The Prespa National Park (Albanian: Parku Kombëtar i Prespës) is a national park in southeastern Albania lying on the border triangle shared with Greece and North Macedonia. At approximately 277.5km2, the park encompasses the country's sections of Great and Small Prespa Lake that are surrounded by mountains. It is considerably marked by high mountains, small islands, vast freshwater wetlands, salt marshes, meadows, reed beds and dense forests. Established to protect the natural and as well the cultural heritage of the region, it is included in the European Green Belt and the World Network of Biosphere Reserves under the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme. The country's section of Great Prespa is recognised as a wetland of international importance by designation under the Ramsar Convention and further as an Important Bird and Plant Area. The lakes are essentially situated between 850 and 900 metres elevation above the Adriatic in the Balkan Peninsula. Located about 150 metres above Lake Ohrid, its waters passes through several underground channels composed of karst and emerge from springs into the lake. Mali i Thatë separates the Great Prespa from Lake Ohrid, one of the most ancient lakes in the world. It is primarily known for the cultivation of mountain tea that flourish at the limestone rocks of the mountain; it is one of the most popular tea types of the Albanian people. Besides, the park protects the island of Maligrad, which is dotted with many caves suitable for wildlife and a circular cliff. Due to the temperature and climate differences between different areas and elevations of the park, it is characterized by housing a wide range of plants and animals. The park falls within the Pindus Mountains mixed forests terrestrial ecoregion of the Palearctic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub. Forests cover 13,500ha of the park's area, with dense coniferous and deciduous forests. Out of the 1130 species of flora and 174 species of fungus are distributed throughout the park. The fauna is represented by 60 species of mammals, 270 species of birds, 23 species of reptiles, 11 species of amphibia and 23 species of fish. Prespa National Park is a cultural landscape that displays evidence of cultural practices dating back thousands of years, with the oldest traces of human habitation dating back to the neolithic. During classical antiquity, the trade route of Via Egnatia passed nearby the region as it was inhabited by several Illyrian and Ancient Greek tribes as well as Romans and later by Byzantines. Nonetheless, the park is dotted with many natural and cultural features containing prehistoric dwellings and byzantine churches such as the caves of Zaver and Treni, the St. Mary's Church and so on.
