Konispol, a backdoor entrance into Albania! and other Albania Things to Do Tips

Konispol is a backdoor entrance into Albania! At least this is what we felt when we drove from Igoumenitsa (Greece) to Sagiada, passed the border and further drove to Konispol Butrint and Saranda.

If you want to know how was that amazing journey, look at my backdoor entrance page, built under the name of the border village, Konispol.

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Ksamili is often named the pearl of Southern Albania. It is 2.5 km north to Butrint, 14 km south to Saranda and 15 km east to Konispol.

Small islands lye in the bay of Ksamil. The Greek island of Corfu is very close to Konispol : Kassiopi is only 11 km away and Corfu city 17.5 km.

This page should be under Ksamili but, though a town of about 5.000 inhabitants, it is not in VT location database and I had to put it under Kalive Gjoka, the nearest village, 3.5 km north and much smaller. Actually, I would not be surprised if Kalive Gjoka was a part of Ksamili as the city extends on several kilometers!. As soon as possible, I will transfer it under Ksamili.

For more, visit my Ksamili page.

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Syri i Kalter spring is a beautiful place,18 km North-East to Saranda, near the village of Dhrovjan.

To get to Syri i Kalter from Saranda, you must drive in the direction of Gjirokastra. The road passes in the villages of Delvina, Mesopotam, Muzina and Jorgucat where it crosses the road from Ktismata (Greece) to Gjirokastra.

Three kilometers after Delvina, a very narrow dirt road leads to Syri i Kalter after about another 4 km.

Syri i Kalter is a 180 hectares “Nature Monument” of Albania and a must see. It is so close to Saranda, Gjirokastra and to Butrint that it is easy to visit, at least if you have a car.

For more, visit my Syri i Kalter, the Blue Eye under the name of the nearest village, Dhrovjan.

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Saranda is the Albanian name for the Greek Saranda, meaning "forty", named after the Byzantine monastery of the "Forty Saints"

The city stretches along a 1 km bay. It is a good shelter for boats as it is protected from every wind except south-western by the Eremeca ridge (first photo).

Between Saranda and the Llogara pass (1027 m elevation) the coastal road is a wonder. The Albanian Riviera was in 1988 completely unspoiled (second photo).

In 1988, the terraces of Lukove (third photo) were amongst the greatest prides of the Albanian government. As much as 650,000 olive trees, orange trees and other fruit trees have been planted and watered by the "volunteers".

For more, visit my Saranda page built from both my visits in 1988 and 2007.

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I have visited Butrint twice, in 1988 and in 2007.

Butrint, ancient Buthrotum, lies in south-west Albania, 20 km south of the modern port of Saranda. It is on a narrow peninsula lying between the strait of Corfu and the inland salt-water Lake Butrint.

Butrint was inscribed in 1992 on the List of World Heritage with the following description :
Inhabited since prehistoric times, Butrint has been the site of a Greek colony, a Roman city and a bishopric. Following a period of prosperity under Byzantine administration, then a brief occupation by the Venetians, the city was abandoned in the late Middle Ages after marshes formed in the area. The present archaeological site is a repository of ruins representing each period (Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Venetian periods) in the city's development.

For more, visit my Butrint page.

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The coast between Saranda and Llogara pass is known as the Albanian Riviera. From Saranda to Dhërmi, a great part of this road was in 2007 narrow and in bad condition. However, this is one of the must drive in Albania. In many parts, the landscape is outstanding. We had not enough time to visit each village, to take each road going towards the see, and I suppose that it will be the same for you, but you must know that you might spend several days (and even more) on this route.

The road clings to the mountain slope and is almost a single track. Fortunately, the traffic is very low, and one has seldom problems to cross another vehicle (especially if it is a bus!). I found that the most difficult part was across Dhërmi, a mountain village on the sea side, as the road is tight between the houses and that you cannot view in advance oncoming traffic. Be ready to some rear driving! Trailors are not advisable!

For more, visit my Dhermi

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Fier is a town of 120,000 inhabitants, in southwestern Albania, It is a modern town, not worth a visit, except for those interested in urbanism but 8 km west to Fier, the ancient Greek city of Appolonia, founded around 550 BC by Greek settlers from Corfu and Corinth is an interesting spot, not yet entirely dug out.

For more, visit my Fier and Apollonia page.

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Berat, a city of 47,000 inhabitants, stands in east central Albania, 160 km from Tirana.

After Butrint in 1999, the museum city of Gjirokastra in 2005, Berat, another museum city, should be inscribed in 2006 on the World Heritage list by the Unesco.

The front of the houses that face the valley are dotted by so many windows that it is easy to understand why Berat was nicknamed the thousand windows city! This gives it a look of its own, with roofs covered with Roman tiles (second photo).

Near the river Osum, at the bottom of Mangalem, the Moslem district, s Xhami e Beqareve (Bachelor's Mosque), built in 1827, now a folk-art museum. It has a handsome portico and an interesting external decoration (enlarge the second photo) of flowers, plants, houses, etc (third photo).

For more, visit my Berat page, built from both my visits in 1988 and 2007.

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Gjirokastra/Gjirokaster, Argyrokastron for the Greeks is the birthplace of both former leader Enver Hoxha and writer Ismail Kadare, In 1988, we visited the so called birth house of Enver Hoxha with souvenirs of his entire life. Our Albanian guide warned us that it was not really his birth house but that this one fitted better with easy visits.

A World Heritage site, Gjirokastra also has a charming bazaar area with small shops facing cobbled streets. The castle, entered from either the valley or the town side, now houses the National Arms museum, though the best things about it are the fantastic views across the valley,

In Gjirokastra the houses are covered with "pllakë" (first photo), thick and irregular slates which give to the city its grayish color and explain its Greek name of Argyropolis (silver city) or more often Argyrokastron (silver castle).

The Market's Mosque (second photo) was built in 1757. In 1988, it was one of the few mosques that had not been destroyed by the Enver Hoxha regime and it even looked in good condition. The entrance with three arcades had recently received a new coating and was painted in white.

Do not be surprised if you see vines climbing on top of the houses : they allow to prepare home made raki with only a narrow strip of land around the house (third photo)

For more, visit my Gjirokaster page for my two visits (1988 and 2007)

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Korça is a city and prefecture in southeastern Albania, 109 km southeast of Tirana, 19 km from the border with Greece. It is also named Korçë, Korce, Korcha, Korytsa (Greek) and Corizza (Italian). It is a most modern city of 65,000 inhabitants, the fifth in Albania.It stands in a wide agricultural and mining basin at a mean elevation of 860m, dominated by the Morava mountains to the east.

The first school teaching in Albanian was opened in 1887 in this house (first photo) whilst the city was part of the Ottoman Empire. Before that, all the teaching was given in Turk.

The inhabitants of Korça are proud that their city is the "mother" of Albanian education.. Today, this building lodges the city museum.

Our second Albanian guide, an engineer in forestry lead us to a place where we should see deers. We stayed quiet for less than ten minutes and we saw a first one, walking across the path. Then another one, and another one again. We saw, altogether a dozen of deers but they always stayed at some distance and you will have to enlarge the photo (second photo) to see one properly.

Korça has long been well known for its rugs and carpets. The third photo shows the style of those carpets.

For more, visit my Korca page, built after my 1988 visit (no recent visit).

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