Not half an hour from Thessaloniki is a verdant, wild paradise – the Axios Delta National Park, a haven for wildlife and a dream for birders. In a wetland complex of 340 square kilometers, the deltas of the rivers Axios and Aliakmon, the estuaries of the Gallikos and Loudias rivers, and the wetlands of Nea Agathoupoli and Alyki Kitrous create the perfect setting for broad biodiversity. A great variety of mammals, reptiles, amphibians and, very notably, birds thrive there amid 350 species of plants. 

Birders can head straight for the Nea Agathoupoli bird-watching tower where they can observe (through telescopes and binoculars) some of the 295 species of birds that live or migrate through here. The halophytic (‘thriving in saline water’) vegetation provides the ideal environment for many species, some of which, such as the Dalmatian pelican and the glossy ibis, are rare. A great array of duck species (including Eurasian wigeons, mallards and northern pintails) winter here by the thousands. (The glamorous flamingoes, however, prefer to winter in the brackish waters of Kalohori.) There’s even a chance you might catch a glimpse of a white-tailed sea eagle – there are only a few pairs living in Greece.