Decision
Which Blue Eye?
Albania has two, they are four hours apart, and searching for either one returns the other. One is a roadside spring near Sarandë; the other is at the end of a ten-kilometre walk in the Alps.
Side by side
| Syri i Kaltër, near Sarandë | Syri i Kaltër i Thethit, in the Alps | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it is | In an oak wood between Sarandë and Gjirokastër, at low altitude. | In a gorge above Ndërlysa, in the Theth valley. |
| Getting to it | A turning off the main road, then a short walk. Any car does it. | About 10 km there and back with 300 m of climbing, four to five hours. |
| Cost | 50 lek per person, with parking charged separately at 200 lek for a car. | No fee. The cost is the day. |
| What it looks like | A deep circular spring welling up out of the rock, intensely blue at the centre. | A small cold pool boxed in by limestone, with wooden walkways and ladders at the water. |
| Crowd | It takes a whole coast's day trips, and July and August show it. | Whoever walked. The season is the Theth road's season. |
Our answer
They are not alternatives and choosing between them is the wrong question: one is a fifty-lek stop on a drive and the other is a day's walk in a valley that is shut for four months of the year. If you are in the south, go to the Sarandë one early. If you are in Theth, walk to the other. Nobody should travel across the country for either.
IfYou are driving between Gjirokastër and SarandëThe Sarandë one. It is on the road and costs 50 lek.
IfYou are staying in ThethThe alpine one, as the day walk it is.
IfYou want it without the coachesThe alpine one, or the Sarandë one before nine in the morning.
IfYou are travelling between November and MarchThe Sarandë one, by default. The Theth road is closed.
Sources: The Blue Eye Albania, official site (read 2026-08-25); Albania Voyagers, Shkodër to Theth (2026) (read 2026-08-25); visitalbania.guide seed dataset (read 2026-08-23).