The Blue Eye (Syri i Kaltër) is a freshwater spring found in southern Albania, just half an hour from the popular beach destination of Ksamil. The crystal-clear water surges upward from an underwater cave and continues down the mountain to form the Bistrica River, which is equally as beautiful. The surrounding vegetation is like a green tropical paradise.
We visited the Blue Eye in mid-August. We arrived at 11am and we were astounded by how many people were there. For some reason we had imagined that the Blue Eye would be our own secluded patch of nature. I guess nowhere is safe in the European summer!
Nevertheless, walking around the river and the Blue Eye was beautiful and definitely worth the visit. It won’t take you longer than an hour to walk around the area and take a few photos, and there’s a couple of restaurants if you want to grab a bite. Swimming is allowed in the Blue Hole and there’s even a platform you can jump off. Nobody really knows how deep the Blue Eye is, although divers have reached up to 50m. We should also mention that the water is around 10o Celsius, or FREEZING COLD. Our feet started to hurt from the cold after just a minute standing in the water. It’s also pretty rocky underwater, so it’s worth bringing your reef shoes if you’ve packed them.
How to get to the Blue Eye
The easiest way to reach the Blue Eye is by car. When you turn off the SH99 road at the ‘Blue Eye’ sign, you will see cars parked in a car park. You can either park here and walk 1.8km to the Blue Eye, or you can continue driving and park at the Blue Eye itself. Another option is to take the bus from Sarande towards Gjirokastra and ask them to drop you off at the Blue Eye (they will drop you off on the side of the SH99 road).
After about 400m of walking/driving you will come across the ticket booth. The current admission fee is 50 LEK per person and an extra 100 LEK per car. The rest of the walk isn’t too strenuous, but it is an unpaved road with a mild incline. Walking back from the Blue Eye is much easier.
Best time to visit the Blue Eye
We would suggest arriving early in the morning if you even want a chance of having Albania’s Blue Eye to yourself for a while. Although, given that it lies in what appears to be a small valley, you might need to wait a little while for the sun to rise over the mountains and illuminate the water. Also, avoid visiting in summer if you can.
Conservation
From a conservation perspective, it was really disappointing to see the amount of trash downstream from the Blue Eye. As we sat watching people enjoying their lunch at the restaurant situated over the water, we saw two pieces of rubbish blown into the river. Downstream there were otherwise beautiful algae mats covered in rubbish, with birds feeding right next to the plastic. The area is technically a natural monument, and we were surprised to see that people were allowed to swim at the source of the river. In 2016 alone, over 30,000 people visited the Blue Eye. Hopefully the area will be better maintained in the future.
Read more on 5 Things to Know Before You Visit Albania
Did you know?
In order to combat climate change, we must reduce our individual carbon footprint to 2 tonnes of CO2 per year by 2050.
A return economy class transatlantic flight generates 1.8 tonnes of CO2 per person.
