Livaditis Waterfall

The fall drops around forty metres over a rock lip into a pool in dense beech and pine forest at about 1,300 metres, in the Rhodope range near the Bulgarian border. A short path and a long wooden stairway lead down from the parking area to a viewing platform at the base, where the spray keeps the air cold even in August; the walk takes fifteen to twenty minutes each way, the return being a genuine climb. The surrounding forest belongs to the Rhodope Mountain Range National Park, one of the least populated parts of Greece and home to bears, wolves and rare birds. In winter the fall sometimes freezes into a column of ice, and the road up can be snowbound.

What you actually see

• The forty-metre fall - water dropping into a pool in deep forest.
• The wooden stairway - the built descent to the viewing platform.
• The Rhodope forest - beech and conifer woodland around the gorge.
• The winter ice - the frozen column that forms in cold spells.

When to go

April to June for the strongest flow from snowmelt; autumn for colour in the beech woods. Winter visits are possible when the road is clear and reward with ice formations.

Honest expectations

The stairway is long and the return climb is steep, which surprises visitors who expect a roadside view. There are no facilities beyond a parking area and a seasonal kiosk. The drive from Xanthi takes about an hour on mountain roads.

Nearby

Xanthi's old town lies south; the Frakto virgin forest is further east in the Rhodope.