Mountainous Xanthi

The Rodopi range covers 70% of the prefecture’s total area. It is divided down the middle by the stream of Echinos, and is flanked by the Forest of Drymos (Haidou) to the west and the villages of the mountainous region of Echinos to the east. It is worth visiting Stavroupolis, which is the main centre for exploring the NW part of the prefecture. There you will also find a folk museum with collections of old household objects, tools, musical instruments etc. To the south, in the direction of Nestos, we find Komnina, where you can visit the interesting Macedonian tomb and see the telematic network Ichnilatis which is used for monitoring the river Nestos and for the protection of the Aesthetic Forest and the Nestos Straits.

To the NW and then north towards Ioniko, we come across the ruins of the castle of Kalyva. Travelling NW from Stavroupolis, we cross beautiful forests of beech, mountain pine and fir trees, and come to Leivaditis waterfall, which is the highest in the Balkans at 35 m, and is found at an altitude of 1200 m. At a distance of 10 km, we find the Forest village, which consists of small wooden houses, that are fully equipped (lounge with fireplace, 2 bedrooms, kitchen, WC), and are available for groups of up to 6 people.