A STONE GARDEN IN THE FOREST
Valvousi is a mountainous landscape, developed within Cretaceous, middle to thick platted grey limestones of Gavrovo-Tripolis Zone. These limestones are fragmented because of joints and faults. They present typical surface karst formations covered with rich vegetation (karst=a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks by water).
Geodiversity
The landscape presents small scale dissolution sculpturing phenomena because of rain water like small surface pits that are covered by soil. The top of the limestone blocks are rounded, which denotes dissolution of limestone under soil horizons. Moreover, solution flutes can be found (small channels in inclined limestone surfaces).
In the middle scale, limestone pavements (flat or almost flat exposed limestone surfaces that bear hollow grooves (grikes) which are separated by ridges called clints and which are owed to cracks or joints soluted by acidulated water).
The surface karstic geomorphological features that are observed in this area are connected to other middle or large scale karstic features that can be found in the geoparks’ area like the karstic cave of the lakes and the karstic spring in Kerammidaki.
Valvousi Geosite lies on the Kalavryta-Ski center-Kato Loussoi georoute, which has a length of 8,5 km.
Biodiversity
The Geosite is located within the Protected Area “AISTHITIKO DASOS KALAVRYTON” (GR2320004) and the Special Protection Area (SPA) for avifauna “OROS CHELMOS (AROANIA)-FARANGI VOURAIKOU KAI PERIOCHI KALAVRYTON” (GR2320013) of the Natura 2000 network. The vegetation of the area is mainly characterized by Abies cephalonica forests and the avifauna includes birds such as the Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), and the Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo).
Along the route, remarkable is the presence of some centuries-old individuals of sweet chestnut. Sweet chestnut is a deciduous tree with dense spherical foliage and a height of up to 30 m.
