Albania is becoming famous for its unique culinary and some of the main “elements” that makes our cuisine special, are the original and aromatic ingridients that are grown in our country.

Olive oil, wine, aromatic plants growing on Albanian soil have a unique flavor. Tirana has a range of olive groves.

We are offering for you a special tour of Olive Oil in Marikaj, half an hour far from Tirana:

The tour begins with visiting the Marikaj village, then walking to the green hill above the houses, where you can see the 500-150-2500-year-old olive groves, amid a fantastic nature.

It is an old tradition of this area to grow olives tree and produce olive oil. This tradition dates back to the earliest times. Historical documents show that in the 17-18th century olive oil was exported from this region to the Republic of Venice and Saint Mark. But a local producer will tell you more about that story. The journey will get you acquainted with the varieties that grow in this area, the age of trees, the qualities of quality olives and how to care for these trees to have produce every year.

The tour continues in the factory, where we will see how the olives are processed. The factory does not only serve the family to make olive oil from its olive groves, but it is used by all farmers throughout the area who bring their olives and take back the olive oil.

But the whole thing is how to add values to olive oil to make it a tourist product. By collecting the spices and aromatic plants in the area, the family has managed to produce a variety of olive oil products, which are used not only for cooking, but also in cosmetics.

The third spot of the trip is the family store, where about 35 products of olive oil are displayed, from aromatic soaps with olive oil, various seasonings of carefully dried and packed, tea, olive wood souvenirs and different types of olive oils with different spices. Here you can also make the olive oil tasting process and get acquainted with some features to distinguish an extra virgin olive oil from a less quality olive oil. Often, tasting is accompanied by local produce, tea, or herb pie in the area.

A similar olive oil tour can be applied by all the farmers who have olive groves and produce olive oil. It is not enough just to produce quality oil but to know how to trade and make it attractive to tourists.

TAGS: Olive Oil Tour in Tirana, Olive Oil tours in Tirana, olive groves in Tirana, daytrips in Tirana, Tirana tours, Explore Tirana

Reference from: Visit Tirana