Llixhat Bilaj (Bilaj Thermal Baths)

The Bilaj thermal baths, also known as Llixha Bilaj, sit in Bilaj village within the Bubq administrative unit of Krujë, on the national road between Vorë and Fushë-Krujë, about 25 km from Tirana. The water is genuinely geothermal in origin - drawn from roughly 2,200 meters depth in the Ishëm river valley - but reached the surface only after Soviet and Albanian engineers drilling for oil in 1965 accidentally struck a hot mineral aquifer instead. What began as an oil-exploration accident was developed into a therapeutic complex, popularly associated with the Ibrahim Kupi rehabilitation center, offering indoor mineral pools and mud treatments. The water carries sulphur, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, and sodium, and is used mainly for rheumatic and skin conditions.