In northern Greece, one can find a plethora of travel destinations that stand proudly before them, almost flawless, places “blessed” with dramatic geomorphology and cared for with high architecture. They quickly and effortlessly win the acceptance of both the experienced and novice traveler, satisfying common tastes and delighting the senses of the majority.

However, those who are lucky or curious discover places which, without the glamour of popular tourist destinations, offer authentic images and memories and create rare and unfamiliar feelings. Places that may be so close to us, yet uprooted from our memory. Most of the time, behind the beauty of natural resources lie the locals who move at their own pace, unaffected by tourist traffic during holidays and public holidays. And it is they who, even with only basic infrastructure, become the best guides, faithfully and tirelessly caring for what they have been given and what they have worked hard to acquire with tenderness and passion. And visitors immediately become one with them, as if they, too, feel the pain of the future of a place that so unfairly remains in the shadows.

At the beginning of winter, we visited some of the villages located on the banks of the Aggitis River, just an hour and a half from Thessaloniki, in the prefecture of Serres. We were surprised to discover the natural beauty of the area and its cultural wealth, as well as traditional practices that are slowly disappearing. All this comes to life in the hands of a community of people with boundless enthusiasm for work and courage. People who live for their land, an unfulfilled love, and without their contribution, this place would have succumbed to the ravages of time and the fast pace of life. Our visit to the Aggitis Gorge, the village of Vitasta, and the Aggitis Station filled us with inspiration and optimism for the future of the Greek countryside.

The journey of Aggitis

The Aggitis River is the largest tributary of the Strymonas, with a length of over 70 km. It originates from the location where the village of the same name is located today and is fed by precipitation flowing from the high neighboring mountains. Rainwater and snowmelt from the steep slopes of the Falakro and Pangeo mountains, as well as groundwater, enrich this tributary, which follows a turbulent course to the sea. At the source of the river, just outside the village of Aggitis, lies the impressive Maara Cave (which means “water from the mountain” in Hebrew). It is one of the largest river caves in the world and the largest river cave open to visitors in Greece. Inside the cave, visitors can admire a large water wheel, 8 m in diameter, which was used during the Ottoman period to irrigate the surrounding area.

The main course of the river then follows a meandering path, running through a large fertile valley, the plain in the Prosotsani area. Next, this primary water collector joins other branches, forming a complex hydrographic network in the settlement, named Symvoli Serron. Next, a narrow passage is formed in the area of Alistrati Serron. On the northern banks of the river is the cave of Alistrati, with spacious chambers open to visitors, high galleries, and very impressive decorations of “curtains,” “corals,” stalactites, and stalagmites. The red stalactites and white mantles that form inside the cave are characteristic, while there are still unexplored galleries and chambers.

One of the most unique and impressive spots along the river is located on the banks of the villages we visited. In Vitasta, also known as Krinida, and at the Aggistis Station, there is intense riverside agricultural and recreational activity, as well as a wealth of cultural attractions. There, the Aggitis River is fed by the abundant rainfall that flows down the steep slopes of the Pangeo Mountains and, with a greater water supply, meets the Strymonas River. This rich body of water finally flows into the sea through the Strymonas delta in the area of Amphipolis.

The starting point of our journey is Vitasta, a small rural village at the foot of the Pangeo Mountains, with a population of about 400 inhabitants. Vitasta was inhabited by local natives, and later, in 1922, a small percentage of refugees from Asia Minor and Eastern Thrace arrived. This fertile land experienced a period of growth until the mid-20th century, when intense urbanization began.

Our accommodation

For our stay, we chose the traditional and fully renovated Vitasta House, a two-story house with wooden elements located in the heart of the village. It has two bedrooms, an inner courtyard, and can accommodate up to six people. It offers peace and comfort, ideal conditions for relaxation after a day full of excitement and exploration in this very special place. For more information about the accommodation, send a message at dpexx@hotmail.com.

Astride the river

The reason for our visit to the area was an invitation from Nikos Barakos, vigilant guardian of the river and head of River Monsters Outdoor Activities. Our first stop was the company’s base, located an hour and a half from Thessaloniki and just 20 minutes outside the city of Drama, along the main provincial road from Drama to Proti of Serres.

With rafting, cycling, and hiking as its main activities, both in the Krinida area and in more distant parts of Pindos and Western Greece, Nikos’ team revealed another side of the region to us by taking us down the gorge in rafting boats. With his modesty and undeniable experience in the field, Nikos Barakos is one of the true mountain men, and his eyes lit up every time he recounted his adventures and plans.

So, we boarded the boats wearing the special equipment and left Nikos and his partner, Michalis Tsiavtaris, a professional triathlon coach and certified rafting instructor, to guide us through their territory.

Rafting down the Aggitis River is an activity that appeals not only to experienced adventure sports enthusiasts, but also to people with no previous experience, as well as children. As the River Monsters Outdoor Activities team assured us, the Aggitis is a safe river. It includes only two third-degree difficulty passages (the difficulty levels range from 1 to 6), where, by obeying the orders of the boat leader, the team is not in any danger. The activity lasts about two hours, but the intense diversity and unique colors create fairy-tale images that significantly distort the sense of time. One of the peculiarities of the Aggitis River is that most of its length consists of a narrow gorge with high walls and a helical shape, features that make rafting on this river an experience that is difficult to forget, even for the most seasoned water sports enthusiasts. On the fertile slopes of the gorge, where the gradient flattens out, plane trees, birches, alders, and wild hazel trees, whose crowns appear like faithful replicas throughout the descent on the crystal clear waters. Unforgettable in our memory are the points where the canopy closes even more and our path resembles a triumphal passage under majestic arches.

The descent also includes a stop to explore a horizontal cave, through which the river flows. The locals call it the Cave of Persephone and it is decorated with elaborate cave formations. We end the activity at a point in the riverbed where the waters calm down, allowing us to pull the boats onto the adjacent meadow. From there, our team transports us back to base to continue our tour along the Aggitis Valley.

After completing our exploration of the river by traveling along its main course, the program included abseiling down the walls of the gorge and a short bike ride in the area, accompanied by Nikos, to enjoy the gorge from every possible angle. For more information about River Monsters Outdoor Activities, send a message at rivermonstersmail@gmail.com.

The evening found us at the tavern in the village of Vitasta, just a few meters from Vitasta House. And after gathering our strength for tomorrow’s tour of the riverside villages of Aggitis, we returned to rest.

Tea meeting at Spiti tou Tsagiou (the “House of Tea”)

As soon as we woke up, a thick fog had covered the area and the temperatures were low. Ideal conditions for visiting the “House of Tea” and meeting Ioannis Zalidas, botanist, inspirer, and creator of this unique space. A place where the process of making tea is a real ritual and where native species of flora such as Salvia erythranthos, Cratyges, Satureja, Sideritis, and others are the precious raw materials.

The House of Tea is located just 1 km outside Krinida, at the top of a sloping enchanting herb garden that hosts over a hundred species of rare aromatic and medicinal plants, such as ten different endemic species of Sideritis (mountain tea). It can accommodate 12 people indoors and 80-100 outdoors and welcomes educational trips for schoolchildren, students, clubs, groups, and individual travelers.

It is a wooden house made of stones, tree trunks, and restored natural materials. Ioannis Zalidas breathed life into these natural materials and created the Tea House, where he cultivates and collects aromatic plants for the production of tea, aromatherapy, and hydrotherapy. A little lower down on the estate, there is another elaborate wooden structure of smaller dimensions, where visitors can enjoy a therapeutic and relaxing bath with carefully selected herbal extracts, known since ancient times as the Hippocratic Bath.

Ioannis provides organized tours of the herb garden, the Aggitis Gorge, and the wider area, with the aim of identifying plants such as edible wild greens and therapeutic/aromatic herbs, teaching us about the properties and myths associated with the plants of the Greek flora. In the Aggitis Gorge in particular, she has catalogued the flora and informs us that over the millennia, the gorge has been a refuge for hundreds of plants and some very rare endemic species, such as Haberlea rhodopensis, which is considered a living fossil two and a half million years old. Colchicum chimonanthum, which exists only in three locations in northern Greece and nowhere else in the world. As well as some species of orchids that are rare and protected.

The Tea House offers tea tastings, and Ioannis Zalidas reveals the secrets of extracting and preparing infusions from various parts of plants, such as fruits, roots, flowers, bulbs, tree bark, etc. Visitors can purchase special herbal blends. The Tea House also hosts themed meetings and experiential workshops.

Our stay at the Tea House was like a journey of liberation from the fast pace of modern life and a stop for mental rejuvenation. And Ioannis Zalidas, apart from the names and properties of herbs, knows, respects, and encourages exactly that. The value of even an occasional escape from the hustle and bustle of life and every person’s need for inner balance. Thus, with the slow unfolding of the leaves and flowers in hot water and the subsequent extraction of their healing substances, we achieved the purpose of creating this natural structure; we let some of the unnecessary thoughts and worries evaporate and kept only the essence. Contact Ioannis Zalidas at 6980254711.

Cultural station

After having our tea, we headed for our next riverside destination, Aggista Station, a small settlement at the southern end of Aggitis, with a population of about 200. Until the beginning of World War II, this was the location of the Aggista railway station. The village experienced periods of prosperity when it transported the region’s agricultural products to large urban centers via the railway line. The station was moved to the present settlement of Lefkothea in 1933, as catastrophic floods caused irreparable damage to the facilities.

The bridge of Aggista is famous in the area, a stone arch bridge consisting of five pointed arches. Magnificent plane trees surround the bridge, on the facade of which one can discern the two styles of construction used in the project: the use of limestone during the Macedonian period and the underlying natural stones of the Medieval period. Next to the bridge there is a refreshment bar and during the summer months the area is an oasis of coolness and spiritual uplift.

We walked across the bridge and along the banks of the Aggitis River, and then hurried off to meet Eleni Dionysidou and Panagiotis Papadopoulos, the guides at the Macedonian Tomb and key members of the Aggista Station cultural association, who were eagerly awaiting our arrival.

After a short walk on a prominent green hill, we were greeted by a moving sight that we never imagined we would see. Built in a prehistoric settlement of the Late Bronze Age, behind a metal door stands a Macedonian tomb from the 3rd century BC, with an imposing facade reminiscent of an ancient temple. It has an antechamber and the main burial chamber. Remnants of red and blue, ochre and white paint colour a representation with a pediment, which is quite altered due to lack of maintenance and the ravages of time. Inside, there are mosaics, marble, and poros stone. In the main burial chamber, there is an eccentrically built marble funeral bed.

We then toured the museum, which is housed in the village’s old school. Its collections include a multitude of exhibits brought with them from their unforgettable homelands by the ancestors of today’s inhabitants. Among them, our attention is drawn to elaborate jewelry, rich and impressive costumes, and bridal attire.

The tomb, like the Folklore Museum, is open to the public by arrangement with the Cultural Association of the Aggista Station. Eleni Dionysidou’s guided tour covers every detail of the history and culture of the area. What stands out, however, in her words and gaze is her boundless interest in the cultural elements and monuments of the place. Through tireless volunteer work and personal contributions, the Cultural Association of the Aggista Station is fighting for the preservation and promotion of the tomb and the Folklore Museum, with the aim of giving the area the recognition it deserves. Thus, they hope that by finding the appropriate infrastructure and funding, these monuments—which tend to be covered in rust—will attract visitors who will join them in delving into the treasures of the past. And they will succeed. Contact Eleni Dionysidou at 6934990414.

High aesthetics in a glass of wine

There was no better way to end our visit to the region than with a glass of wine at the Charalamboglou Estate in Krinida, an organic vineyard in an idyllic location. George and Argyri Charalamboglou decided to expand their father Nikolaos Charalamboglou’s small vineyard. Today, on 150 acres of organic farmland, Anthi Charalamboglou and Matt Van Der Spuy, with experience and studies from New Zealand, combine new methods with old practices. The vineyard has a cozy reception and tasting room with wooden elements and highly aesthetic artwork painted by Anthi Charalamboglou’s sister and mother, which testify to the family’s alternative view of life. Behind the large windows, the imposing Pangeo Mountain and the underlying crops are visible, a landscape that harmoniously combines inaccessible, undisturbed nature with the prudent management of natural resources.

Anthi introduced us to the entire process of organic cultivation of local Greek varieties, led by the ancient and now rare Greek variety “Koniaros,” Assyrtiko, and Malagouzia, as well as the internationally renowned Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Syrah. The unique geomorphology of the estate, namely the proximity of the valley where the vineyard extends to the steep mountain range, results in the vines being fed by groundwater and precipitation that flows down the steep slopes of the Pangeo mountain. The mountain breeze creates a unique microclimate that contributes to the production of wines of exceptional quality. This harmonious and complete geographical mosaic seems to have inspired the Charalamboglou family and their team to create exceptional wines in a contemplative environment. The coexistence of crops with the other “owners” of the land, insects, bacteria, and fungi, as no pesticides or herbicides are used, allowing the ecosystem’s dynamics to create natural defenses for the desired crops. For information about the winery, call 23240 91756 or send a message at charalaboglou@gmail.com.

Our journey to the banks of the Aggitis River included natural and cultural beauty, sounds, and textures that nature so generously bestowed upon us. However, we clearly felt the need for the soul to heal the wounds of this place, which is succumbing to the damage caused by speed and neglect.

Things to do on our next visit to this place include a walk with Ioannis to collect spring plants, a stroll through the vineyard with Anthi and Matt, and a bike ride along the green paths of Pangeo with Nikos.

The villages on the banks of the Aggitis River have a special beauty that comes from their proximity to untouched nature and their cultural wealth. But what really fuels our desire to visit the area again and again are the people we met; bees in the flowers, without whom everything would come to a standstill.