The small Albanian сity of Lushnjë is not popular among tourists. The only city attractions are the Ardenica Monastery and one of the most important nature reserves in the country which is located in the vicinity of the monastery.

The Divjakë-Karavasta National Park with an area of more than 200 square kilometers was opened in 1996. Now it is the largest nature park in Albania. It is located on the coast of the Adriatic Sea in the west of the country and includes mixed forests and green flower meadows, coastal sand dunes and four natural reservoirs on its territory. One of its reservoirs is the famous Karavasta Lagoon.

Locals call the park «Pine Divjakë» because of the many types of coniferous trees growing there. There you can often see magnificent Italian pine called the stone pine, which grows in an area from the Iberian Peninsula to Anatolia. Pine trees up to 30 meters high have beautiful dense crowns of deep green color and live for 500 years. So, they can be called local centenarians. In addition to coniferous trees such as the pine trees, the Aleppo pines, cedars and junipers, there are many more trees in the park: deciduous willows and elms, oaks, ash and alder.

The picturesque Karavasta Lagoon is separated from the Adriatic Sea by a natural sand spit and was taken under the protection of the international Ramsar Convention before the opening of the national park in 1995. On both sides, it is surrounded by the mouths of two rivers: Shkumbin and Seman. The interesting fact is that the water in the lagoon is salty.

The expanses of the national park and its favorable natural conditions have become an ideal habitat for many animals and birds. There you can meet roe deer, foxes and jackals. The special pride of this nature reserve is more than 220 species of birds: there are cormorants, terns and a small population of a rare species of curly pelicans in the park.