Visit The National Park of Blue Eye & Lekuresi castel
Description
On this tour we will explore The National Park of “Blue Eye,” and The Fortress Lekuresi. Both sites are attractive tourist places, both rich in history and beauty. It’s a very picturesque area, where crystal clear water gushes out from within the mountain Mali i Gjërë. This actual spring is the largest and a most interesting source among the other 18 springs that flow from Mali i Gjërë. It has been declared a Natural Monument and has an oval shape similar to the shape of an eye. The spring has great depth, which goes up to 50m, and it’s surrounded by dense and lush vegetation. All in all, the area offers a great time out for adults, as well as for children.
Tour Options
Itinerary
As unexpectedly spectacular as the coast of Southern Albania is (and it is magnificent!) what you would expect to see there are sights reminiscent of the Mediterranean more so than the tropics. Yet, as we know by now, Albania is the land of the unexpected! The country hides its small tropical paradise, aptly called the Blue Eye (in Albanian: Syri i Kaltër). Perhaps the most breathtakingly beautiful sight in Albania, the Blue Eye is located about a 30-minute drive away from the coastal city of Saranda on the road to Gjirokastra (all places to see, by the way!). Surely, the surprise factor adds to the beauty of the entire experience. To find the tropics in Albania is no small feat! Perhaps describing the multidimensionality and depth of this surreal beauty is futile, but one must try! The landscape leading to the Blue Eye uncovers this anomaly of nature as you will find yourself surrounded by palm trees, wild ferns and tropical plants, as well as dense, mountainous forest vegetation of oaks and sycamores, all at once! This vegetation is kept lush and glorious by the spring flowing down the mountain into the Bistrica River. A total of eighteen springs are dispersed along the site! The freshwater spring from the Gjerë (in English: Wide) Mountain flows into the Blue Eye and creates a natural pool with depths of about 50 meters. Or, so they say! The actual depth has not yet been determined. Many divers have tried to get to the bottom of it, to no avail.
Visit for views over Saranda town and the Ksamil Islands from its perch on a mountain. All that remains of the castle are its ancient walls, but a small restaurant located inside has converted a part of the ruins into a restaurant terrace. From this cafe take in views of the sea and the town below as you sample the traditional cuisine. You may have to approach the bar to order during the busy peak season. Admission to the castle is free and you can roam around the stone walls, but wear appropriate hiking shoes to protect your feet from the brush and rocks. With our online itinerary creator, Saranda attractions like Lekuresi Castle can be center stage of your vacation plans, and you can find out about other attractions like it, unlike it, near it, and miles away.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Free pickup is available in Saranda and Ksamil. Please be at your designated pickup point 20–30 minutes before the scheduled departure time. Pickups in Ksamil are scheduled slightly earlier to ensure an on-time departure from Saranda and to account for seasonal traffic. Our team will contact you via WhatsApp with your exact pickup details before the tour.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(45)
We parked our car in the pay parking €3,- for a maximum of 3 hours. From there it is a 20-minute walk. Climbing and descending. Just before the bridge is the official entrance and you pay €0.50 per person. There is a train: one way €3,- per person. We were there at 9am. It is still quiet and less hot.
Excellent guide. Good spacious car with aircon. Everything was as agreed and Halil, our guide, was super
I called to book a day tour to Lekursi castle, Blue Eye and Gjirokaster last minute. Leka Tours were able to give me a tour the next day. Customer service is excellent, they communicated to me swiftly. The lovely female tour guide was extremely knowledgable and informative. She was also kind and friendly. I learnt a lot about Albanian history, geography and culture from her. It was also a hot day, the minivan was comfortable, had AC and charging ports. If you are in Sarande I would highly booking a day tour with Leka Tours. Thank you to Leka Tours for accommodating me. Also a big special thank you to the lovely and sweet Tour Guide for showing me the beauty of Albania. I am sorry I do not remember your name. You were very kind and hospitable. This was an experience that I will remember because of you.
Halil top guide, great service, friendly staff, and a wonderful experience overall. The place was beautiful Everything was handled professionally and efficiently. Highly recommended! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Our tour of the Blue Eye with Halil was incredible. There were no extra costs and he was so knowledgeable about the history of every site he took us to. The tour lasted around 2 hours, and Halil was so lovely and accommodating to our requests. We would come back just for halil
Highly recommend this tour! It completely exceeded our expectations. The transportation was comfortable, Halii was an amazing guide. He was knowledgeable, friendly, passionate, and had a great sense of humor, which made the whole trip even more enjoyable. He shared lots of interesting stories and facts along the way, and at the Blue Eye he didn't just leave us on our own—he took the time to explain things and chat with everyone. We also got to stay at the castle until sunset, and the view was absolutely beautiful. Definitely worth it! Btw the Blue Eye entrance fee was included.
The trip was amazing, we were staying in Ksamil and we were picked up directly from our hotel. Halil was very sweet, and Kevin was the best driver. Thank you for amazing experience :)
I had a very good time going to the blue eye and watching the sunset. Halil was very friendly and talkative, happy to share many informations about Albania and the surrouding of Saranda. Many thanks Halil :)
We would like to say a huge thank you to Halil for an absolutely fantastic day. He took us to the Blue Eye and Lekuresi Castle to watch the sunset, and it was truly a wonderful experience. Halil was incredibly knowledgeable about the area and shared so much interesting information throughout the day. He was friendly, professional, and made the whole trip enjoyable from start to finish. We had a lovely day and created some great memories. We would highly recommend Halil to anyone visiting the area. Thank you again for such a fantastic experience!
Halil was our guide and he was so nice and looked out for us the whole time. Halil was incredibly knowledgeable and we learned so much on this tour. I highly recommend the tour more people should do it. Blue eye was beautiful don’t go expecting it to be big and full of activities.. it’s more so a nice place to take in nature and relax from the busy world we are in. Halil also took us to the castle and there we had amazing views.
