Are there any famous forests in Greece? I know our country is famous for their beaches on summer, but I think we have some gems for winter as well.
Quite right, Greece has many beautiful forests but they are mostly known to Greeks and ecologists / biologists because as people know abroad, Greece has no trees. Regardless, allow me to add a title to this answer:
Somewhere in Kastoria by Dreamy_Photos from Pixabay.
I started making informative lists of forests based on region but it was getting too long so I will follow a shorter approach.
10 national woodland parks
17 national parks, 11 of which have partial or extensive forest coverage
Because more than 80% of Greece is mountains, you can expect that there is forest coverage in many locations but since these other places haven’t earned the title “national” or “aesthetic”, I am not gonna attempt including them too. Also, as you see, they are too many to write information as well. If one or a few interest you more, I can make a detailed post about them separately.
Forest of Mount Párnitha, Attica, Sterea Hellas
Forest of Sounion, Attica, Sterea Hellas
The woodlands of Pindus Mountains expanding in most of Epirus and West Macedonia
Woodlands of Mount Oeta, Pthiotis, Sterea Hellas
The woodlands of Prespa Lakes, Florina, Macedonia
The National Park of Vikos - Aoos, Ioannina, Epirus
The forest of Samaria gorge, Chania, Crete island
The woodlands of Mount Parnassus, Sterea Hellas
The forest of Mount Ainos, Cephalonia island, Heptanese
The National Park of Mount Olympus, Pieria, Macedonia
Mount Oeta by Dust Road from 500px.
National Parks (only the ones with important forests)
National Park of Schinias and Marathon, in Attica, Sterea Hellas. Includes one of the last remaining forests of Aleppo pine and Stone pine in Greece and the Mediterranean.
National Park of Koronia and Volvi lakes, in Thessaloniki, Macedonia. Includes the lakeside forest of Apollonia.
National Park of North Pindus mountains, in Ioannina, Epirus and Grevena, Macedonia. Part of this region is also a National Woodland Park as we saw. This region is in general a national something. The wood highlight must be Valia Calda, which probably belongs to the woodland part IDK
National Park of the lagoons of Missholongi & Aetolikon, the deltas of Achelous & Evinos rivers and Ehinades islands, in Aetolia - Acarnania, Sterea Hellas. Greek national parks tend to have easy names like that. It includes the well known Forest of Fraxos, which is registered as a “monument of nature”.
National Park of the Forest of Dadia - Lefkimi - Soufli, in Evros, Thrace. Honestly since this is a national park of a forest in its entirety, I don’t understand why it is not in the woodland parks. Anyway, it is one of the most ecologically significant regions of Europe.
National Park of Amvrakikos gulf & Lefkas island, expands in Aetolia - Acarnania of Sterea Hellas, Preveza of Epirus and Lefkas island (duh) of the Heptanese. It includes the seaside forest of Agios Varnavas in Preveza.
National Park of East Macedonia and Thrace. This includes the Great Forest of Nestos river, which used to be the largest lakeside forest in the Balkans but is no more, which is why they are trying to protect whatever remains.
National Park of Tzoumerka mountains, Peristeri and the gorge of Arachthos, This is a very mountainous region that extends from Ioannina and Arta in Epirus to Trikala in Thessaly and is forested with many tree species throughout.
National Park of Strofylia - Kotihi, in Achaea and Elis, Peloponnese. It is a forest surrounded by a lagoon, swamps, a lake and the Ionian sea, where the forest gives its place to a beach with sand dunes. It is a wildlife shelter.
National Park of Rhodope mountains, also in East Macedonia and Thrace. It includes two important forests: a) the Forest of Frakto in Drama, which is one of the five least disturbed by man woodlands of Europe. It is said there is no human interference for the last 500 years and b) the Forest of Drymos or Haidu in Xanthi which is full of bears, wolves, boars, deer and endangered birds.
National Park of Mount Helmos and Vouraikos river, in Achaea and Corinthia, Peloponnese. This is another huge area that is very mountainous so it is covered by forests but it also includes one of the aesthetic forests, that of Kalavryta.
Valia Calda by Konstantinos Lagos from 500px.
Palm forest of Vai, Lasithi, Crete island
Forest of Kesariani, Mount Hymettus, Attica, Sterea Hellas
Tempi Valley, Larisa, Thessaly
Saint George - Karaiskakis, Karditsa, Thessaly
Pefkia of Xylokastro, Corinthia, Peloponnese
Suburban forest of Ioannina, Epirus
Forest of Selemnos and Haradros streams, Achaea, Peloponnese
Forest of Farsala, Larisa, Thessaly
Forest of Steni, Euboea island, Sterea Hellas. This one turned to ashes this summer, hooray
Woodland complex of Mount Ossa, Larisa, Thessaly
Oak tree forest of Moggostos, Corinthia, Peloponnese
Seaside forest of Monolithi, Preveza, Epirus
Woodlands of Skiathos island, Sporades islands, Thessaly
Stena of Nestos river, between Xanthi in Thrace and Kavala in Macedonia. This must be close or part of the aforementioned Great Forest.
The also aforementioned Forest of the National Independence of Kalavryta
The suburban forest of Tithorea, Phthiotis, Sterea Hellas
Woodlands of Amygdaleona, Kavala, Macedonia
Woodlands of the fortress hills and Ailia of Trikala, Thessaly
Oak tree forest of Kouri & Almyros, Magnesia, Thessaly
The Kesariani aesthetic forest in Mount Hymettus, outside Athens, by vaisgaea from Wikimedia Commons.
I hate these lists. Living all my life here, I consider them to be very lacking (therefore the Greek state is lacking) and thus I must add some honourable mentions.
Elatia Forest, Drama, Macedonia. Now here’s the funny thing. This is the biggest forest in Greece! Somehow it is not mentioned anywhere above. I assume it is part of the National Park of Rhodope or the East Macedonia and Thrace one but it was literally ignored in all the national park websites I checked for more info! What the heck.
Vytina forest, Arcadia, Peloponnese. This is one of the most popular and beautiful forests in Greece. Again, nowhere to be found.
Foloi forest, Elis, Peloponnese. Another big forest, entirely ignored.
Foloi forest by nanpan from 500px.
Also, from personal experience, why has Skiathos made it to the aesthetic forests when Skopelos island next to it is even more forested??? Not that Skiathos isn’t pretty forested, but Skopelos is more, maybe the most forested Greek island. In general I think there are many forested areas that are better than half the official aesthetic forests but anyway. You do you, Greek state.
Vermio mountain has gorgeous forests and in general Imathia prefecture, you can find very beatiful gems of nature there. The Agios Nikolaos forest there is one of the prettiest places I have been.
Forest of Holomon in Chalcidice is great too and offers views to the incredible coastline of the region too.
There is also the petrified forest of Lemnos island but I assume that doesn't count as a living forest.
Mount Pelion in Magnesia might be one of the most densely vegetated regions of Greece but they put something random in Kouri Almyros or whatever it is called from that prefecture instead in the aesthetic my ass forests...
OKAY don’t mind me ranting about the aesthetic forests. They might be all nice, I don’t know, a couple of them that I have been in are truly beautiful, I just believe there are numerous places - maybe comparatively better - that are ignored.
I worked a lot in this answer and I start having a meltdown so I am stopping here, enjoy :) I am sure I forgot important places but blame the Greek state not me hehehehe
Goodnight or Good morning with this picture from the forest of Euboea which was burned to the ground because I am fun at parties.
Photo by Stathis Floros from Wikimedia Commons.
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