The very first glimpse you get of Kruja from the road is a clear indicator of the spectacular place where Albania’s national hero was born. Kruja seems to be sitting half way on the rocks of Kruja mountain. You later come to realise that the houses and roads are indeed high perched on the mountain slopes. They look as if hanging above the cliffs. In some parts, as you get close to the main attraction here- Kruja castle- the cobblestone alleys tend to become slightly less child friendly. So keep an eye on your little ones, especially if they are the climb and jump kind of style like Eric is. The castle grounds, just like in Berat, are still inhabited. But compared to the Berat castle, Kruja is by far smaller. There is no entrance fee, except for the Skanderbeg museum and the Etnographic museum both located inside the castle grounds. The museums are open until 18h during summer time and there’s a modest entrance fee of roughly 5 euros/adult, while children enter free.

Kruja is a meaningful experience, filled with history and glory of the Albanian people against Ottoman ruling. Kruja tells the story of the Albanian national hero, Skanderbeg, and breaths its victorious days through all the castle pores. A visit to Albania is perhaps incomplete without a stroll though the magnificent remains of the Kruja castle.

As you enter the castle grounds, the History/Skanderbeg museum is on the left and looks refurbished if not modern and new compared to the remnants of the old mosque right in front. The reason it looks new is because it was built in 1982 according to the design of the daughter of the former president, Enver Hoxha. We arrived at the castle minutes before closing time so we skipped visiting the inside of the museum.

Visiting with a 5 year old is quite the challenge. He is easily drawn towards challenging rocks to climb, so we started our visit immediately to the left and behind the museum following some steep stairs that lead to the tower. This is where the remains former fortress are, along with this watch tower and a secret passage that Eric was eager to discover.

Next to the watch tower are also the remains of the church dating from Skanderbeg’s times, but which was built upon an older place of worship. At the top of the castle grounds there are several restaurants and accommodation options. They have beautiful sunset views that stretch over to the Adriatic Sea.

If you want to give the little ones a break, restaurant Alba has a lovely terrace overlooking the children’s playground.

From here we returned close to the entrance, descending on stairs adorned with perfectly manicured trees, passing next to the olive tree and the old war guns.

Going further to the lower part of the castle grounds leads you to the Etnographic museum, which also closed at 6pm. Apparently it portrays life within the castle walls as it was back in the day, so it could be an interesting sight. Further away lies the teke and the hammam.

Ascend the stairs up on the terrace of the History museum for breathtaking views at sunset.

A visit to Kruja is incomplete without a stroll through its colourful bazzar. This is located next to the castle. We opted for visiting the castle first and afterwards took a walk among the bazzar stands. We were there in late September and at 7pm is already almost dark outside. Needless to say, most of the shops in the bazar were closed, but we did feel a little bit of the magic. The bazzar dates also from Skanderbeg’s time and you can find almost all sorts of things here. Coffee shops included, with tiny tables and colourful chairs set on top of rocky terraces.

Eric was delighted to run on the cobblestone ancient road and surprisingly keen on trying the white Albanian traditional hat, called Plis- dating back to Illyrian times, and learning about how it is made. There is a shop here, Qeleshe Punes Hyseni, that offers workshps on this topic.

To reach the bazzar, just descend from the castle taking the road on the left. The colourful bazzar stalls will point you in the right direction. Make sure you go all the way through until you reach the small square. You will be rewarded with awesome views of the castle.

Parking. There is a free unorganised parking lot really close to the castle and the bazaar. Google maps coordinates are: 41°30’32.8″N 19°47’43.1″E. There is also a payable and supervised one over here. It is 300lek/day.