by Turning into Calastra, gateway to the Axios Delta National Park, the silence was as sudden as if someone had flicked a switch. Far from the buzz of hooting, traffic on the Thessaloniki motorway, I was on a narrow tree-lined road and the only sounds were the buzz of the cicadas and the clamoring from the hornets’ nests high above me.
Just half an hour’s drive from Greece’s second city, the 150 square mile park is one of the most important wetlands in Greece. A birdwatcher’s paradise, this vast delta is home to around 330 species of birds, fed by rivers that flow as far as Kosovo – as well as the world’s largest population of Mediterranean tortoises. Add lots of wild horses and flaming fires, as well as salt flats and rice fields, and you’ll understand why it’s been called the “secret Camargue” of Greece.
However, unlike its Gallic counterpart, the Delta Axios attracts only a large number of tourists every year, and its pubs, which serve fresh fish and mussels, are also much cheaper.
Driving towards the bird watch tower of Nea Agathoupoli I got my first sight of the horses of the region. Unlike the famous white horses of the Camargue, these colorful animals are truly gray. “They were released in the 1960s, when farmers switched to tractors,” Lia Papadragka, a guide who helps oversee the park, told me as we climbed to the top of the watchtower. “There are about 80 horses today, which means it’s an endangered species,” she said, handing me a pair of binoculars.
From our high vantage point we saw glossy ibis, ferruginous duck, avocet, spoonbills and other fauna wading, wading and flapping in the murky marshes below. Then there was a white flash. “Sea eagle tails! There are only a few pairs in Greece and one of them nests here,” said Lia, shaking her binoculars excitedly.
Leaving the tower we went slowly along a winding road towards the sea. In mid-April the air hummed with the sweet scent of spring flowers; mustard blooms as bright as lemons, huge fennel like small trees and pink braids of Tamarisk flowers dazzle against the muddy background.
Near Almyraukas, in one of the kalyvi – wooden huts where the mussel farmers of the delta live – we met Stelios, who took us out across the shallow lagoon to visit his farm. Stopping near a wooden structure, where a jawed cormorant hit the poles, drying its black wings, Stelios explained that the mussels grow on ropes dangling into the shallow waters below. One hand on the tiller and eyes fixed on the green-grey sky, framed by the blue smudge of Mount Olympus, he told us about annus horribilis in 2021 when the summer heat was so fierce that the water temperature rose to 31C. “The mussels were literally cooked in the water,” he said.
Since there are not many hotels in the Axios Delta, Thessaloniki was my base. It was the perfect combination to return to this beautiful and vibrant city each night after days spent watching the amazing wildlife in the delta. It was named a Unesco City of Gastronomy in 2021, and I spent happy nights going through the spicy meatballs. soutzoukaiasizzling cheese bougiourdi and other local delights in stylish pubs such as Olympos Naoussa, Orizontes Roof Garden and Poster.
For a break from the birds, I followed the coast road from Calastra to ancient Pydna. Not much remains of this mighty city, which was ruled by Alexander the Great’s father in the 4th century BC, and where Alexander’s mother was killed during a siege some 30 years later – but it was a wonderful remote location surrounded by a sea of olive trees. atmosphere.
On my way back to the seaside village of Methoni, I stopped for lunch at Nikos, a rustic seaside pub loved by the locals. I sat at a lonely wooden table watching white kaiki fishing boats on a lazy pea green swell I grilled the red mullet with a Greek caper-dot salad and a carafe of crisp white Asyrtiko from the nearby Epanomi vineyard. The bill for this feast (which also includes a complimentary thimble of Tsipouro white spirits and a slice of orange orange cake)? Twenty-four euros – about the same amount as one main course in a similar restaurant in the south of France.
On my last day I went to the Alyki Kitrous lagoon. This vast salt flat on the north side of the delta is home to a huge population of birds, including hundreds of flamingos that strut and scurry noisily in search of microscopic algae. After a swim from the dune-fringed beach in Alyki I stopped to meet Alexandros Tillas and Maria Derdevani, a local-born enterprising couple who bought the ruins of a railway station – complete with vintage train carriages – to create Alyki Glamping, a unique boutique hotel. that is due to open this summer.
Victims of Greece’s notorious bureaucracy, it took the couple five years to painstakingly renovate the old station. “We’re pioneers and that’s always difficult,” Alexandros said. As we sat in the couple’s kitchen digging into a steaming pot of mussels, I brought up the Camargue comparison. “We are better – we have wolves and wildcats here too,” Alexandros said with a laugh. “In fact, we have everything the Camargue has, except for those crazy crowds.”
Go there
Flight from London Heathrow to Thessaloniki from £140 (aegeanair.com). Cars can be hired from Hertz from £23 per day (hertz.gr). Book tours on the Axios Delta with Ecoroutes (ecoroutes.gr), and Thessaloniki gourmet tours with Discover Greece (discovergreece.com).
Where to eat
In Thessaloniki, Poster (pipes from £8; posterrestaurant.gr), Olympos Naoussa (pipes from £12; olymposnaoussa.gr) and Orizontes Roof Garden (pipes from £16; electrahotels.gr). In Nikos, Methoni (pipes from £6; +30 27230 31282).
Where to stay
Double rooms at the Antigon Urban Chic hotel (antigonhotel.com) cost from £87 per night including breakfast. Doubles at Alyki Camping Kitros (facebook.com/alykihotel) cost from £37 per night including breakfast.
