Xaindou Forest ,Off Road in ice and snow and exploration

Описание: 01.Livaditi Waterfall, central Rodopi
The impressive waterfall of 40 meters belongs to the prefecture of Xanthi and is one of the highest in Macedonia and Thrace. It has a continuous flow and is located in central Rodopi. Specifically, after the village of Livaditis and before the forest village of Erymanthos, there is a dirt road that informs us about the access to it. Its length is 2.2 kilometers and we will have to walk it without a 4x4 car. Then we reach the beginning of the path with characteristic signs at an altitude of 1150 meters, where we begin the descent to the ravine of Stravorema. The route is in a beech forest, while there are often information signs about the flora and fauna of the area. After 20 minutes there is a house and a detour from the path that leads to a point of view to another beautiful waterfall. The continuation takes place on the international path E6 that comes from the village of Livaditis. After another 20 minutes of descent we meet a small church and a bridge in order to cross Stravorema and after a few meters we face the waterfall of Livaditis. The easy route is 1.7 km long.

02.The bridge of Leonidas in Arkoudorema. The traditional bridge with the highest altitude in Greece !!!
It is a single-arched bridge 18 km northeast of the village of Livaditis, in the area of ​​Arkoudorema just above Haidou to the Greek-Bulgarian border, 9 km from the forest village of Erymanthos. It is located at an altitude of 1,240 m and is the highest of any other traditional bridge in Greece.
The bridge of Leonidas is a single-arched bridge and was named after a military commander who lost his life on the spot during the Balkan wars. The bridge of Leonidas was an important focal point in the past. According to the tradition next to the bridge during the Balkan wars 1912-14, a great battle was fought between the Greek army that controlled the area and Bulgarian komitatzides who wanted to occupy the area by founding Komitato. In this fierce battle, the Bulgarians were defeated and expelled from the area, but the leading Greek officer named Leonidas was killed and in his honor this historic bridge bears his name…

3.A unique virgin forest which has been characterized as a "Preserved Monument of Nature", the forest of Haidou, can be found in the Rhodope Mountains in Xanthi.
It is one of the most interesting, from an ecological point of view, forest ecosystem of the area which attracts every year hundreds of visitors from the area but also Greece and abroad, with nature lovers being enchanted by the incomparable beauty of the forest.

In 1989, part of the forest of Haidou (at Tsichla at an altitude of 1,500 meters), due to the presence of undisturbed beech stands and its ecological, botanical and aesthetic value, is designated as a "Preserved Monument of Nature" and is a protected area. To enjoy the pristine forest of Haydou, one must reach the Greek-Bulgarian border, since its highest peak (Gyftokastro, 1,828 meters) is located on the Greek-Bulgarian border.

4.Before the exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey, the settlement was inhabited by exchangeable Muslims. In 1928 Trachoni had 219 inhabitants [3], 196 of whom were Greek refugees [4] from Asia Minor and Pontus.

During World War II the village was evacuated in 1940 and its inhabitants were forced to move further south to Paranesti, but in 1941 they returned to their homes.

The inhabitants of Trachonios actively participated in the National Resistance as members and feeders of the nationalist guerrilla groups of Anton Tsaous. At the beginning of August 1944, the wider area near Trachoni became the scene of a clash between the Bulgarian army and the Greek nationalist guerrillas, as one of the guerrilla headquarters was located nearby. On August 11, Bulgarian forces captured about 30 residents of Trachoni (mostly rebels who had temporarily returned for agricultural work) in a mountainous area near the settlement and then executed them. At the site of the execution there is today a monument with the names of the fallen, as well as a hero in the cemetery of Paranesti [5].