About Lesvos

Having visited the island of Lesvos for a number of years, and at different times, we thought a personal site of our trip records would help visitors who have not yet experienced this beautiful island to see what they are missing, but would also remind those who have visited of some of the more memorable sites and sounds.

For those who have not visited the island we would strongly recommend acquiring a copy of the following to aid your trip planning:

Birding on the Greek Island of Lesvos - Richard Brooks
Orchids of Lesvos – Brian and Eileen Anderson
Car tours and walks – Sunflower (Brian and Eileen Anderson)
Field Guide to Orchids of Britain and Europe – Karl Peter Butler

The island is deceptively large, and although the road network is continuously being improved you can find yourself spending a great deal of time driving from one site to another, so having a couple of plans is a good idea. The daily report books in the Malemi and Skala Kalloni II hotels can help tremendously if checked out the previous evening to plan your following day. We have seen many a stressed birdwatcher driving off in a cloud of dust when they find out that a particular bird has turned up on the opposite side of the island!

We tend to enjoy visiting a few favourite sites, and make a day of them, however if the weather gets warm early in the morning and later in the evening can be most productive, so perhaps looking for other wildlife during the middle of the day can productively help pass the time. We also like to find areas that are not so much on the main visitors trail, and finding your own nesting Kruper’s Nuthatch with more or less no one else around is very enjoyable. 2007 saw the Achladeri site chicks leave the nest in the first days of May, however, we left on the 10th and ours were still being frantically fed, as often as every 3 to 4 minutes at times…

The island has some dramatic scenery, in part due to the huge volcanic eruption there some 20 000 000 years ago. The west of the island is very barren in places, with localised green areas along river valleys, which are usually very bird productive, and this is where the petrified forest can be found (there is even a big piece of tree by the side of the track between Eressos and Sigri) The middle of the island is predominately olive groves and farm land of various uses, and Skala Kalloni makes for a good central location with it’s two rivers and salt pans to hand. The mountains around Agiassos are one of our favourite places, and hold a wonderful selection of flowers and plants including fritillaries and Peonies, but most especially the orchids. But there are also specialised birds there including Bonelli’s Warbler and Hawfinch.

Whatever you are coming to the island for, it holds many surprises, and we hope this site makes you look forward all the more to your visit.

Paul and Vera Manning.