#1 Follow Nestos’ meandering watercourse

If there’s more than one gate leading to Paradise, the Nestos Environmental Train enters one, for sure! It follows the route once taken by the legendary Orient Express taking travellers through the Valley of Nestos River, amid impressive landscapes!

The trip begins at Xanthi town, the train passes by Liveron station, Stavroupoli and ends at Paranesti, Drama. The most picturesque part is the 18km route from Toxotes to Stavroupoli, Xanthi. This is where your trip to the Nestos Straits begins. Nature’s utter tranquillity is broken only by the locomotive’s rhythmic sound. The views are truly overwhelming. Nestos’ sluggish waters create a picture of numerous twists and turns. The river is flanked by precipitous slopes along the way and the railway tracks appear and then disappear from sight, following the watercourse. The train enters and exits dozens of tunnels cut through the rocks, it goes through the dense riverside foliage, and passes by the rocks, trees and sandy banks lining the river. A bit higher from the tracks, there’s a trail hewn into the rocks that crosses one of the country’s most impressive riverside forests.

#2 Cross Vouraikos gorge aboard the rack railway

Vouraikos canyon is a breathtaking destination in Achaia region, ranking high in the list of the must-visit countryside places in Greece. Board the rack railway from Diakofto and follow the beautiful 22-km route, which is included among the most spectacular ones in Europe. You will travel past Zachlorou village towards your destination - Kalavryta town, located at a 750m. elevation.

Steep rocks and successive ravines will make you gasp in awe before their wild beauty. Waterfalls and torrents follow their hasty courses; humid caves with stalactites and stalagmites, lush vegetation and rare plant species create this unique landscape. There are large expanses of lemon and olive trees at the beginning of your journey but …appearances can deceive! The scenery soon changes and -all of a sudden- you’re surrounded by wild nature! You will see successive tunnels and high red-coloured precipices - eroded by the continuous flow of water - rising before you. Elevation increases as the train climbs up the rail tracks and the first cogwheel is engaged so as to offer the locomotive the necessary support.

The journey lasts one hour with an intermediate stop at the Monastery of Mega Spilaio. This awe-inspiring monastery is considered the oldest one in Greece. It lies perched on a perpendicular 120m - high rock face above the steep ravine where Vouraikos River flows.

#3 Discover the mountain of the mythical Centaurs

Each year, from spring to early autumn, an extra activity is added to the wide variety of things to do on Mt Pelion. It’s about riding Moutzouris, a picturesque tourist train that climbs the mountainside on a set of tracks that are among the narrowest in the world.

The point of departure is Ano Lechonia, there’s an intermediate stop at Ano Gatzea village and the destination is Milies village. It’s a 15km journey each way, through a beautiful countryside and great man-made structures. Moutzouris’ vapour-driven engine tows four wooden wagons that travel by wooded slopes or cross more than twelve stone-built and iron bridges.

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(Content and images source: VisitGreece)