Walking and botanical holiday on Karpathos Island, Greece
Description of Walking and botanical holiday on Karpathos Island, Greece
This walking holiday in Greece is a treat for anyone interested in botany but also in hiking in stupendously beautiful Aegean seascapes. With a wonderful mix of both littoral and mountain terrain, hillside terraces and elevated plateaus, there are many gems to be found. Not forgetting a plethora of stunning beaches.
Karpathos’ northern region is protected by Natura 2000 Reserve status and is, therefore, very undeveloped, leaving many pristine places for rare flora to thrive, perfect not only for species seekers but also keen photographers. The northern part of the island is also a protected Marine Park that stretches out as far as the neighbouring island of Saria.
Your walking guide is a botany expert but also a local expert in all cultural and historical aspects of this beautiful island. As well as a font of knowledge on its birdlife and rare fauna such as the Pelophylax Cerigensis, the rarest small frog in Greece, also on the IUCN Red List. Our eyes are always open for natural treats on this trip, with alliums and paeonia just a couple of the floral ones, and Eleanora’s falcon, a migrating falcon which takes shelter the majority of the year here and just one of a bevy of beautiful birdlife. There are in fact more than 100 endemic and rare species of flora and fauna on Karpathos, all accessible on a wonderful network of walking trails.
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1 Reviews of Walking and botanical holiday on Karpathos Island, Greece
Reviewed on 16 Apr 2019 by Janis Colville
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
We loved this holiday! We felt so welcome by Evangelia and the others involved, and before long felt like they were old friends... Everything was relaxed and easy-going, even when we did some longer hikes. We learned so much about the island and the way of life as led by the people of northern Karpathos. Their self-
sufficiency is amazing! The feeling of hospitality and generosity of the people will stay with us forever.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Be prepared to be flexible on the itinerary. We were early in the season, and so Evangelia had to move a few things around, but for us it was perfect. Take good hiking boots, long trousers, and a sun hat.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
We were very happy that our money was spent locally, from eating locally grown and organic food in family owned restaurants, staying in a locally owned apartment, and being with tour guides were passionate about retaining the local way of life!
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
This holiday was great fun and gave us an extraordinary level of insight into life in a remarkably unspoilt corner of Greece.
Responsible Travel
Planet
Our tours take place in the Regional Marine Park of Northern Karpathos Saria -Astakidonision. According to the Environmental Management Agency of the Karpathos-Saria protected area, Karpathos is home to one of the largest populations of the monk seal and has been declared one of the 'Important Bird Areas of Europe'. Our guides are locals with experience in enviromental protection thus our guests are able to learn detailed information about flora and fauna.Morever, all together we try to keep clean a very important protected gulf, in the North part of Karpathos, from the plastics which the currents of Mediterranean sea bring there.
Our tours are designed very carefully to show this unique biodiversity and day by day we will walk in a paths with different types of ecosystems in order to enjoy the beautiful landscapes with all our senses.
During our eco-programs we avoid using plastic bags and we prefer to use traditional wool bags in order to combine environmental protection with reinforcement of local economy.
We always prefer local foods to reduce the adverse effects of large-scale agriculture and we follow the seasonality of food availability, as nature intended.
We invite you to contibute on this project and help us to protect our beautiful Island Karpathos!
People
Our tours are a life-alternig experience because they offer to our guests an authentic taste of our tradition way of life, staying in small with warm atmosphere hotels, visiting local craftsmen, tasting local delicacies and feeling at the full the original Greek hospitality we guarantee that you will live unforgettable moments with us!On this tour more than 10 young people are involved. We gave a promise that we will stay in Karpathos also in the winter,even if it is so difficutl!
Evgenia is a farmer and she produce fresh cheese,butter and other dairy products.
Marina has a restaurant and she use only organic vegetables from her garden.
Anna & Nikos have a shop with beautiful handmade souvenirs by wood and seashell!
Roula has a vineyard and we always go there to taste the best wine and raki!
Evangelia is a passionate guide and she always gives her best to reveal the real Karpathos to her guests!
Minas is a flora expert guide full of knowledge and wisdom, he knows everything not only about the enviroment but also about the history of the place and it is plaesure to hear old stories and jokes from him!
Our team's ultimate aim is to create the sustainable developement on Karpathos Island.The financial situation of Greece is getting worse, unfortunatelly, but we will survive with your support and that's why we invite you to feel, see, taste, hear and share unique experience and unforgettable moments on the best Island of Greece!
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