Azilakodasos

Azilakodasos lies on the northern slopes of the Dikti mountain range, at the foot of Selena, and it's one of the few forests of its kind in the entire Mediterranean. Covering an area of around 2,000 stremmata, it's densely populated with tall trees of the species Quercus ilex—a rare type of tree somewhere between an oak and a holm oak, found in the mountains of Crete and a few Aegean islands.

Locals call the tree "Azilakas", while in the rest of Greece it's known as Ariá or Arios Dryas.

Outside of the Vrachasi region, Azilakas populations can also be found in Rouvas Forest and Georgioupoli. Elsewhere in Greece, a similar forest exists on Ikaria (the Ranti Forest) and in smaller clusters across other Aegean islands.

You can reach the forest on foot through the village of Krasi.

Info: Mountaineering Club of Agios Nikolaos, Photo: Wikipedia