Polisi

Polisi is a massif located in the municipality of Librazhd, in eastern Albania. Its highest peak, Maja e Polisit, reaches a height of. The other important peak of the massif is Mali Plak, standing at above sea level.

Geology

Composed primarily of limestone and partly of ultrabasic rocks, the massif has the shape of a dome with jagged edges. The upper section consists of glacial and karst relief forms, with numerous water sources on its sides that feed the Shkumbin river.

Biodiversity

The mountain mass is covered with oak and beech forests, as well as alpine summer pastures. Various endemic plants can be found here, including the Albanian lily, several types of violets and clovers. The southern limit of Polisi is a distribution area of the Alpine sunflower. Mountain tea and orchid are abundant.
There is also a reserve for wild boar. Some sections of the mountain contain iron-nickel ores and bauxite.

History

In classical antiquity Polisi was a central mountain range in southern Illyria, and was known as Kandavia or Candaviae Montes. It likely gave the name to the part of Via Egnatia that followed the convergence of its two branches from Dyrrhachium and Apollonia, which was attested in Strabo's Geography.