Borsh

Borsh stretches along the longest beach on the Albanian Riviera, roughly seven kilometres of unbroken coast at the southern end of the Ionian shore, between Qeparo and Sarandë. Backed by olive groves so old that some of the trees are said to be more than a thousand years old, and overlooked by the ruins of a hilltop castle, Borsh is one of the quietest and most undeveloped of the major Riviera beaches.

The Beach

The Borsh beach is wide and almost entirely undeveloped along most of its length, with a flat strip of small pebbles giving way quickly to deep, clear water. The lack of large hotels, Borsh has only small guesthouses and family-run beach restaurants, gives the beach a more relaxed atmosphere than the busier resorts further north. The sea here is reliably calm, and the gradient gentle, which makes it particularly popular with Albanian families.

Olive Groves and Sources

Inland from the beach, the valley of Borsh is filled with one of the largest and oldest olive plantations in the Mediterranean, more than 200,000 trees, many of them ancient. The village's name is thought to derive from this. Several natural springs surface in the village and along the lower slopes, including one large enough to feed an open-air pool just off the main road. The water is cold, clean and drinkable.

The Castle of Sopot

Above the village, the ruins of Sopot Castle ,also called Borsh Castle,sit on a rocky promontory with a near-vertical drop on three sides. The fortress dates back to the Bronze Age and was used continuously through Byzantine and Ottoman times before being burned by Ali Pasha of Tepelena. Today only the outer walls and a small mosque survive, but the views over the entire bay and out across the Ionian to Corfu are among the best on the coast.

Getting there

Borsh lies directly on the SH8 coastal highway, approximately 35 kilometres north of Sarandë and 90 kilometres south of Vlorë. The beach is reached by a short side road descending from the village. Most of the small guesthouses and beach restaurants are concentrated along this lower stretch.