The beautiful nature of Kastoria is suitable for both winter and summer tourism. Every visitor has the opportunity to observe up close the pristine nature and its diverse ecosystem.
Skiing in the snowy mountains or excursions in the dense forests, while in summer, the green of the mountain and the blue of the lake are the ideal scenery for both relaxation and exploration.
Lake Orestiada and the city of Kastoria have been inextricably linked for many centuries.
The lake and its wider area is a very important natural ecosystem with diverse and locally rare habitats that support great biodiversity which includes many rare and endangered species.
In Kastoria, important monuments of Byzantine culture are preserved to this day, such as the walls, the Byzantine churches and the old mansions with Byzantine architecture. local and traditional products from various shops in the city.
Kastoria is a small town, you do not need many days to get to know it. At the same time, however, as many days as you have at your disposal will not be enough to “satiate” the wonderful natural landscape which has been generously given to it!
This beautiful corner of western Macedonia is an all-weather destination, as its absolute trademark, the lake with the official name Orestiada, gives it every season a special color and atmosphere that captivates you from the very first moment. p>
The lake of Kastoria
The lake is estimated to have formed 10,000,000 years ago (during the Miocene) and its current form is a remnant of an older expansive lake with an area of 164 square kilometers and a depth of more than 50 meters.
It is considered a karst lake, of tectonic origin with a total area of 28 square kilometers, average water depth 4.40m and maximum depth 8.50m.
It has been designated as a place of special beauty by the Ministry of Culture (1974) and has been included in the European Network “NATURA 2000” registered under the code GR1320001 as well as in the list of important areas for the birds of Greece and Europe (SRA).
In addition to the very large number of bird species it hosts, it is the only natural lake in Greece, in which there are still significant riparian forests of hydrophilic trees, which today constitute one of the rarest habitats in Europe.
You can enjoy the lake tour on a wonderful 7 km route.
Although you can do it by car, we suggest you – weather permitting – ride it by bike (you can rent it) or even on foot to get the most out of the experience!
Included in the “Natura 2000” network and Monument of Natural Beauty, the lake is one of the most beautiful in the Balkans and the narrow coastal road, surrounded by beeches and plane trees, looks almost eerie next to the calm waters.
An equally interesting alternative is to do the Big Round (approx. 30 km) to discover it in its entirety!
Start from the southern exit in Kastoria and while driving along the lake, be sure to make stops in Mavrochori and the Museum of Wax Figures, Folklore and Prehistory, in Polykarpi, which is suitable for hiking, and in the Wall for a spectacular view. / p>
Of course, when the lake is not icy, it is an opportunity to travel around the peninsula in Kastoria with the tourist boat “Orestia” (departs from the pier of the north beach or the Cave of the Dragon, tel. 24670 29630, mob. 6957 591303, 6984 618923) to satisfy the amazing changes of the landscape to be revealed to you Against the background of the amphitheatrical arrangement of the houses above the waters of the lake!
You can also enjoy day or night boating with the boat “Olympia” and various routes (boarding on the south and north beach, at the Cave of the Dragon, in Mavriotissa or in Mavrochori, only by arrangement, 24) ), as well as the solar boat recently supplied by the municipality.
The Dolce
It is the oldest and most picturesque district in Kastoria, which will make you want to get lost among its alleys! Beautifully restored mansions – some neoclassical and others faithful to the Macedonian architecture – remarkable slate and cobbled cobbled streets “converge” to travel mentally to another era, when the city was at its zenith!
The Cave of the Dragon
The Monastery of Panagia Mavriotissa
After the Cave it is necessary to visit the Monastery of Panagia Mavriotissa, built in 1802, next to the lake. The ornate frescoes of the katholikon as well as those on the outside, depicting emperors of Byzantium, can only win your admiration.
Folklore Museum
The Folklore Museum, which is housed in the mansion Nerantzis Aivazis in the same district and is a living “treasury”, which gives a representative picture of what the houses of the time were like in Kastoria.
Museum of the Macedonian Struggle
It is a museum space housed in a traditional house of Macedonian architecture, an 18th century mansion, which was the home of Anastasios Pichion, a Greek Macedonian militant who lived in the area of the kaza Kastoria in the late 19th century.
Costume Museum
This is a museum that preserves traditional local costumes of men and women of the area. It is housed in the mansion of the Emmanuel Brothers and has an important collection of traditional costumes of the city of Kastoria, as well as the wider area.
Byzantine Museum
This is a unique thematic museum of images, since its collections consist mainly of portable religious paintings of Byzantine and post-Byzantine times.
The Aquarium
It is the largest freshwater in the Balkans and is co-located in a building of 450 sq.m. At the Center for Environmental Education. Its reservoirs house an interesting variety of fish and other aquatic species, which live in the lakes and rivers of the country and the wider Balkan region. It is at the same time an “oasis” of knowledge and environmental awareness on these issues.
The lake settlement of Dispilio
Just 4 kg. outside Kastoria, the port settlement of Dispilio is the first outdoor ecosystem in Greece, which faithfully represents a set of houses and gives characteristic images from the life of our ancestors 7,500 years ago!
Time travel dates back to the Neolithic Age, when the lake and the fertile area around it became the right place to build a house! The first finds came to light in the 1930s, as the level of the lake in Kastoria receded and the peaks of hundreds of stakes appeared – a sign of the prehistoric residential “complex”.
Since then – at first with timid steps and then more systematically – the excavations (which, in fact, are in progress) revealed a site of enormous archaeological importance, while today 8 huts at all stages of construction hide various tools and household items. species and become living Witnesses of life in 5,500 BC!
Απόσκεπος
For a different angle of view on the lake it is worth traveling only 5 km. Then the suburb of Chloe to reach the picturesque settlement of Aposkepo. Its cobbled square, with its 12 stone fountains and running water, the age-old plane trees and the view that Kastoria offers you will effortlessly lead your hand to the Camera.
Korestia – Mela Village
For a sergiani in a cinematic setting… the villages of Korestia are waiting for you (you approach them from Koroilia). In Kastoria you can immortalize the eerie pottery in the settlements of Kraniona, Mavrokaipos, Gavros and then follow a 15΄ route to the village of Mela (former Statista) to visit the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle – at the house in the courtyard where / p>
Nestory
To Nestorio, 22 χλµ. from Kastoria, apart from being a refuge for the protection of the brown bear, is also the main entrance gate to the multi-faceted form of Gray. Experience the adventure at the zenith with routes through the lush forests and ports of Gistova and Arrenes.
Just before you reach the village, following the bypass for Ag. Anna, the στήριMonastery of the Brigadiers of Tsouka on a rock 150 µ. over the Aliakonas tributary is breathtaking!
