While Greece is a perfect place to rub shoulders with ancient statues, it's equally ideal for getting up close to nature. Hike through wildflowers, come eye to eye with a loggerhead turtle, or simply stretch out on a beach. Greece has something for everyone who wants to get out and explore.
No matter where you go in Greece, it's impossible to be much more than 100km from the sea. Rugged mountains and seemingly innumerable islands dominate the landscape, which was shaped by submerging seas, volcanic explosions and mineral-rich terrain. The mainland covers 131,944 sq km, with an indented coastline stretching for 15,020km. Mountains rise more than 2000m and occasionally tumble down into plains, particularly in Thessaly and Thrace. Meanwhile, the Aegean and Ionian Seas link together the country's 1400 islands, with just 169 of them inhabited. These islands fill 400,000 sq km of territorial waters.
During the Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous and even later geological periods, Greece was a shallow, oxygen-rich sea. The continuous submerging of land created large tracts of limestone through the whole submarine land mass. Later, as the land emerged from the sea to form the backbone of the current topography, a distinctly eroded landscape, with crystalline rocks and other valuable minerals, began to appear, marking the spine that links the north and south of the mainland today. Limestone caves are a major feature of this karst landscape, shaped by the dissolution of a soluble layer of bedrock.
Volcanic activity once regularly hit Greece with force – one of the world's largest volcanic explosions was on Santorini around 1650 BC. Today earthquakes continue to shake the country on a smaller scale, but with almost predictable frequency. In 1999, a 5.9-magnitude earthquake near Athens killed nearly 150 people and left thousands homeless. Since 2006, the country has had six quakes ranging from 6.4 to 6.9 in magnitude. None caused major damage. To check out Greece's explosive past, visit the craters of Santorini, Nisyros and Polyvotis.
Greece is endowed with a variety of flora unrivalled in Europe. The wildflowers are spectacular, with more than 6000 species, including more than 100 varieties of orchid. They continue to thrive because most of the land is inadequate for intensive agriculture and has therefore escaped the ravages of chemical fertilisers.
Wildflowers are particularly abundant in the Lefka Ori Mountains in Crete. Trees begin to blossom as early as the end of February in warmer areas and the wildflowers start to appear in March. During spring, hillsides are carpeted with flowers, which seem to sprout even from the rocks. By summer the flowers have disappeared from everywhere but the northern mountainous regions. Autumn brings a new period of blossoming.
Herbs grow wild throughout much of Greece, and you'll see locals out picking fresh herbs for their kitchen. Locally grown herbs are also increasingly sold as souvenirs and are generally organic.
The lush forests that once covered ancient Greece are increasingly rare. Having been decimated by thousands of years of clearing for grazing, boatbuilding and housing, they've more recently suffered from severe forest fires. Northern Greece is the only region that has retained significant areas of native forest – there are mountainsides covered with dense thickets of hop hornbeam (Ostrya carpinifolia), noted for its lavish display of white-clustered flowers. Another common species is the Cyprus plane (Platanus orientalis insularis), which thrives wherever there's ample water.
National parks were first established in Greece in 1938 with the creation of Mt Olympus National Park. There are now 10 national parks and two marine parks, which aim to protect Greece's unique flora and fauna.
Facilities for visitors are often basic; abundant walking trails are not always maintained, and the clutch of refuges is very simple. To most, the facilities matter little when compared to nature’s magnificent backdrop. It’s well worth experiencing the wild side of Greece in one of these settings.
Mt Parnitha National Park Very popular wooded parkland north of Athens; home to the red deer.
National Marine Park of Alonnisos and Northern Sporades Covers six islands and 22 islets in the Sporades and is home to monk seals, dolphins and rare birdlife.
Samaria Gorge Spectacular gorge in Crete and a refuge for the kri-kri (Cretan goat).
National Marine Park of Zakynthos An Ionian refuge for loggerhead turtles.
Ainos National Park The only island park, on Kefallonia, the stand of forest is home to a single species of endemic fir and small wild horses.
In areas widely inhabited by humans, you're unlikely to spot any wild animals other than the odd fox, weasel, hare or rabbit. The more remote mountains of northern Greece continue to support a wide range of wildlife, including wild dogs and shepherds' dogs, which often roam higher pastures on grazing mountains and should be given a wide berth.
The brown bear, Europe's largest land mammal, still manages to survive in very small numbers in the Pindos Mountains, the Peristeri range that rises above the Prespa Lakes, and in the mountains that lie along the Bulgarian border. It's estimated that only around 200 survive; your best bet for seeing one is at the Arcturos Bear Sanctuary ( GOOGLE MAP ; www.arcturos.gr; Nymfeo) in Macedonia.
The protected grey wolf is officially classified as stable, with an estimated 200 to 300 surviving in the wild. It's believed that up to 100 are killed annually by indiscriminate (and illegal) use of poison baits in retaliation for the occasional attacks on livestock. The Greek government and insurance companies pay compensation for lost livestock but it doesn't appear to slow the killings. The surviving wolves live in the Pindos Mountains and the Dadia Forest Reserve area. Head to the Arcturos Wolf Sanctuary in Agrapidia, near Florina, which houses wolves rescued from illegal captivity.
The golden jackal is a strong candidate for Greece's most misunderstood mammal. Although its diet is 50% vegetarian (the other 50% is made up of carrion, reptiles and small mammals), it has traditionally shouldered much of the blame for attacks on stock and has been hunted by farmers as a preventative measure. Near the brink of extinction, it was declared a protected species in 1990 and now survives only in the Fokida district of central Greece and on the island of Samos.
Once roaming across all of mainland Greece, the graceful red deer is now restricted to the Sithonian Peninsula, the Rhodopi Mountains bordering Bulgaria, and Mt Parnitha north of Athens. As the largest herbivore in Greece, its population is under constant threat from illegal hunters, making attempts at population redistribution unsuccessful.
Originally brought to the island of Skyros in the 5th century BC by colonists, the diminutive Skyrian horses are an ancient breed that became wild once they had been replaced by agricultural mechanisation. Around 190 survive on the island, approximately 70% of their population. You'll also see these horses featured in the Parthenon friezes.
Greece has an active snake population, and in spring and summer you will inevitably spot them on roads and pathways around the country. Fortunately the majority are harmless, though the viper and the coral snake can cause fatalities. Lizards are in abundance too.
The Hellenic Wildlife Hospital is the oldest and largest wildlife rehabilitation centre in southern Europe.
Birdwatchers hit the jackpot in Greece, where much of the country is on north–south migratory paths. Lesvos (Mytilini) in particular draws a regular following of birders from all over Europe, who come to spot some of more than 279 recorded species that stop at the island annually. Storks are among the more visible visitors, arriving in early spring from Africa and returning to the same nests year after year. These are built on electricity poles, chimney tops and church towers, and can weigh up to 50kg. Keep an eye out for them in northern Greece, especially in Thrace in Macedonia. Thrace has the richest colony of fish-eating birds in Europe, including species such as egrets, herons, cormorants and ibises, as well as the rare Dalmatian pelican. The wetlands at the mouth of the Evros River, close to the border with Turkey, are home to two easily identifiable wading birds – the avocet, which has a long curving beak, and the black-winged stilt, which has extremely long pink legs.
Upstream on the Evros River in Thrace, the dense forests and rocky outcrops of the 72 sq km Dadia Forest Reserve play host to Europe's largest range of birds of prey. Thirty-six of the 38 European species can be seen here, and it is a breeding ground for 23 of them. Permanent residents include the giant black vulture, whose wingspan reaches 3m, the griffon vulture and the golden eagle. Europe's last 15 pairs of royal eagles nest on the river delta.
More than 350 pairs of the rare Eleonora's falcon (60% of the world's population) nest on the island of Piperi in the Sporades and on Tilos, which is also home to the very rare Bonelli's eagle and the shy, cormorant-like Mediterranean shag.
As Europe's most endangered marine mammal, the monk seal (Monachus monachus) ekes out an extremely precarious existence in Greece. Approximately 200 to 250 monk seals, about 50% of the world's population, are found in the Ionian and Aegean Seas. Small colonies also live on the island of Alonnisos, and there have been reported sightings on Tilos.
The waters around Zakynthos are home to the last large sea turtle colony in Europe, that of the endangered loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta). Loggerheads also nest in smaller numbers in the Peloponnese and on Kefallonia and Crete. Greece's turtles have many hazards to dodge – entanglement in fishing nets and boat propellers, consumption of floating rubbish, and the destruction of their nesting beaches by sun loungers and beach umbrellas that threaten their eggs. It doesn’t help that the turtles' nesting time coincides with the European summer holiday season.
There is still the chance that you will spot dolphins from a ferry deck, though a number of the species are now considered vulnerable. The number of common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) has dropped considerably in the past decade. The main threats to dolphins are a diminished food supply and entanglement in fishing nets.
Greece's relationship with its wildlife has not been a happy one. Hunting wild animals is a popular Greek activity, as a means of providing food. This is particularly true in mountainous regions. Despite signs forbidding hunting, Greek hunters often shoot freely at any potential game. While this can include rare and endangered species, the main game is often wild boars, which have been around since antiquity. Considered destructive and cunning animals, the number of wild boars has increased in recent decades, likely due to a lower number of predators. Many argue that hunting is an important means of culling them. There is also an increasing number of wild-boar breeding farms, with boar showing up on many menus.
Environmental awareness is beginning to seep into the fabric of Greek society, leading to slow but positive change. Environmental education happens in schools, recycling is common in cities, and even in the smallest villages you may find organic restaurants and environmentally sustainable businesses. However, problems such as deforestation and soil erosion date back thousands of years. Live cultivation, goats, construction and industry have all taken their toll.
Illegal development of mainly coastal areas, and building in forested or protected areas, have gained momentum in Greece since the 1970s. Despite attempts at introducing laws, and protests by locals and environmental groups, corruption and the lack of an infrastructure to enforce the laws means little is done to abate the land-grab. The issue is complicated by population growth and increased urban sprawl. Developments often put a severe strain on water supplies and endangered wildlife. While a few developments have been torn down, in more cases illegal buildings are legalised as they offer much-needed affordable housing.
In 2014 NATO's plan to decommission 700 tonnes of Syria's chemical weapons off the southern coast of Crete was protested by more than 10,000 islanders. Scientists claimed that seawater would neutralise the chemicals within 90 days, but after Albania, Thailand, Belgium, Germany and Norway refused to have the process take place in their waters, the UN approved the international waters between Crete and Malta. Protesters claimed that the effectiveness of hydrolysis was unclear, as was the impact of the discharge on the Mediterranean's marine ecosystems and tourism. Sadly, only time will tell if they were right.
Greece's economic troubles have also impacted the environment. The lifting of the diesel ban in Athens in 2012 decreased air quality as people opted for cheaper transport. As heating oil tripled in price, people turned to burning wood, often treated, as well as garbage to keep warm. Wintertime particle pollution increased by 30% on some evenings, with lead and arsenic particles found in the air.
Each year, forest fires rage across Greece, destroying many thousands of hectares, often in some of the country's most picturesque areas. Mt Parnitha and the Peloponnese are still recovering from fires in 2007 that changed the face of the landscape. In the summer of 2012, more than 170 fast-burning fires swept across the country, swallowing entire villages and leaving more than 50 dead. One of the worst-hit islands was Chios, where more than 64 sq km of forest and farmland were destroyed. As the fires reached the outskirts of Athens, the government declared a state of emergency and asked for water-bombing aircraft from Spain and Italy.
Each summer since then, fires have threatened the capital and raged across various islands. The increasing scale of recent fires is blamed on rising Mediterranean temperatures and high winds. Many locals argue that the government is ill-prepared and that its attempts to address the annual fires are slow. Fearing they won't receive help, many locals refuse to leave areas being evacuated, preferring to take the risk and attempting to fight the flames themselves.