Blue Eye

The "Blue Eye" is a water spring and natural occurring near the village of Muzine in Finiq municipality, southern Albania. Blue eye, a hypnotic sport where the Bistrice river begins is a fresh spring with an amazing blue colour. The water is turquoise, bright blue and deep dark. The clear blue water of the river bubbles forth from a depth of more than fifty meters. Divers have descended to fifty meters, but it is still unclear what the actual depth of the karst hole is. This phenomenon is also known as 'springs of Bistrice' as it is the initial water source of Bistrice river, 25 km long, which ends in the lonian Sea south of Sarande. The source stands at an altitude of 152 m and has a discharge rate of 18400 l/s. The immediate area 1.8 km2 (0.69 sq mi) is a Nature Monument and is characterized by oak and sycamore trees In summer 2004, the source was temporarily dried up. This site attracts every day tourist’s attention and visitors because of it beauty and the colours of the spring. The spring looks like a human eye and the underwater cave is black colour and look like the pupil of the eye. It is the perfect place for an afternoon picnic. There is a little plateau above the fresh spring where the visitors can sit down and relax. Even though swimming has been prohibited via signs, it doesn’t really prevent people from jumping right into the ice-cold water. The water maintains an average temperature of 10 degrees Celsius, making it is in fact difficult to dip in more than a foot. During the communist days it is said the Blue Eye was blocked off to the general population, only to be enjoyed by the ruling party members. This is a testimony to the place’s stunning beauty and goes to explain the site’s high level of conservation.