Alistrati Cave, Serres, Greece
4 Hours
Thematic
4 persons
Kavala
The cave of Alistrati is considered to be one of the largest and most beautiful not only in Greece, but throughout Europe, although the world learned about it only recently. It was discovered accidentally in 1959 by hunters on wild pigeons, noticing that birds regularly fly out of and return to the dungeon. In 1975, the Greek speleological society began an organized study of the cave, and only in 1998 it was open for visitors.
After almost 20 years of studying the cave geologists and archaeologists discovered that the cave is really very ancient and its age is more than 2 million years. There were found 44 species of living organisms - 13 vertebrates and 31 invertebrates. The most famous species are the endemic "Alistratia beroni" - very small insects which found only here, and the inflow of food is provided by bats.
Cave of Alistrati half day tour begins in the centre of Kavala and passes through the picturesque locations of Mount Pangeo towards the city of Seres where are located these unique monuments of natural origin! The Alistrathi Cave tour is guided in groups by a Greek speaking guide only. For 50 minutes the guide will show and tell you about the incredible beauty of the multicolored stalagmites of which the red stalagmites coming from the floor of the cave resemble a flame, and white stalactites on a red background descending from the ceiling for 15 meters. The length of the excursion is 2 km.
After the cave awaits us an incredible spectacle – a huge canyon at the bottom of which flows the river. You can go down to the river and walk along the canyon where you will see a stunning view of the mountainous terrain of Greece, as well as visit not large caves through which bats fly into the Cave of Alistrati.