Dadia forest – Thrace

The famous Dadia Forest is the crown jewel of Evros Prefecture and a haven of all birds of prey in Greece. It is located about 60 km from Alexandroupolis. Dadia Forest is of enormous ecological importance since it hosts one of the largest and most diverse populations of raptors and reptiles in a protected area of 7.300ha. In its two main protection regions nest more than 120 species of birds. Alongside the abundant summer and winter visitors, a total of 227 species have been recorded. What makes the forest of Dadia special are the birds of prey ruling the area. Here, 36 of the 38 species that exist in Europe have been observed, and among their permanent forest inhabitants one may find rare blackheads, griffon vultures, golden eagles, eastern imperial eagles, long legged buzzards and more. Bird watching requires careful and discreet movements following the well designed and labeled forest trails. An alternative is to ride a small bus of the Dadias ecotourism center to the observatory opposite the so-called “Taeestra”(The Feed), a forest clearing regularly supplied with dead animals or slaughterhouse remains. You may combine the two routes by following the one-hour path with the orange mark behind the information center until the shelter and the return from the other shorter and easier path with the yellow mark.
Dadia Information Center: +30 25540 32209
Bird photos are by Petros Babakas. Forest of Dadia – Lefkimis – Soufli.