Himare

Himarë
Municipality
The region of Himara seen from the Ceraunian Mountains
Seal
Himarë
Coordinates: Coordinates: 40°7′N 19°44′E / 40.117°N 19.733°E / 40.117; 19.733
Country	Albania
County	Vlorë
Government
• Mayor	Jorgo Goro (SP)
Area
• Municipality	571.94 km2 (220.83 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Municipality	5,738
• Municipality density	10/km2 (26/sq mi)
• Administrative Unit	2,822
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal Code	9425
Area Code	(0)393
Vehicle registration	AL
Website	Official Website

Himara or Himarë (from Greek: Χειμάρρα, Himarra, definite Albanian form: Himara) is a bilingual region and municipality in southern Albania, part of Vlorë County. It lies between the Ceraunian Mountains and the Ionian Sea and is part of the Albanian Riviera. The region consists of the town of Himarë and the villages of Dhërmi, Pilur, Kudhës, Qeparo, Vuno, Ilias, and Palasë.

The region of Himara is predominantly populated by an ethnic Greek community.

The Himara region is a strip approximately 20 km long by 5 km wide, bounded by the 2000 metre high Llogara mountains to the northeast (known in antiquity and in the local Greek dialect as the Ceraunian mountains (Greek: Κεραύνια Όρη, Keravnia ori, "Thunder Mountains") and the Ionian Sea to the southwest. There are long white sandy beaches and the few hills close to the sea are terraced and planted with olive and citrus trees. The villages of Himarë are perched up high on the spurs of the Ceraunian range in positions which offered natural defences against the nearby Lab Albanians during the Ottoman era.

The area has a great potential for tourism, with the major characteristics of the municipal town being its seaside promenade, the Greek tavernas and the traditionally preserved old town built on a hill. The town of Himarë consists of the old town, Kastro, situated on and around the old castle and the coastal region of Spilea, which is the touristic and economic center of the region. Other parts of the town are Potami, Livadhi, Zhamari, Michaili and Stefaneli. North of the town of Himarë lie the villages of Vuno, Ilias, Dhërmi, with its coastal region Jaliskari, and Palasë. Dhermi contains a number of recently built beach resorts. On the mountains lie Pilur and Kudhës, while Qeparo lies to the south of the town of Himarë.