awesome time!

    What do you think?

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.