By Nicolas Bard

Elatia, also known as Karandere, is a forestry mountain in Drama, with a maximum altitude of 1,825,742 meters (Tsakalos peak). It is Greece’s largest forest, which stands out both for its great natural beauty and its rich flora and fauna. In antiquity in the area were inhabited by the Dians, an ancient Greek-celestial gender, which was later classified as Thracian.

This beautiful forest is located on the north side of the Prefecture of Drama, near the border with Bulgaria, and is part of the Central Rhodope Mountains. It is defined east of the Great stream and west of the Despatis River. From the ravine comes the deep or black stream (Kara Dere). However, apart from Tsakalos (1825 m altitude), there are other peaks: Beeces (1811 m altitude), Elatia (1647 m altitude), Bouzala (1631 m altitude), Pyramid Koutra (1628m), Zervia (15).

In Elatia there is the Forest Village of Elatias, near the top of Pyramida Koutra, in place of the older tseligatos Sarakatsanai called Kalyvia Koutra. Every year on July 20 (by Prophet Elias) there is the Sarakatsani Antamoma of Eastern Macedonia. The forest village is located in the heart of the Elata forest and year after year it is gaining more and more loyal fans, who go there to enjoy the natural environment and disconnect for a while from life in the city and its rapid pace.

The Forest of Elatia is the largest in our country, with an area of ​​699.45 square kilometers, and consists of spruce, pine, cedar, beech, birch, poplar, maple, oaks, roses and other species. In fact, during the autumn period when deciduous trees get orange and red shades, the forest fascinates with its beauty. In the western part of the mountain, in Magoula, there is the Birch Forest, which is unique in its kind in Greece. Finally, the fauna of the area has many rare species of animals such as the gray bear, the wild boar, the roe deer, the hare, the wolf, the wildcat, the pheasant, the eagle, the hawk and the woodpecker.

It is a rare and rich ecosystem of northern Greece that needs protection and promotion. To remain a virgin forest, without any human intervention, special studies are required, but also projects to protect it from precarious and unpredictable factors. Certainly the emergence of the forest as a tourist destination will bring money and valuable assistance to the local community, but all actions should be taken with the environment and wildlife in priority, as many of the effects of over -tourism can irreparably damage the virgin forest and the animals it hosts.