The Blue Eye spring – Syri I Kalter in Albanian – is part of a protected nature area called the Blue Eye National Monument. During the Communist era, the Blue Eye spring and its surrounding scenery were out of bounds to ordinary people and reserved for only party politicians. The park around the Blue Eye includes a […]

Names don’t come much more evocative than the ‘Accursed Mountains’ (Bjeshkët e Namuna; also known as the Albanian Alps), but the dramatic peaks of northern Albania truly live up to the wonder in their name. Offering some of the country’s most impressive scenery, and easily its finest hiking, the mountains spread over the borders of […]

Early in the morning, before the tourist crowds arrive and when the rocks are still tinged in the yellow dawn light, you might just imagine that the ancient walls of Butrint are whispering secrets to you of long-past lives. Easily the most romantic and beautiful – not to mention largest – of Albania’s ancient sites, […]