LAKE KERKINI NATIONAL PARK

This national park (Εθνικό Πάρκο Λίμνης Κερκίνης/Ethniko Parko Limnis Kerkinis) extends over 824 km² around the artificial Lake Kerkini, which itself varies between 54 and 72 km². It is one of Greece's most important wetlands, and 110 km² are listed under the Ramsar Convention due to their high concentration of birds. Fed by the Strymon River, the lake was created on the site of marshland in 1932 to provide water for local farms. The park is bordered to the north by the Beles Mountains (2,029 m a.s.l.), on the border with Bulgaria and a small part of northern Macedonia, and to the south-west by Mount Kroussia (1,179 m a.s.l.). The area is home to some 310 bird species, including 137 wintering and/or nesting birds and 163 migratory birds. A number of observation points have been set up, particularly to the north of the lake, where you can watch the Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus), the rarest, most endangered and largest of the eight pelican species. It can reach a wingspan of 3 m and weigh up to 15 kg, but its population is less than 3,600 pairs from Romania to Albania. The other emblematic species is the water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). Originally from Asia, it was introduced by the Persians during the Median Wars at the beginning of the^5th century B.C. Around 2,000 of these large black bovids are raised here in semi-freedom for their meat. They can frequently be seen immersing themselves in the waters of Lake Strymon.