“Kanë kaluar 12 vjet qe kur kam  ardhur në Pukë dhe mora përsipër të investoj. Isha i paragjykuar shumë sidomos nga shoqëria – ç’do ky në Pukë, është i luajtur mendsh!  Por jam krenar për këtë!”

This is the story of Xhim Begeja, an entrepreneur who is investing in the alpine town for more than a decade.

The second phase for the urban requalification of Puka is near completion. This project is implemented by the Albanian Development Fund on behalf of the Albanian government and Council of Europe Development Bank. It foresees interventions in the connecting roads of the hospital, buildings' insulation and other objects near the squares,reinforcement of lake protection and additional interventions in the park near the former Hotel Tourism.

"We have made progress in terms of increasing the number of visitors, especially last year. The challenge is how to make people stay here. In Puka one night is not enough while two are too many” says Jimmy Begeja laughing.

Puka e qetë pavarësisht marketingut modest ofron shumë.  Nuk ka maja të thepisura, por me relievin e ëmbël dhe masivin e pishave fton për të kaluar së bashku me familjen për të kaluar disa ditë relaksi.

 

Discover Puka with the "patriots" of tourism

“Mos pyet çfarë mund të bëjë vendi yt për ty, por çfarë mund të bësh ti për vendin tënd”, shprehja e famshme e John F. Kennedy në ceremoninë e inaugurimit si Presidenti i 35-të i Shteteve të Bashkuara më 20 Janar, 1961 duhet të ketë qenë një frymëzim për Vullnet Kuçin dhe miqtë e tij kur vendosën të bënin diçka për të promovuar bukuritë e vendlindjes së tyre.

"All started from the conversations about the beauties of Puka and the fact that had been forgotten for many years. It was unbelievable how others didn’t see the amazing opportunities of this place: countless opportunities to develop natural, sports, and health tourism. So we decided to present Puka through our eyes,” says Vullnet.

We decided to create a website to promote the beauties of Puka together with Enklajd and Emiljan. In 2016 everyone was studying in Tirana. Our friends in university didn’t know too much about the beauties of Puka, thus we decided to call the website “Discover Puka”. It is an invitation for everyone who loves to discover a place that once was considered the favorite summer destination from the large families of the north but neglected over the years. Discover Puka will be transformed into an agency that offers packages for tourists who wants to visit the north. Later Xhovana and Jonida joined the group of Discover Puka. Through our saving and the support of the local businesses we have identified 5 trails, marked them and inserted the data in an easily accessible application.

“Puka had been neglected for many years. If you want tourists to come back again, we need good infrastructure and clean environments because nature and fresh air are not enough.”

Investimet e ndërmarra në 4 vitet e fundit në Pukë me financim të qeverisë shqiptare dhe Bankës së Këshillit të Europës e kanë transformuar atë në mënyrë rrënjësore. Ndërhyrjet urbane te liqeni i vogël, te sheshet para ish-Hotel Turizmit dhe para Bashkisë, krijimi i pedonales u kombinuan me ndërhyrje të kryera më herët për ndërtimin e rrugëve rurale në Qelëz, Fushë-Arrëz, Iballë, etj. Janë të paktën 10 projekte, të cilat kanë patur si qëllim zhvillimin e zonave rurale dhe lidhjen e tyre me destinacione turistike dhe qytetet kufitare. Mund të shkosh në Pukë nga Tirana nëpërmjet Vaut të Dejës në Shkodër, por edhe nëpërmjet Rrugës së Kombit nëpërmjet aksit Fushë  Arrëz – Reps, që ka përfunduar dy vite më parë.

Vullnet says that he wasn’t very confident when he saw the project for the urban requalification of Puka. “I didn’t believe that the implementation would be 100% as was described in the project. Works started on the small lake proceeding with the square near the former Hotel Tourism, the facades and roofs of buildings”“The reconstructions of roofs and facades have affected the citizens’ life. Citizens now can save money because home heating is easier now that facades and roofs are reconstructed. The number of tourists increases every year,”says Vullnet.

Tourists groups are composed by Albanian, German, French and Polish tourists. The latter prefer climbs on Mount Terbun and Munella, visits in the village of Qelez and exploring Lake Koman.

“Last year in Albania we had 15-20 thousand French tourists. We already have bookings for the next year mainly families.Puka has much to offer. For example Thana fruit is a product that does not exist in France. In Europe this fruit is unknown, so you have the opportunity to present it as a unique product. Products like gliko, which are very tasty, are considered a perfect gift by tourists”, says Berenger Tibbot (a tourism consultant) in an interview. For several years he brings French tourists to visit Puka and the surrounding area.

 

"From kitchen to production factory"

You can understand why Puka is known as "porcini factory" if you climb the hill together with your family or a group of friends.

Besides the various species of mushrooms you can find depending on the season; blueberries, nuts, berries or chestnuts, which you can collect yourself to consume there. Or in return you can give it to your friends and saying - "I brought special things..."

The ladies in this town knowing the importance of this work collect fruits and produce different kind of jams. They started working from their homes and now they work for agro-processing companies. The latter beside gathering fruits learn the tradition from these ladies in Puka. They know all secrets of preparing these delicious jams starting from the amount of sugar to the preparation time

““We started producing homemade jams in small groups, mostly families. It is a longtime tradition of ours. With time investments grew and so did the interest on our products. We are now organized in structured groups. We are more involved in production. Each area produces a unique flavor of jams,marmalades and organic juice. We use glass to package our products as it preserves the product better than plastic.” - says one of the ladies.

Many other projects will be implemented in Puka aiming to transform it into a place where tourists stay, enjoy and leave with the desire to come back again.