Western Thrace

• Rhodope Mountains — Region - mountainous lonely region with interesting ancient Thracian cult sites
• Evros Region — nature reserve with a large number of bird species
• Pomaks Region (Pomakochoria) — Charming villages scattered in the green Rhodope valleys and graceful mosques complete with tall minarets.

• 🌍 Alexandroupolis — Coastal city with ferry links to Samothrace
• 🌍 Didymoteicho (meaning 'Twin Walls') — A typical Greek town, but well worth a detour if you are interested in Byzantine and Ottoman styles of art.
• 🌍 Echinos — A charming 'Pomak' (Greek Muslim) village on a valley of the Rhodope Mountains.
• 🌍 Feres — A town with a 12th century Byzantine style church adorned with numerous frescoes.
• 🌍 Komotini — City with a Muslim/Turkish community
• 🌍 Maroneia — the ancient Ismaros, the largest and most important of all Greek colonies of Western Thrace, mentioned by Homer in the Odyssey.
• 🌍 Stavroupoli — The old town still preserves its traditional flair, attracting plenty of tourists from Thessaloniki and other Greek cities.
• 🌍 Xanthi — An old town with pleasant cobbled narrow streets and old buildings

• 🌍 Vistonida — Lake and site of Anastasiopolis a Byzantine archaeological site
• 🌍 Abdera — One of the wealthiest cities of Ancient Greece, birthplace of the philosophers Democritus, Protagoras and Anaxarchus, and the lyric poet Anacreon.
• 🌍 Maroneia — One of the wealthiest cities of Ancient Greece,
• 🌍 Evros River Delta — Marshes and wetlands across the Turkish borders attracting large flocks of migratory birds in autumn, when breeding is over in Europe.
• 🌍 Dadia forest — Heavily wooded hills providing a habitat for diverse wildlife not common in other areas of Western Thrace.
• 🌍 Fanari — The best seaside resort of Western Thrace.
• 🌍 Nestos River Delta — Comprises freshwater lakes and ponds that offer refuge for birds and various mammals. Further north extends the “Kotza Orman" (Great Forest), once a very large forest but today restricted to some fragments along both sides of the river.

Greek is the native language of most the people of Thrace. Most of the Muslims in Thrace are ethnic Turks and speak Turkish as a native language. In villages north of Xanthi, Pomaks, who are ethnic Bulgarian Muslims, speak Pomakika (a dialect of Bulgarian). However, most people also speak passable English and some may speak German or other European languages.

• 🌍 Livaditis Waterfalls
• 🌍 Stone bridge on the Kompsatos river — A magnificent stone bridge
• 🌍 Macedonian tomb of Stavroupoli — A small but well preserved Macedonian tomb dating back to the first half of 4th century B.C.
• 🌍 Thracian Μeteors (Thrakika Meteora) — Amazing rocky peaks surrounded by abandoned settlements. Access by car through a dirt road that starts east of Iasmos Town.

Kayak or canoe descent of the river Nestos has become a popular sport and numerous hotels in Stavroupoli and nearby villages provide a trip package. Horse riding along the gorge is also available.

You can go for hiking in the Erimanthos Forest on the southern slopes of Rhodope mountains and spend the night in the basic cottages owned by the local park rangers.

Mosquitoes are a matter of increasing concern along the coastal marshes. As a rule the hotels do not provide anything and you have to buy specific products to protect yourself

These area are within easy reach once you are done in Western Thrace:

• Macedonia to west.
• Northern Thrace (Bulgaria) to north.
• Eastern Thrace (Turkey) to east.
• Island of Samothrace to south.