Blue Eye Spring Albania

The Blue Eye Spring is a magical place: a hypnotic pool of deep blue water surrounded by electric-blue edges like the iris of an eye. It's further enveloped in thick woods and is some 22km east of Saranda on the road to Gjirokastra. Swimming is forbidden, although some people seem to think this rule doesn't apply to them. If you don't mind a dusty 3km walk, buses between Saranda and Gjirokastra can drop you at the spring's turn-off. A restaurant and cabins are nearby. In high summer it can get very busy (tour groups from as far afield as Corfu come here), but in early or late summer it's normally delightfully empty.