Photo. Butrint in Albania - my journey through age of history. © Travel Explorations.
Wandered through Butrint feels like entering a forgotten world and into another time. The reason why I found the old city in Butrint so fascinating is that you find all layered in one place. The city has a long and layered history, with parts of the site dating back over 2,500 years. In the 8th–7th century BCE the first signs of settlement, likely by the Illyrians, possibly as a sacred place.
It was founded by the Greeks, taken over by the Romans, expanded by the Byzantines, sold to the Venetians, and later conquered by the Ottomans. It has survived wars, earthquakes, floods, and centuries of change.
Spread across 29 square kilometres (11 square miles), Butrint holds as mentioned over 2,500 years of history in its ruins - and every step tells a different story.
I visited the city in July 2025, and the heat hit hard. The sun burned on the old stones, and the loud buzzing of cicadas (insect) filled the air. Sweat dripped, water ran low, and shade was a rare luxury. But I kept moving - not out of stubbornness, but because something about the place pulled me forward. As long as I stayed in the thick Albanian greenery (“jungle”), I got a small break from the 34°C sun.
As I experience on my way, I felt like a time traveller. Butrint is layered with history, and each ruin tells a different part of the story. It’s hard to choose just one highlight. For me, it was not just one big moment, but many small ones that stayed with me.
Anyway, maybe I found the Roman Theatre the most interesting of all. It is because it shows how Butrint evolved through time and connects multiple civilizations in one place. Other major constructions I experience on my way were the Great Basilica (Byzantine) - a massive Christian church from the 6th century, and the Baptistery (also Byzantine) - known for its large mosaic floor.
Every path leads somewhere fascinating - a Roman forum here, and a Venetian tower there. And so it continued: broken marble columns stick out of the ground- worn by time, ancient theatres, villas, fountains, baths (Thermae), aqueducts, bridges, temples, chapels, basilicas (churches) stand half-swallowed by moss and vines, and fortress walls rise above mirror-still lakes. It’s not hard to imagine merchants, soldiers, and priests once moving through the same stone streets as I walked. And it’s all surrounded by the wild beauty of the park itself: dense forest, freshwater lakes, and views that stretch to the Ionian Sea.
Butrint is alive with mystery and atmosphere. It’s the kind of place that rewards curiosity - the more you wander, the more you discover: a faded mosaic underfoot, a half-buried altar, and a broken statue’s head staring up from the ground. There are so many interesting things there to discover for they who take their time and look thoroughly around.
At last, I reached a Venetian Fortress, built in the 15th century as part of the coastal defence. The flag moved gently in the breeze. From the tower, the world opened up for a fantastic view - green hills, shining water, and the quiet ruins below, holding centuries of stories. Then, I could really understand what makes Butrint truly unique: is how nature and history live side by side.
If you are the kind of traveller who seeks out stories and ruins over resorts and crowds, Butrint belongs on your radar. It’s remote without being unreachable, rich with history without being fenced off. You can roam free, climb the ramparts, sit where philosophers once sat, and stand in the silence of centuries.
Butrint is a place where you get a chance to touch the past and bring the spirit of exploration back into your journey.
Stein Morten Lund, 18th July 2025
Additional information
In addition to be a huge archaeological site and filled with historical monuments, the nature and landscape makes Butrint a unique place.
Based on information about Butrint on Wikipedia:
Butrint National Park (Albanian: Parku Kombëtar i Butrintit) is a national park in Vlorë County, southern Albania. It is located 18 kilometres (11 mi) south of Sarandë. The park encompasses 9,424 hectares (94.24 km2) of hilly terrain with freshwater lakes, wetlands, salt marshes, open plains, reed beds and islands. The park's significance for conservation is reflected in the large number of species with over 1,200 different animals and plants.
Information from Coordination and Administration Office of Butrint National Park of Butrint, Saranda, Albania: :
So far, scientists have found 800 kind of plants, 246 types of birds, 105 kinds of fish, and 39 kinds of mammals in the Butrint wetland area - many of them rare or protected. This mix of animals and habitats makes Butrint a special place for both tourists and researchers.
At the heart of the wetlands is Lake Butrint, a 1,600-hectare lagoon shaped by tectonic activity. It’s surrounded by forested hills, mountains, and both freshwater and salty marshes. The lake connects to the Ionian Sea through the Vivari Canal, a natural waterway up to 100 meters wide. The lake itself is deep - about 14 meters on average, with spots reaching 22 meters.
E-mail this
Print this
