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Shpella e zeze - Pellumbas

Albania Albania Cave

Pellumbas Cave

14 °C inside, all year.

Underground river

See the descentHow to visit

Albinfo · CC BY-SA 3.0

The descent

The entrance, at 431 m.

The real relief above Pellumbas Cave, measured on the Copernicus model every 30 m, and the cave going down at the same vertical scale.

depth not publishedEntrance847 m1.0 kmvertical × 4.4depth not publishedEntrance847 m1.0 kmvertical × 9.6

The depth is the one published by those who explored it; the shape of the galleries is a sketch, not a survey. No depth has been published for this cave yet.

431m

Entrance altitude

from the 30 m relief model

14°C

Inside, all year

the yearly average outside, at the entrance

423m

Rock above

the highest point within 1.5 km

Inside and outside

14 °C inside, all year.

Deep inside, a cave keeps the average temperature of the year outside: about 14 °C here, in January and in August. In August the afternoon reaches 32 °C at the entrance, 18 °C warmer than inside: take a jacket. The best months to escape the heat are from June to August. The wettest months are from October to December: water rises fast underground, so never go in without a guide after heavy rain.

outside, at the entrance (431 m)inside
  1. 8°0°Jan
  2. 9°1°Feb
  3. 13°4°Mar
  4. 17°7°Apr
  5. 22°12°May
  6. 28°16°Jun
  7. 32°19°Jul
  8. 32°19°Aug
  9. 26°14°Sep
  10. 20°10°Oct
  11. 15°6°Nov
  12. 9°1°Dec
Inside: 14 °C all yearEscape the heat: Jun–AugWettest: Oct–Dec

Outside: afternoon and night averages for 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the entrance. Inside: the yearly average, which deep parts of a cave keep. Near the entrance it follows the weather a little.

Cave in Albania

Pellumbas Cave is a cave in Albania. The entrance is at 431 m. It has an underground river.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there.

  • Wild cave: only with caving equipmentNo paths or lights inside. Go only with a caving club or a qualified guide.
  • Krrabënearest town · 4.6 km in a straight line
  • Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.1 km from the entrance
  • Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa (TIA)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 27 km in a straight lineCar hire at TIA airport (Rinas)Discover Cars · sponsored link

Plan the visit

Guided tours, a bed nearby, a car.

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

The water

The Lumi Erzenit runs highest from November to March.

The Lumi Erzenit carries about 3.5 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from November to March. It is lowest from July to August.

  1. 5.5 m³/sJan
  2. 5.2 m³/sFeb
  3. 5.0 m³/sMar
  4. 4.2 m³/sApr
  5. 3.0 m³/sMay
  6. 1.9 m³/sJun
  7. 1.1 m³/sJul
  8. 0.8 m³/sAug
  9. 2.0 m³/sSep
  10. 3.7 m³/sOct
  11. 5.3 m³/sNov
  12. 5.9 m³/sDec

From about 0.85 m³/s in the lowest month to 5.9 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 166 km².

The Erzen from source to mouth on Riveryas — coming soon

Estimate: long-term flow from the HydroATLAS model (WaterGAP, 1971–2000) shaped by the monthly rain, snow and temperature of the area (NASA POWER). Dams change it. Not a forecast.

From above.

The ground above the cave, with the relief shaded, the line of the section and what people have mapped around the entrance.

The ground above Pellumbas Cave (Sentinel-2) N 1.5 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6.0 × 6.0 km, north up. The line is the section above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the entrance.

  • 2other cave entrances within 3 kmShpella e Pëllumbasit
  • 5viewpoints within 3 km
  • 3marked hiking routes within 3 kmThe Peter Andre Memorial Loop
  • 1named waterfalls within 4 kmLarge waterfall
  • 4car parks within 2 km
  • 3information boards and visitor centres within 3 km
  • 5campsites within 8 kmPersqopi Camping and 4 more
  • 11hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmlong hill residence, Hotel Restaurant Triada, The House in the Village and 8 more
  • 3restaurants and cafés within 3 km
  • springs within 2 km
  • sinkholes within 3 km
  • caving clubs and spots within 15 km
  • climbing crags within 3 km
  • bus stops within 2 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the entrance. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Towns nearby

  • Krrabë4.6 km in a straight line
  • Bërzhitë5.5 km in a straight line
  • Petrelë9.3 km in a straight line
  • Farka e Madhe10 km in a straight line
  • Tirana14 km in a straight line
  • Zall-Herr19 km in a straight line
  • Elbasan19 km in a straight line
  • Vrap19 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Pellumbas Cave.

The river at the entrance, the waterfalls, the lakes, the mountains and volcanoes above, the canyons, beaches and islands nearby — from our other atlases.

Peakyas17 mountains within 10 km
Mali i Pashkasheshit497 m · 1.1 kmMaja e Kercelles664 m · 3.0 kmPriska1,365 m · 5.8 kmMaja e Qetit678 m · 6.0 kmMal Cirme666 m · 6.0 kmMali i Durishtit421 m · 7.3 kmMaja e Plizes748 m · 7.9 kmMali i Petreles442 m · 8.2 km

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Month by month

The weather outside, at the entrance.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon891317222832322620159
Afternoon891317222832322620159
Night014712161919141061
Rain (mm)93837769644529277495109109
Rainy days11111112118669111313
Sun hours/day3.54.24.86.07.59.610.79.87.15.84.13.2
Snow on the ground (cm)1094100000027
AfternoonAfternoonNightRain (mm)Sun hours/day
Jan880933.5
Feb991834.2
Mar13134774.8
Apr17177696.0
May222212647.5
Jun282816459.6
Jul3232192910.7
Aug323219279.8
Sep262614747.1
Oct202010955.8
Nov151561094.1
Dec9911093.2

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the altitude of the entrance (431 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Photographs

Inside and around.

Brenda ne Shpellen e Pellumbasit
RedinaQose1996 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Pamje nga hyrja e shpelles se Pellumbasit
InaMyrtollari · CC BY-SA 4.0
Shpella e Pellumbasit
InaMyrtollari · CC BY-SA 4.0

Recent years

Wet years, dry years.

Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
202037%60%96%68%52%46%72%115%96%193%5%145%
2021252%113%81%124%34%30%75%59%81%90%101%124%
202232%89%42%100%53%118%57%78%117%47%130%117%
2023136%18%101%100%119%132%49%129%42%74%233%55%
2024116%43%139%157%149%51%38%73%174%93%99%178%
2025152%42%129%72%124%13%41%145%63%148%278%31%

130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month

Caves nearby.

Pellumbas Cave

Albania

  • —Depth
  • —Galleries
  • 431 mEntrance altitude
  • 14 °CInside, all year

Pirogoshi Cave

Albania · 85 km

  • —Depth
  • —Galleries
  • 526 mEntrance altitude
  • 14 °CInside, all year

See the guide

Pešna Cave

North Macedonia · 112 km

  • —Depth
  • —Galleries
  • 589 mEntrance altitude
  • 12 °CInside, all year

See the guide

Slatinski Izvor

North Macedonia · 110 km

  • —Depth
  • 4.0 kmGalleries
  • 495 mEntrance altitude
  • 13 °CInside, all year

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and length, visitorsWikidata (Q13045859) · CC0
The relief above, the entrance altitude, the section and the 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
River flow and basinHydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020
Entrances, springs, sinkholes, opening hours and what is around© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Rivers, waterfalls, lakes, mountains, canyons, beaches and islands nearbyCoastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit
cavesCavernyasEvery cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.You are here
dark skiesDarkskyasWhere the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Coming soonVisit
viewpointsViewyasEvery viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit
birdwatchingBirdyasEvery bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.Coming soonVisit
forestsForestyaEvery forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Coming soonVisit