The protected area of Makedonia

From a distance it looks like an Impressionist painting; houses, churches, trees seen through a haze, their reflections shimmering in the lake. The Macedonian landscape is magnificent. Come closer and you see impressive aristocratic lakeside mansions surrounded by clusters of tall trees, interspersed by Byzantine churches. Come closer still, and you’ll see the locals sipping coffee or promenading by the lake, with the fishermen in their flat-bottomed boats offshore and pelicans keeping hopeful watch alongside.

In Macedonia, there is an exquisite watercolour of migratory birds, ancient settlements and stories from the depths of time

The National Park: lakes, valleys and age-old cedars. The core of the National Park covers all of Mikri (Small) Prespa and a few lakeside areas, giving it a unique identity that was formalised in 1973 by the Ramsar Convention as an International Protected Wetland. The wetland of Mikri Prespa with its marshy valleys and reed beds constitutes the nucleus of the protected area. A second zone includes the ancient cedar forest near Mt Devas.

The inside of the cave is divided in large parts of land and water, both adorned with impressive decoration of stalactites. There are 7 underground lakes, 10 rooms and 5 corridor–tunnels in the cave.

Various paleontological remains have been found inside the cave of the Dragon, the majority of which, though, are cave bear bones (Ursus Speleaus). This species lived in Europe during the Pleistocene epoch and became extinct about 10,000 years ago. Its name derives from the fact that fossils of this species are mostly found in caves, indicating that this species spent more time in caves than the brown bear which used the caves only for hibernation. It is estimated that the average weight for males was 400–500 kilograms, while females weighed 200–250 kg. They were primarily a herbivorous animal and occasionally a carnivorous one.

Dispilio is an archaeological site containing remains of a Neolithic (5000 d.C.) lakeshore settlement that occupied an artificial island near the modern village of Dispilio. On Lake Orestiada in Kastoria have been built by the lake, all exact reconstructions of the huts of the prehistoric settlement.
The finds include tools (stone, bone, and flint) and quantities of animal bones, a discovery which shows that the inhabitants engaged in agriculture, hunting, and fishing; materials with which the huts were built (wooden piles and floors, post-holes); large clay storage jars; baskets woven in the manner of that period; cooking utensils (many of them boat-shaped); and bone and stone jewellery.
The most important find is a bone flute, the oldest musical instrument ever found in Europe. There is also a model in the exhibition area illustrating the form of the huts and how they were constructed.

One of the best known and most discussed mountains in Greece is mount Grammos. It belongs to the “Natura 2000” network. To the west it borders to Albania, while to the East it reaches the Arena mountain range.
Forests and picturesque settlements of unique beauty accompany you to your journey. Gorges, rivers and lakes which constitute rare water lands, remain in this part of Greece a hospitable habitat for many endangered avifauna and fauna species.
Arenes, an impressive cluster of mountain peaks, separated to upper and lower Arena, with the highet paek reaching 2192m.
In this region the dreamlike plateau “Trakosara” is situated, which took its name from a spring. Its water according to the locals “weighs three houndred dreams”.
Here you will also enjoy the alpine Lake Moutsalia with its water- lilies and its freezing waters, that look like grey-green granite and host a rare amphibian, the Alpine Triton, a “small fish with legs”, as the locals describe it.