West Macedonia

West Macedonia

A **Kastoria** road trip in West Macedonia takes you to the high heart of the north. You drive to a city that sits on a narrow peninsula in the middle of a mountain lake. The water is calm and full of wild pelicans and elegant swans. You see old mansions built by wealthy fur traders many centuries ago. The stone streets wind up the hill to offer views of the snowy peaks. It is a place that feels refined and quiet compared to the busy south. The road to the **Prespa Lakes** brings you to the quiet corner where three nations meet. You drive through vast bean fields and thick oak forests. The air is cool and the silence of the mountains is deep and restful. You can visit ancient hermit cells carved into the rocks right by the water edge. It is a place that feels like the edge of the world. You will see more birds than people in this remote part of the country. Head to the mountain town of **Nymfaio** for a walk in a perfectly restored stone village. You might even see a brown bear at the local forest sanctuary nearby. The roads are high and the views are wide over the plains of Macedonia. It is a land of peaks and legends that most tourists never get to see. This is the place for the driver who wants to discover something truly new.

West Macedonia highlights

Part of these road trips

Follow the routes that cross this destination

The Scenic Route
The Heritage Drive
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History of West Macedonia

West Macedonia is home to the lake settlement of **Dispilio**, where a wooden tablet was found in 1993 that dates back to 5200 BC. On a Kastoria road trip, you explore a region that has been a center for fur trading since the Byzantine era. The town of Kastoria grew wealthy by processing beaver and otter furs and built seventy-two stone churches between the 9th and 19th centuries. The name of the town comes from the Greek word kastoras, which means beaver. The region of **Prespa** is home to two of the oldest lakes in Europe, which are over five million years old. These lakes host the **largest breeding colony of Dalmatian Pelicans** in the world, with over one thousand pairs nesting there. In 1912, the region was a major front during the Balkan Wars, leading to its liberation from Ottoman rule. The high altitude of the province makes it the coldest region in Greece, with temperatures often dropping below minus twenty degrees. The town of **Nymfaio** was once a major center for gold and silversmithing in the Balkans during the 18th century. It features grand stone mansions that were built to withstand the heavy snow and potential raids from mountain bandits. In 1992, the Arcturos environmental center was established nearby to protect the local population of brown bears and wolves. The province remains a land of prehistoric secrets, medieval fur wealth and high-altitude wildlife preserves.
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