Missing Piece · Map quiz · Series
Missing Piece #6: name the country in 3 clues
Three clues, four options, one piece of the world: concrete bunkers dot its hills, a riviera on the Ionian Sea, and a two-headed eagle on its flag. Watch the film and lock in your answer before the piece drops. The answer, and how to actually go there, is below. Spoilers from here on.
The places in this film
- 1
The answer: Albania
The bunkers were built under the communist government between the 1960s and the 1980s, well over a hundred thousand of them, and many still sit in fields and on hillsides. The riviera is the coast between Vlorë and Sarandë, where mountains drop to the Ionian Sea opposite Corfu. The flag is a black two-headed eagle on a red field. Albania is small, mountainous and still far less visited than its neighbours Greece and Montenegro.
- 2
Berat
A town of white Ottoman houses stacked up a hillside above a river, with a castle district at the top where people still live.
- 3
Ksamil and the riviera
Small bays and islets with clear water, close to the ancient ruins of Butrint. July and August are crowded, so June and September are easier.
- 4
Gjirokastër and the south
A stone town with a fortress, usually combined with the Blue Eye spring on the way to the coast.
Plan it
- Best time
- May, June and September for warm sea and fewer people. July and August are hot and busy on the coast. Mountain areas are best from June to September.
- How long
- A week covers Tirana, Berat, Gjirokastër and the riviera. Ten days adds the northern mountains.
- Getting around
- A rental car is the practical way to link the coast and the inland towns. Buses and shared minibuses run between the main towns without fixed timetables in many places.
Good to know
- Carry cash. Cards are not accepted everywhere outside the larger towns.
- The coast road over the Llogara Pass is slow and winding. Drive it in daylight.
- Ferries link Sarandë with Corfu, which has more international flights.
Frequently asked
What is Missing Piece? +
Missing Piece is a short 3D map quiz by Drift Vistas. A country is lifted out of the globe, you get three clues and four options, and the piece drops back into place to reveal the answer. Then the film cuts to real footage of the country.
Is the map real? +
Yes. The globe and terrain are built from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery and Copernicus elevation data, with borders from Natural Earth. The height of the mountains is exaggerated so the relief reads on a phone screen, but the shapes are the real ones.
Where can I watch the next one? +
New episodes go up on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok at @driftvistas. Every episode also gets a page here with the answer and a short guide to visiting the country.
