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Birdwatchers' Paradise: Axios Delta National Park, near Thessaloniki, Greece

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For visitors to Thessaloniki, a densely populated city brimming with cultural treasures, it is always a pleasant surprise to learn about natural treasures nearby, such as the Axios Delta National Park, located just 25 km from the city's centre, considered as one of the most important wetland systems in Europe!

A sizeable area of 338 km² is protected under the Ramsar Convention and included in the European Union Natura 2000 network of protected areas, serving as a permanent or temporal habitat for over 700 animal and plant species, many of them being rare or endangered.

Even though a degraded area, since the 00s local people and authorities from the nearby villages have positively contributed towards a sustainable tourism model. Nowadays, there is a variety of businesses helping to preserve the area while benefiting from it. Tourists can enjoy a ride on horses, taste local delicacies such as mussels and deserts made with buffalos' milk, climb atop the numerous birdwatching towers, visit the wildlife care centre, go on hiking or cycling on the specially designed routes, and educate themselves.

The living standard and economy of adjacent areas' residents has risen significantly thanks to eco-tourism development, thus, future investments appear to be aimed towards an even more ecological-minded approach which will secure both the National Park's sustainability and the locals' prosperity.

 

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