Drin Valley in the context of "Drin (river)"

The Central Mountain Region (Albanian: Krahina Malore Qëndrore) is a physiogeographical region encompassing the central and eastern edge of Albania. It comprises the mountainous inland extending all the way from the valley of Drin and the mountains of Sharr, Skanderbeg, Korab, and Shebenik-Jabllanicë, through the lakes of Ohrid and Prespa, until it reaches the village of Ersekë and the mountains of Pindus close to the border between the country and Greece.

The central mountain range can be conventionally divided into a number of subregions. The north encompasses the mountainous districts of Mirditë and Pukë. The center is dominated by the mountains of Lurë and Korab alongside the regions of Martanesh and Çermenikë. The south includes the valley of Shkumbin as well as the mountains of Mokër and Valamara, the plain of Korçë with the upper districts of Devoll and Kolonjë.

The Northern Mountain Region (Albanian: Krahina Malore Veriore) is a geographical region in northern Albania. It is one of the four mountain regions of Albania, the others being Central Mountain Range, Southern Mountain Range, and Western Lowlands. The northern range encompasses the Albanian Alps extending from the Lake Shkodër shared with Montenegro in the northwest through the Valbonë Valley to the Drin Valley in the east. The area falls within the Dinaric Mountains mixed forests and Balkan mixed forests terrestrial ecoregions of the Palearctic Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests.

Inside the Northern Mountain Range, there are two national parks and a nature reserve, namely Theth National Park, Valbonë Valley National Park and Gashi River Nature Reserve. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the nature reserve as Category I, while the national parks as Category II. In 2017, the Gashi River was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the Primeval beech forests of the Carpathians and other regions of Europe.