Milë

Milë - or Mali i Millëtit, or Maja e Milës - is a little mountain near Butrint. Visitors to Butrint tend to admire the nearby ruins and rarely direct their gaze towards Milë Mountain, which provides the backdrop to the scenery of the Butrint Lake and the Vivari Channel.

Milë has a sharp drop towards the west, allowing marvellous views across the Butrint Lake, to Butrint itself, the marshy plains, Korfu, and towards Sarande. Hence, Milë can also be seen from Sarande harbor. Those tired of beach life, coffee and the daily xhiro (in Italy: giro - the evening walk) along the seafront promenade may be tempted to stretch their legs on Milë Mountain.

It is best to start from the village of Vagalat on the east side of Milë. It might be difficult to find its beginning near the trailhead. Once you leave the built-up area and the last fences, you should be on a well visible trail.

The trail is steep at first, but levels off after a while. At waypoint 02, you meet a small old military road. At waypoint 03, you have the choice to follow a less visible but shorter trail directly to the summit, or continue on the old military path. We took the shortcut up, and the old road for our way down.

Near the summit, you meet the 4WD track that leads to the antennas on the top of Milë. Our GPS recorded an elevation of 809 meter, though it also indicated minus 13 meter at sea level. Allowing for the necessary correction, the summit of Milë Mountain should be 823 meter, as indicated in the literature.

The hike is marked as a balloon hike. Total return trip is 8.4 kilometer, for which 3.5 hours walking time should be calculated.

There are several trails near Butrint, mainly to observe the birdlife in the marshlands. Visit the Butrint website at http://www.butrint.org/index.php, and download their leaflet with hiking trail.