Foloi Oak Forest

The Foloi plateau carries one of the largest and best-preserved oak forests in the Balkans, some 33 square kilometres of deciduous Quercus frainetto standing at around 700 metres, a landscape that looks more central European than Greek. Mythology made it the dwelling of the centaurs, and Hercules is said to have fought them here; the name survives in the village of Foloi at the forest's heart. The trees are old and widely spaced, with open grassy floors between them that fill with wildflowers in spring and turn rust and gold in November. Forest roads and marked paths cross the plateau, and the Erymanthos river cuts a gorge along its northern edge with swimming pools in summer. It is protected as a Natura 2000 site and remains almost undeveloped.

What you actually see

• The old oaks - widely spaced deciduous oaks over open grass.
• The plateau paths - walking and cycling tracks through the forest.
• Autumn colour - the rare Greek display of deciduous change in November.
• The Erymanthos gorge - river pools along the forest's northern edge.

When to go

May for wildflowers and green canopy, late October and November for autumn colour, which is unusual enough in Greece to draw visitors from Athens. Summer is shaded and pleasant; winter can be muddy.

Honest expectations

There is little infrastructure: no visitor centre, few signs, and forest roads that vary from good to rutted. The forest reads as scenery rather than as a destination with attractions, and a map or GPS track is useful.

Nearby

Ancient Olympia lies twenty minutes west; the mountain villages of Erymanthos rise to the north.