The Roads That Lead Nowhere – But Take You to the Most Beautiful Places in Saranda

You won’t find them on TripAdvisor. Most of them don’t even have names on Google Maps. And yet, these are the roads I’ve followed again and again—not just for the views or the silence, but for the way they reveal what Saranda really is.

Not just a summer destination. Not just a postcard. But a place that breathes quietly behind the beaches.

As someone who’s been living and working in real estate here for years, I’ve come to appreciate the beauty that hides just beyond the “main spots.” And every now and then, I get a client who’s curious enough to ask:

“What’s beyond the promenade?”

That’s when I smile—because I know exactly where to go.

A Right Turn Too Early

Let’s start just outside the city.

If you’re driving from Saranda toward Butrint, there’s a point where everyone veers left to go toward Ksamil. But if you take that small unmarked road on the right—yes, the one that looks like it leads to someone’s backyard—you’ll end up above the olive groves of Pllakë.

Most tourists never get here. The road isn’t paved in parts. There’s no café with a neon sign, and certainly no beach bars.

But the view? It’s the kind you remember. You see the entire curve of the bay, the rooftops of Ksamil in the distance, and Corfu quietly floating on the horizon.

I once took a young couple there who were looking for a modest investment, nothing too flashy. They didn’t say much during the drive. But the moment we parked, the woman just said, “This is it.”

And just like that, they bought a small piece of land right there on the slope. They’re building now—something simple, but with the kind of view money can’t really buy anymore.

The Hill Behind the City

Everyone knows about the road to Lekursi Castle. What they don’t know is that if you take the old trail behind the castle, through the pine trees, you end up in a forgotten part of Saranda.

There’s a spot—locals call it “te Guri i Bardhë”—where the city feels far away, even though you’re just a 15-minute hike from downtown. From there, you don’t just see the water. You see layers: rooftops, alleyways, minarets, church bells, and that faint smell of figs in the heat.

I go there sometimes when work gets overwhelming. It’s quiet. The kind of quiet you don’t expect to find in a place that’s been growing as fast as Saranda has.