Is Lake Bovilla worth visiting?
Yes, Lake Bovilla is one of the most scenic day trips near Tirana, 20–25 km northeast in the Dajti National Park region. The draw is the turquoise reservoir and the “Balcony of Bovilla” viewpoint, reached by a 35–45 minute hike. It is a drinking-water reservoir, so swimming is prohibited, the reward is the views, not the shore.
Written by the Lake Bovilla team, local Albanian guides based in Tirana who hike Mount Gamti year-round.
Sources: UKT, Tirana's water utility, Dajti National Park (AKZM), Lake Bovilla, Wikipedia
If you are wondering whether to add the Bovilla Reservoir to your itinerary, the long answer is the same as the short one. Located twenty to twenty-five kilometers northeast of the capital, the lake is hidden between two dramatic mountain ranges within the Dajti National Park region, and offers some of the most striking scenery you can find anywhere near the city.
But to make the most of your trip, it helps to know exactly what to expect. Here are the four things every visitor should hear before they set off.
Bovilla Reservoir: the dam behind the lake
Lake Bovilla is really the Bovilla Reservoir: a 4.6 km² artificial lake formed when the dam was completed in 1996 and filled by 1998. It holds back a mountain river to supply most of Tirana's drinking water — the reason the water runs such a vivid turquoise, the reason swimming is prohibited, and the reason the level rises and falls 7–10 m with the seasons.
For visitors, the reservoir is the destination rather than a restriction: the Mount Gamti trail starts near the dam, and the Balcony of Bovilla viewpoint looks out over the whole 4.6 km² of blue-green water, sitting at about 620 m above sea level and reaching roughly 45 m deep.