It is one of the most inaccessible places in Greece and at the same time one of the most impressive natural landscapes. The Fraktos Forest is located in the northeastern part of the Rodopi mountain range, near the border with Bulgaria.
The nearest settlement to the forest is Paranesti, but by “near” we mean 53 difficult kilometres away, full of twists and turns, many of which are on dirt roads that require an off-road vehicle or a pickup truck. Fraktos forest is usually is usually described as “virgin”, which means that it was created, grows and regenerates without any human intervention and evolves according to the laws of nature. And indeed, until the 1970s, when a rudimentary road network began to be built in the area, one could hardly detect a human presence in the 5,892 square metres that now make up the pristine Fraktos forest.
The morphology of the area with the peaks enclosing the forested basin and the only way out to the south is what gave the forest its name, which essentially means blocked. The steep slopes and the geographical location have kept away cattle farmers and loggers and only in recent decades has there been more frequent access to the area.
