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Acting true to life: A city whose film festival, primaeval forest and hospitable residents offer you a warm welcome
Despite its name, there is nothing stagey about the reception that awaits you in Drama. After you gaze up at Mount Falakro (Bald Mountain), allow the  hospitable locals to introduce  you to its attractions. In Agia Varvara park, bubbling springs flow into canals and ponds, watering ancient trees and reminding you of nature’s pure beauty. The watermills and tobacco warehouses of the past will return you to the innocence of yesteryear. Unpretentious and genuine, Drama will help you rediscover the simple pleasures during your holidays in Macedonia. 


What to do in Drama
Kato Nevrokopi…chilling at... -200C
Every winter night the weather report in Greece lists the coldest places in the country and Kato Nevrokopi is invariably at the top, earning it the nickname of the Siberia of Greece. The wind freezes everything, the wood-burning stoves are constantly on but the people are warm and friendly. After all, the area’s other claim to fame, the local potato, loves the cold. Try some with the area’s delectable soutzoukakia, skewered spicy meatballs.

Karantere, a living monument
The view before you has  fairy tale written all over it; 70,000 hectares of vivid red fir forest on the Bulgarian border in Macedonia, some of the trees reaching as high as 60m. The locals call it Karantere, foresters call it an “authentic and unique” natural monument and for you, it will be nothing short of incredible.


Angitis cave and the underground river
Water flowing down the Kato Nevrokopi valley disappears into the ground for a dark and mysterious journey, only to re-emerge at this secret exit to resume its course down to the plain. You are at the mouth of Angitis cave. Partially unexplored, the  rare underground river  before you once watered a landscape inhabited by mammoths and rhinos.


Drama’s movie festival in Northern Greece
Every September, drama comes to, well… Drama in the form of the International Short Film Festival. Established in 1978, the festival brings cinema lovers from all over Greece and abroad and the proposition becomes even more attractive with the addition of photography, painting and sculpture exhibitions, book presentations, concerts and cinema workshops.Hidden gems of Drama

Hidden Gems of Drama
Dionysian rites
If you want to celebrate the rites like a local, come to the area during the 12 days of Epiphany. That’s when the local villages around Drama stage Dionysian rites involving all manner of costumes and masks, dancing, singing and giant bells.

Fraktou’s virgin beauty
How many places on the planet are still pristine? One of them is the primaeval forest of Fraktou in Drama. Listed as a natural monument since 1980, it is the most important of the three remaining primaeval forests in Europe  and the second largest in area.

The Pyrgos-Petroussa Gorge
In this corner of Northern Greece, you’ll take a majestic walk in the shade of two sheer rock faces. The gorge starts at the village of Pyrgos and unfurls  to where the slopes of Mt Falakro become practically vertical. It meanders some 12km between high rocks and dense flora and is a refuge for a wealth of wildlife species. An amazing experience.

FRAKTO FOREST

It is situated in the northeastern part of the prefecture under the highest peak of central Rhodope, at 1.953m. In 1980 the forest was declared as a Protected Natural Monument, because of its high ecological value, as it is one of the few European forests that are virgin. It characterized virgin because its evolution only followed the rules of nature and not influenced by human activity. From 1980 until today it is under full protection and the only allowable activity is scientific
research. The form of the virgin forest differs from common forests, because in this coexist various species of broadleaf and coniferous of all ages. Dominant species are firs, pines, beeches and are also found maples, birches etc. Circumferentially of the virgin forest there is a protection zone where grazing and hunting are prohibited, while wood production and forest recreation are allowed. The fauna of the forest is very rich in species and in numbers. The region is one of the most important Greek mountain ecosystems, with the appearance of almost all wildlife species that live in the Greek mountains. Here, more than 100 bird species are reproduced, among which severeal are protected in Greek and international level. The mammals are also rich in number, with the presence of 32 species, some of which are rare in the Greek area, such as bear and deer. (www.in.gr/agro/). Also, in the area we distinguish locations that are under national protection status and belong to the category Preserved Natural Monuments: The locations of the study area designated as Preserved Natural Monuments are: 1. The virgin forest of central Rhodope, covering an area of 550 hectares, and pertains in the Forest Service of Drama (FEK 121/D/80), 2. The sources of Aggitis river, 3. The virgin forest of Frakto 4. Elatia Forest, 5. The lakes of Nestos, 6. The waterfall in the area Dipotamia 7. The cave Mara, 8. The artificial lake of Lefkogies 9. The ski resort on Mount Falakro.

Cave Sources of Aggitis River

It is located 23 kilometers northwest of the city of Drama and is the only exploited river cave in Greece. The natural entrance is the source of an underground river called Aggitis. The cave was passage or shelter people and animals in different eras. Near the present entrance for visitors, archaeological excavations brought to light important paleolithic and paleontological findings, which are in the Archaeological Museum of Drama. Human presence in the cave is known sinceprehistoric times. So far have been explored about 12 km and have been mapped 10 km route. Since 2000, started the operation of the cave, the visitor can admire the first 500m. of this unique phenomenon. The space is impressive in Cave and visitor, as he moves in a corridor over the river and against to the flow of water, monitors the natural decoration in the Cave which is dominated by white and red stalactites of various forms. The "Hall of the Wheel," which is currently associated with the main area of the cave with a corridor, owes its name to the presence of a large hydraulic wheel diameter 8m., which covered the water and irrigation needs of the region from the Ottoman era. Within this impressive hall opening in the roof, measuring 8x12m., possible entry of residents of surrounding villages and secret access from the citadel over the Cave into the river.Equally impressive is the arched opening where overflows with momentum the waters in the plain creating a cool oasis with trees, poplars and willows in the environment of cave, perfect for guests to relax. Inside the Cave nest occasionally or permanently live 37 kind of animals, mainly microfauna, of which six species became known for the first time in the international scientific community. We are finding also fish, bats and some larger mammals, such as otters and coypu.

ELATIA FOREST OR KARA DERE

Drama is gifted with rich woodland. In the sierra of Central Rodopi distinguished the forests of Elatia or Kara Dere, in Sidironero district - Skalotis. The place is located in the central and northern part of the county and extends along the Greek-Bulgarian border. Forests cover 37% of the total area of the county and Elatia Forest is the largest forest complex in the country. The rare fir with red trunk (red spruce) grows up only here at an altitude of 1200m. lower Downy will meet
with Leaved Oak, while higher is the zone of Beech, the Black Pine and Fir. The forest village is a base from which they can be made trips to Stravorema and to the neighboring beautiful forest, where inside a wonderful environment roll gurgling icy waters allowing everyone to enjoy the wonderful feeling of direct contact with nature. (NESTOS - MESTA 001) The fir forest located in the central and northern part of the county and extends along the Greek-Bulgarian border. Characterized by a forest cover of 90% and the existence of the village of Elatia. In place Koutras and in distance of 72km from Drama there is unique beauty"s spruce forest and in the surrounding area of Elatia in a place called Magoula there is a birch forest. Other tree species found are beech, scots pine, hornbeam etc., and there is a multitude of herbaceous plants, and mushrooms. Generally, the flora in Elatias is rich of species (more than 700), with many rare for Greek area. The fauna of the area is also rich in species such as the brown bear, wild boar, elk, deer, wolves and many species of birds, eg eagles and hawks.

Preys' shelters-Municipality of Prosotsani
​natura-ramsar 

The special geological substratum, combined with climatic, soil and topographic conditions, created a significant variety of habitats with special botanical interest. Thus, the Mountain Falakro collects many, rare for Greece, herbaceous plants, forming valuable ecosystems on the peaks, in the meadows and in the rocky outcrops of the mountain. The fauna is also proportional to the botanical interest. Except for the common mammals and birds of the wider region, we meet rareinvertebrates which characterize value of fauna.

Canyon of Petroussa - Pyrgoi

The Canyon of Petroussa - Pyrgoi begins north of the village of Pirgoi and terminates in Petroussa. With a length of more than 10 kilometers it is an attraction for nature lovers - hikers, who can cross it beneath vertical rocks, within a landscape of stunning natural beauty. On the slopes of the canyon colorful wildflowers, resistant dry plants and interesting arboreal vegetation are hosted. Furthermore, the canyon is a shelter for many species of fauna. The route through thecanyon is almost flat, becoming uphill only in some points and the ground is covered with stones of streams and winds between steep and very wooded ridges. In many places it becomes extremely narrow with width not exceeding 3-5 meters, where basins with water are formed.