Lake Kremasta

Kremasta was created in 1965 when the Acheloos was dammed near Kastraki, flooding the valleys where four rivers meet and forming a lake of about 80 square kilometres with a coastline so indented it looks like a drowned mountain range, which is exactly what it is. Villages were relocated and their churches now stand on peninsulas or, when the water is low, emerge from it. The lake is crossed by the Episkopi and Tatarna bridges, high concrete spans over deep blue water, and the monastery of Tatarna sits above one of them, rebuilt after the flooding. Fishing boats work the water, and the roads that follow the shore wind for hours through fir and oak with almost no traffic. Water levels swing widely between spring and late summer.

What you actually see

• The high bridges - Episkopi and Tatarna spanning deep arms of the lake.
• Tatarna Monastery - a rebuilt monastery above the water.
• The drowned valleys - a branching shoreline of flooded river beds.
• The shore roads - long, empty mountain drives around the arms.

When to go

Spring, when the lake is full and the hills are green; autumn for colour and clear light. By late summer the level can drop many metres, exposing bare banks and old foundations.

Honest expectations

There is almost no tourist infrastructure: few places to stay or eat, no organised boat trips in most seasons, and long slow drives between points. Swimming is possible but access to the water is awkward from steep banks.

Nearby

Karpenisi and Evrytania lie east; Agrinio and Lake Trichonida are south.