Travel Guide Butrint

Butrint/Butrinti (pronounced "boutri-nte"/"boutri-nti") is an area comprising an archaeological site, a national park and the village of Ksamil. It is divided between the municipalities of Saranda to the north and Konispol (population approx. 8,000) to the south. The Butrint archaeological site is 17 km south of Saranda(via Ksamil) and 49 km northwest of the Greek port of Igoumenitsa(via Konispol). Frequent minibus connections from Saranda.This is quite simply Albania's most beautiful place to visit, a magical place that inspired Virgil, Racine and Lord Byron, and where Eugène Delacroix and Edward Lear set down their easels. Situated just opposite Corfu, the ancient and medieval remains of Butrint were declared a Unesco World Heritage Site after the fall of the Albanian communist regime in 1992. Around the archaeological site, the Butrint National Park was created in 2000. Here you'll find a two-thousand-year-old salt lake, a long stretch of coastline, forests, mountains, Venetian forts, a funny little ferry, mussel beds, thousands of birds, dolphins, wolves... The whole area was almost destroyed during the Cold War, when the Soviets planned to build a submarine base there. It was finally preserved thanks to Enver Hoxha's paranoia, who made it a forbidden zone due to its proximity to Greece. But Butrint is now threatened by global warming and over-tourism in summer.