Green “virgin island” in Greece

Samothrace, a Greek island, is a vision of verdure. With a height of 5,285 feet (1,611 meters), Mount Saos is the tallest mountain on the island. Its rugged rocks give way to soft slopes covered with towering cedars, oak woods, and plane trees with peculiar shapes.

Rare and indigenous flora thrive in the clean waters of three rivers, which supply them. Around the port of Kamariotissa, which is located close to the western extremity of the island, there are abundant vegetable farms, and terraces cut out along the southern shore are lined with solar panels and olive trees.
Samothrace is an island in the Aegean Sea close to Greece’s northeastern border with Turkey; it can be reached by ferry from the mainland city of Alexandroupoli. Samothrace was previously well-known throughout the ancient world for its sacred sanctuary. It attracts ecotourists nowadays.

Some of its highlights are listed here.

A group of “young feet”

Therma, on the island’s north shore, makes a suitable home base for exploration. The majority of the accommodations are straightforward, emphasizing maximum interaction with the surroundings. Who needs luxury when the brook outside your window is performing a symphony?

According to Kaliopi Parselias, who has been the proprietor of Parselias Studios for more than 30 years, nature is what it’s all about. She explains, “Samothrace is a distinct island. “There are lush forests, rivers, and waterfalls, and visitors come to hike up mountains. Some people also like the sea. It’s an uninhabited island.”

For the first 30 years that Parselias ran the B&B, the majority of their visitors were Greek families with a small number of Germans. However, she adds, “Now we have individuals from all over Europe.” There is only one restriction: “Youthful individuals, as Samothrace need young feet for walking.”

According to manager Anastasios Vavouras, many of them opt to stay at Camping Varades, which is located directly by the water and was called after “varades,” a type of beehive found within hollow trees. Naturally, bees are a cooperative, and there are seven owners of the campground. They want to provide guests with “an alternate way to spend their holidays here, focusing on mountain sports, in a calmer, more free setting,” he says.

Giannis Tsakiltsidis, a student from the mainland who is visiting the island for the first time, is one of the majority of campers, who are Greeks in their 20s and 30s. According to him, there are campers of all ages who are there to see Greece in its unadulterated and natural state.

To go hiking, Tsakiltsidis arrived here. The mountains are crisscrossed by ancient trails, and the walks vary from easy strolls to strenuous treks.

River hikes and waterfall pools

Waterfalls create vathres, or naturally occurring river pools, all throughout northern Samothrace as they tumble over smooth rocks. The three closest to Therma on the Tsivdogiannis River are the most accessible. The first vathra is too deep for your feet to reach, while the second, Gria Vathra, is not as deep. Hippies in their underwear glide past swimmers in their swimsuits like water nymphs. They wade through the river carrying their few possessions on their heads, then climb a rock wall to reach the third pool.

On a trail that begins along the coastal road about three and a half miles farther east of Therma, there are three further vathres. The Fonias, a river that rises on Mount Saos and empties into the sea, runs through them. Greek for “killer,” which perfectly describes its devastating strength when the water overflows, is Fonias. However, the approach to the first vathra is a reasonably straightforward hike that takes less than an hour in dry conditions. Alongside enormous plane trees, gold-tinted bracken, and weathered gray stones, families, some with young children, walk down the riverbank.

At the first waterfall, also known as Fonias, adults sunbathe as kids paddle in the little outside ponds and swimmers try to keep still under the powerful first vathra falls. There is a rope fastened to a tree halfway up the rock face. The daring swing out like Tarzan, then bomb into the frigid depths below.

It takes a further 30 minutes to trek to the second vathra, Gerania, which is likewise fed by a waterfall.

Professional mountaineering

Just over 11 kilometers separate Therma from the pinnacle of Fengari, as the Greeks refer to Mount Saos, but only the “most adventurous,” according to Vavouras, go for the top. Although there are established trails, he explains, “it’s a challenging path to climb and there is no possibility of any hazard, sliding or falling.” This route has caution warnings posted along the way, much as many others on the island. If something goes wrong, keep in mind that you are alone.

Boating and beaches

There are beaches everywhere, as well as thermal baths in Therma that date back to Byzantine times, for those who lack energy. The sole sandy beach on the island is Pachia Ammos in the south, whereas Kipos, close to the island’s eastern shore, offers lovely bluish-colored stones. In addition to passing Kremasto Nero, boat tours departing from Kamariotissa or Therma stop at Vatos Beach, which is close to Pachia Ammos but otherwise only accessible by a strenuous climb. At maximum flow, the water plunges straight into the sea without touching the rocks, giving the waterfall its name, “Hanging Waterfall.”

Further down the south shore, enormous gray boulders covered in what appears to be an abstract painting tower menacingly above the ocean. This is the “old lady’s laundry,” or Tis grias ta pania. According to legend, one day a strong wind drove a woman’s laundry onto the rocks. She showered down curses, turning her clothing to stone, in her rage over her defeat.

Dated artifacts

On Samothrace, history aficionados are also cared for. The Nike statue known as the “Winged Victory of Samothrace” was discovered in the Arsinoion, also known as the Sanctuary of the Great Gods. One of the most well-known ancient pieces of art was created in the second century BCE and is currently on exhibit in the Louvre. The temple, which predates the era of ancient Ancient Greece, previously served as the North Aegean’s principal place of worship. In the little museum, there is a replica of the Nike that has undergone some reconstruction.

Chora

The capital of the island is Chora, which is perched on Mount Saos. It’s worth having a coffee from the café at the base of the citadel, which Genoese monarch Palamedes Gateluzzi constructed in the 15th century, and taking in the view over the city. You may stroll through lovely alleys where window boxes overflow with flowers and tree branches form canopies over cafés and restaurants.

The little Folklore Museum of Samothrace is decorated with domestic goods, religious artifacts, and pictures, and is arranged like a typical village home. Watch out for a raki still that resembles a huge turkey baster and has a copper bulb and lengthy metal nozzle connected. In addition to the usual trinkets like magnets and windmills, shepherds’ crooks are also available for purchase.

Having fun with hippies

Therma comes to life at night with a street market. Islanders market fine jewelry made with semi-precious stones, hand-tooled leather goods, and other items. Bearded men and ladies in baggy shorts and dreadlocked women with little tops slowly enter the town. They converse animatedly while they eat their late dinner before going silent to hear eerie interpretations of classic music. Everyone eventually joins in. It’s time to party when the moon is full, but only in an ecologically responsible way.

No one who works in the tourism industry on Samothrace, where they all were raised, takes the island’s untamed beauty for granted. They cooperate to defend it because, as Parselias puts it: “Samothrace exudes excellent vitality. It is described as tranquil. They are worn out and wracked with issues when they arrive here. They have changed after one week.”