| ||
 | ||
| Country | Albania | |
| Population | 20000 (2011) | |
| High | 0-50 | |
Sarando (Albanian: Sarandë/Saranda) is a small town in the south Albania.
It is famous mainly for the coast, for the nearby ruins of Butrint (18km; Albanian: Butrint/Butrinti) with the surrounding national park, due to the famous monastery and church of St. Nicholas in Mesopotamia (15km) and due to the natural curiosity of the Blue Eye (22km; Albanian: Syri i Kaltër).
Understand
History
The most important city around present-day Saranda in antiquity was Butrint, a city founded perhaps 1000 years BC, on the edge of the Greek world. Residents of Butrint were probably mixed, partly Greek, partly ilirs. Butrint was in the region called Epirus (for several centuries a kingdom).
Since the 2nd century BC. Butrint fell under Roman rule. (...)
Climate
Access
Aliri avie
There is no airport nearby.
You can use:
Access by train
There are no railways to Sarando. The nearest station is in Vloro (approx. 130km).
Access bus
There are buses from Tirana to Sarando via Girocastro (approx. 4h).
Access by ship
It is possible and even convenient to approach Saranda by ship.
There are several naval connections (ordinary ships, fast ships and ferries) to Corfu (30min-1h30); through Corfu one can reach Igumenica, Patras and other places in Greece, and additionally Apulia, Ancona, Venice in Italy.
There are also direct connections from Sarando to Bari (c. 11am).
Access by car
There are no express highways to Sarando. The main access road is the coastal road from Duraso tra Vloro.
A slight highway connects Saranda to Ioanino in Greece (approx. 90km; the part in Greece is E853).
To be transported
To be transported on foot
Public transport
Transport by car
See
10 Sarando, the town and port in South Albania, which is the core of this article. It is particularly popular because of the beaches, both in and around the city. The ancient
11 Convent of the 40 Saints (Albanian: Monasteries in 40 Shenjtorëve; Greek: οναστήρι των Αγίων Σαράντα, Monastiri ton Ayion Saranda), an ancient monastery that gave its name to the city. Built in the 6th century, it was located at the top of a hill (ca. 200m), ca. 1km east of the city; abandoned in the early 20th century, it was still rarely used without a roof for several decades; after the devastation of World War II and the communist era, only ruins remain.
12 Lëkurësi Castle, built by Suleiman the Glorious, Ottoman emperor, in 1537 on another hill (ca. 280m); its main purpose was the control of nearby Corfu, then belonging to Venice. During the 19th century the castle was ruined, but several parts can still be seen, including the two towers.
20 Butrint, ruins of an ancient Greek city, 18km south of the center of Sarando.
30 St. Nicholas (Albanian: Shën Kollë) apud Mesopotamia, 15km east of the center of Sarando, is an Orthodox monastery and church built probably in 1224/1225. Beneath the building are signs of an ancient pagan temple, probably erected at the beginning of the 3rd century BC.
31 Blue Eye (Albanian: Syri i Kaltër), a famous karst spring in a valley between hills.
32 Ruins of the ancient Foiniko (Greek Οινίκη, albane Finish).
Fari
Buy
Stores
Eat
Drink
To live
Campsites
Hostels
Hotels
Security
Esperanto
Local Esperantists
Consulates
Visit further
It is advisable to visit the very next Corfu.
It is also worth visiting so-called "Albanian River", a beautiful coastline with a succession of sandbars and rocks, north of Saranda to beyond Chimera.
