Angelochori Lagoon

Directions

Λιμνοθάλασσα Αλυκής Αγγελοχωρίου

The Angelochori lagoon is a very shallow, roughly square lagoon on the Thermaikos Gulf, about 1 km south-west of the seaside village of Angelochori and some 30 km from Thessaloniki. A narrow sandy strip separates it from the sea, salt marshes join it, and reeds, sea lilies, rushes and asphodels line its shores. It is part of the Natura 2000 network.

History

Salt pans in the northern part, artificial but now part of the landscape, were working by 1902. Until the 1970s the salt was dug with axes and shovels and carried away on horseback. The Keeper’s House, built in the 1950s to guard against theft of salt, was abandoned in 1992 and now hosts cultural events run by a local association.

Nature

About 178 bird species live in or pass through the area, using it as a stopover and feeding ground. Flamingos are the highlight, in their greatest numbers in winter, and there are also collared pratincoles, glossy ibises, black-winged stilts, avocets and spoonbills. Meadows of protected Posidonia seagrass cover the bottom and shelter the endangered pen shell, at least 12 kinds of fish live in the water, and badgers, hedgehogs and green toads live on the shore.

Visit

Swimming

No reliable information

Tips

The lagoon makes an easy day trip from Thessaloniki, and buses run to the village. You can come all year, weather permitting, and winter is best for flamingos. The sandy village beach is busy in summer and also draws surfers. Fishing for pen shells is strictly prohibited.

Nearby stand a 19th-century lighthouse on Cape Megalo Karampournou, a listed industrial monument, and an Austro-Ottoman fort of 1883–1885 that was never used. A German bunker of the Second World War can also be entered, but its underground tunnels and openings are off limits for safety.