Landscapes

The Greek landscape has a unique complexity of three major elements sea, mountains and lowland. The sea has multiple appearances, sometimes is open and wild and some others penetrates into the rocky islands creating unique bays and calm moorings. The mainland connects to the Peloponese and afterwards with the Ionian by the well known Isthmus of Corinth. This canal is very usefull for yachtsmen that travel from Northern Aegean and Saronic gulf with destination the Ionian Sea.The second element is the large number of mountains. The highest mowntain in Greece is Olympus at 2917m. However mountains not only appear in mailand but in the islands also with most important these of Crete, Karpathos and Rhodes. The third element of the Greek landscape is what is between the pre mentioned mountains i.e. the lowland. Sea lover, mountain hunter or flat dreamer? Welcome to the land that can fulfill all your senses..

The climate of Greece is typically Mediterranean, i.e. mostly dry andtemperate, with hot, dry summer sand mild, rainy winters, although there is snowfall in the north andnorth-western mountainous areas. Northern Greece has a more continental climate than the south, with lower winter temperatures and some rain in summer. In the coastal regions, including Attica, and on the islands, summer temperatures average around 27° C, and winter temperatures rarely drop below 10° C. In the mainland interior, including central Peloponnese, winters are colder and snow can lie on the mountains for several months. In the northern area of Nevrokopi, near the city of Drama, temperatures could drop as low as -20C in February, while on the southern island of Gavdos, southwest of Crete, temperatures rarely fall bellow +10C. Flora and Fauna Greece, with some 5,500 species of identified flora, is endowed with a variety unrivalled in Europe.

Wild flowers, including poppies, anemones, gladioli, cyclamens, irises, tulips, lilies, chamomiles and many others, create spectacular color palettes, especially in springtime, when flowers carpet hillsides and fields, spring underneath rocks and perfume the air with breathtaking aromas.

The largest forests are found in Northern Greece, in the mountains of Thrace, Macedonia and Epirus. Furthermore, the islands in the Northern and Eastern Aegean Sea, as those of the Ionian Sea, are, to a large extent, covered with pines, aspen, as well as other forest trees. In total, the county has over 200 species of tree and large shrub and its forests consist, primarily, of conifers, with deciduous trees, such as beeches and chestnuts, coming second.