Lake Kremasta may appear turquoise, aquamarine, sky blue, or deep blue. This stunning setting evokes Switzerland, with the rugged outline of rocky mountaintops delineated by a vivid blue sky decorated with cottony clouds. (Of course, this is a “Switzerland” with Greece’s silvery green olive groves juxtaposed with evergreen forests.) Yet until recently, few visitors had admired it firsthand.

Panagiotis Makris and his team of boat driver-tour guides have been changing that. They offer a variety of tours to groups of up to 40 people who want to explore Lake Kremasta (or Lake Kremaston). Straddling the border of Evrytania and Aetolia-Acarnania in Central Greece, Greece’s largest artificial lake is approximately 1.5 hours’ drive from the towns of Karpenissi (or Karpenisi), Amfilochia, and Agrinio. The Lake Tours start at a dock near the village of Aghios Georgios.

Passing small islands and fjord-like inlets, tour boats approach attractions such as a waterfall, a plane tree forest, a trout farm, the massive Kremasta Dam, and historic bridges. In addition to the boat tours, Lake Kremasta tourism opportunities include a variety of activities on and around the lake, such as mountain climbing, mountain bikingm rappelling, canoeing, camping, rafting, fishing, sailing and hiking.

Behind the Dam: The story of Lake Kremasta’s Creation

Where did this lake come from? Lake Kremasta was created in 1965, after a hydroelectric dam was built, flooding an area fed by four rivers. The hydroelectric plant now produces more electricity than any other hydropower plant in the Balkans. Moreover, the creation of this clean lake in the Agrafa mountain range enabled noteworthy biodiversity and recognition as a Natura 2000 site. Rare and endangered species such as otters, wolves, cormorants, herons, and eagles are found there.

However, more than fourteen villages, dozens of churches, and a Byzantine monastery built in 830 AD were submerged in the lake’s waters. The submersion of homes and structures of historic and cultural significance should not be forgotten – and it is not. Wall paintings from the monastery are preserved in the Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens, and the Culture & History Center of Evrytania in Karpenissi offers a 3D virtual visit to the monastery.

Moreover, the sunken Byzantine monastery of Panagia (Virgin Mary) Episkopi can occasionally be glimpsed during a visit to Lake Kremasta. It lies 70 meters below the surface, surrounded by ancient olive trees. One of Panagiotis Makris’s Lake Tours itineraries takes visitors above the monastery, as well as approaching a waterfall and the Episkopi bridge – the fourth largest bridge in Greece, which was named after one of the villages that was lost in the waters of the lake.

The historic single-arch stone Bridge of Manolis (or Manolis Bridge), built in 1659, served as the only link between the banks of the Agrafiotis River for over 300 years. Then it was largely submerged by the lake. Now, the bridge is mostly or completely hidden in the water during the winter and “reborn” in the summer. It can be visited by boat during high water and by car, bike, or hiking when the water level is low.

How a Young Entrepreneur is Using Lake Kremasta Tourism to Revitalize a Region

Half a century after its creation, as young people left for big cities and villages shrank, Panagiotis Makris believed the economic opportunities the lake offered his rural area needed to be developed. He had a vision for Lake Kremasta tourism that could bring the highland villages of Evrytania the jobs required to convince young residents to stay.

Since he returned to his native region after graduating from college in 2016, this energetic young man has been implementing business plans designed to attract tourists to the land he loves, revitalizing the regional economy. In 2021, he established his Lake Tours business to highlight the breathtaking scenery and fascinating true stories of Lake Kremasta. He also set up a travel agency and a souvenir shop.

Friends and partners are opening the new Lake Kremasta Hotel above the lake, with amazing views of 365 sunsets per year, just ten minutes from his dock. By summer, a lakeside bike path should be ready for mountain biking from the hotel to Manolis Bridge. There are also five tavernas in the area, with views of the lake.

Makris has planned a new 3-day, 2-night circular tour itinerary in a Mercedes minibus that starts from Athens or its airport, heads to Lamia, Karpenissi, Lake Kremasta, Agrafa, Agrinio, and the impressive Rio-Antirrio Bridge at Patras, and then returns to Athens in a big circle (or the other way around).

With connections to travel agencies in many Greek cities, Makris welcomes visitors from all over Greece, as well as four continents. He is determined to change Lake Kremasta’s status as a hidden gem.

Planting Gold: Growing Olives in High-Altitude Groves Around Lake Kremasta

Once upon a time, Makris’s equally determined great grandfather decided to grow gold there. He convinced schoolchildren to bring wild olive trees down from the mountains, for ten drachmas per tree. Then he planted those trees in the family’s groves. When asked what he was up to, Makris’s great grandfather said he was “planting gold.” The villagers laughed and called him crazy.

Nevertheless, today organically grown olives from those trees are used to produce high quality Alpha Kivos brand early harvest extra virgin olive oil – Greece’s liquid gold – in the family’s mill. The mill’s up-to-date machinery serves olive farmers from farms around the lake, at 300 meters to 700 meters altitude. Cold, snowy winters, wind, and sun keep the olives clean and healthy, supporting the creation of flavorful extra virgin olive oil.

Visitors are welcome at the mill. There is a balcony suitable for lake-view cookouts outside it, and Makris plans to build a gastronomy tourism room near the mill for wine and olive oil tasting and local food pairing events.

A village grandfather has already set up a small, hand-operated traditional stone olive mill nearby that demonstrates the old-fashioned olive oil production method for tourists. Makris will also offer an exploration of the ruins of an old-fashioned olive mill near the lake. Lake Kremasta’s potential for agrotourism and food tourism offerings appears as vast as the view of the forested slopes and rocky summits that rise around it.

Lake Kremasta Tourism, so Highland Villages Can Survive

Why is Makris going to so much trouble? He told Greek Liquid Gold he is devoting so much energy and time to setting up agrotourism businesses around Lake Kremasta “because my vision was to develop my area in the heart of Greece, up in the mountains.” He decided that “a good, green way to develop it” was by connecting the scenic peaks, rivers, lake, nature, and local history.

Makris reveals that nine tenths of the people around him say he may as well leave the area, as so many of the educated young people do. But he listens to the tenth who encourage him and believe in him, giving him strength and courage to continue, because he wants other young people to live and thrive around him in the village of Agios Georgios near Lake Kremasta.

Originally published on Greek Liquid Gold: Authentic Extra Virgin Olive Oil (greekliquidgold.com).