https://www.walctogether.eu/prespa-encounters/
https://www.walctogether.eu/prespes-international-walking-center/
Prespes is an area in the Regional Unit of Florina, located on the northern borderline of Greece with Albania and the Republic of North Macedonia. It is 551 km away from Athens, 240 km from Thessaloniki, 48 km from Florina, 51 km from Kastoria, and 214 km from Ioannina.
Prespes is an environmentally protected area. As a result of its rich flora and fauna, and the impressive variety of its natural environment in general, the area was declared a National Park in 1974. The National Park of Prespes (853 m above sea level) includes two lakes, Mikri (Little) and Megali (Great) Prespa, which are separated by a narrow strip of land. The surrounding mountains form part of the National Park. Prespes is unique for its ecological system, its history, and the overwhelming beauty of its landscape.
The area is also protected by the Ramsar Convention. Prespes is one of the richest areas in Greece in terms of natural environment. One can observe here a large variety of plants, animals, birds, and fish. The avian fauna is rare and particularly important, with 260 different species of birds. More remarkable among them are Pelecanus crispus (Dalmatian Pelican) and Pelecanus onocrotalus (Great White Pelican). The first (Dalmatian Pelican) is threatened with extinction, with only 1,000 surviving pairs all over Europe, 300 of which in Prespes, their biggest reproduction colony world-wide. In Prespes, one can also come across seven out of the eight species of egrets found in Greece (the rarest among them being the Egretta alba). There are also cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo). The National Park has a remarkable variety of plants, with 1,500 being identified in the area. There are 23 fish species, 12 of which are endemic (such as grivadi, brana, tsironi, platica, kefalos, skoubouzi) and can only be found in Prespes. Finally there are 42 mammal, 11 amphibian, and 21 reptile species.
The area is also of historical interest, both for the sites and monuments preserved and for the memory of events that took place there. Prespes are situated in the middle of an ancient road connecting the coast of Adriatic to the Aegean Sea. On the island of Aghios Achillios, one can visit the ruins of churches and monasteries. The most important among them is the basilica of Aghios Achillios, built in the late 10th century, and the church of the Virgin of the Porphyra (15th century). Other interesting sites include the traditional village of Aghios Germanos, the hermitages, and the fresco paintings on the rock in the area of Psarades, dating from 10th century AD.
Prespes was also the theater of fierce battles during the First and Second World War, and, most notably, during the last year of the Greek Civil War (1946–1949). One can visit, in the area close to Pili and Vrontero, important sites of that period (Kokkalis Cave, Zachariadis Cave).