Përmet District

The district of Përmet (Albanian: Rrethi i Përmetit) was one of the 36 administrative districts of Albania that were abolished in the summer of 2015 following an administrative reform. The area of 929 square kilometres is located in the south of the country and belongs to the Gjirokastra Qark. The district was named after the main town of Përmet.

Not quite half of the population of 16,727 (2011) belongs to the Greek or Aromanian minority. In the post-communist period, the Orthodox and Muslim faiths experienced a revival. About half of the Muslims belong to the Bektashi. Recently, Protestantism has also appeared in Përmet.

The Përmet region includes the valley of the Vjosa River from the Greek border to the Këlcyra gorge, as well as some side valleys. The river valley is surrounded by high mountains. In the west, the mountain range running parallel to the river and sloping steeply towards the east reaches an altitude of 2484 m a.s.l. at Nemërçka. In the east, the mountains rarely reach heights above 1500 m a.s.l. The region is, however, very remote and inaccessible. A substantial part of the mountainous and forested east of the county belongs to the 34,361-hectare Hotova-Dangell National Park. The Lengarica River formed an extremely narrow gorge when it broke through the mountains.

The mountain valley of the Vjosa is very isolated and best reached via Tepelena. A road leads via Erseka through the highlands of Kolonja to Korça. A border crossing in the south makes it possible to pass the border with Greece, which has been hermetically sealed for about 45 years.

Permët is traditionally known for its wine and its raki, a liquor made from fermented grapes, most of which is still home distilled. Famous throughout Albania is the village of Frashër, the hometown of the brothers Abdly, Naim and Sami Frashëri, who fought for the independence of Albania. Architectural attractions in the district include several old Orthodox churches; the one in Leusa dates from the 17th century.

The territory of the district has been divided into the municipalities (bashkia) of Përmet and Këlcyra since 2015.