Beneath the castle hill, an extensive tunnel network was excavated during the Hoxha regime to serve as a nuclear shelter and command centre — one of hundreds of such installations built across Albania during the Cold War. A section of the tunnels under the castle has been opened as a museum and offers one of the most tangible encounters with the paranoia and scale of Albania's communist-era fortification programme available anywhere in the country.
The tunnels are impressive in their engineering: wide enough for vehicles, reinforced with heavy concrete, and equipped with ventilation systems designed to withstand a nuclear blast. Exhibits inside explain the regime's obsession with foreign invasion and the extraordinary resources devoted to bunker construction across the country — Albania built an estimated 173,000 individual bunkers during the Hoxha years, at enormous cost to the economy. The tunnel entrance is positioned near the castle gate, and the museum visit can be combined with the fortress itself.
The temperature inside the tunnels stays cool year-round, making this a pleasant stop on a hot summer day. Entrance fee is charged separately from the castle.