Sarda Ruins

Sarda, called Shurdhah in Albanian, was a fortified medieval town on a hill above the Drin, held by local lords and by Venice and abandoned by the sixteenth century, and when the Vau i Dejes dam flooded the valley in the 1970s the hill became an island. What survives on it is a walled circuit with towers, the foundations of two churches, cisterns, houses and a cemetery, spread over the island and largely overgrown, reached by a boat trip of twenty minutes or so from the shore near Vau i Dejes. There is nothing there: no ticket, no path, no interpretation, and generally nobody else. The reservoir setting, with the town walls coming down to the water on all sides, is the substance of the visit.

What you actually see

• A walled town on an island - walls and towers around the whole hill.
• Two church foundations - the excavated remains inside the circuit.
• Cisterns and house plots - the fabric of the medieval settlement.
• Walls meeting the water - the reservoir flooding up to the circuit.

When to go

April to October, when boats can be arranged. Half a day including the crossing. Mornings are calmest. Boatmen are found informally at the shore and prices are negotiated.

Honest expectations

Access is informal with no scheduled boat. The island is overgrown with no paths and walking is rough. There is no interpretation, no facilities and no shade. Trips depend on weather and on finding someone willing.

Nearby

Vau i Dejes is on the shore; Shkoder lies west.