Photo: Huskarl2000 · Public domain
Photo: Xrisavgi · CC BY-SA 4.0
Gialova Lagoon, also known as Divari, a name from the Latin word for a fishery, is a brackish lagoon in the municipality of Pylos-Nestor in Messinia, north of Pylos and near the village of Gialova. Together with Voidokilia Bay it forms a unique ecosystem that is a protected zone for both its natural and its cultural heritage. It is a habitat for wildlife, above all for migratory birds, which stop here first on their way from Africa to northern Europe, and for the African chameleon, a species threatened with extinction.
History
Around the lagoon lie the tomb of Thrasymedes, the remains of Classical Pylos, the castle of Paleokastro and the Cave of Nestor, linked with the legendary kingdom of Nestor. The Hellenic Ornithological Society has run protection and monitoring programmes here since 1997.
Nature
Brackish lagoons and freshwater marshes run from Gialova village to Voidokilia Bay, with sand dunes near the bay. It is one of the most important wetlands in the Peloponnese and part of the Natura 2000 network. More than 270 bird species are recorded, including herons, flamingos, ospreys, stilts, avocets, snipe, curlews and terns.
Visit
Getting there
Nearest settlement: Gialova
Swimming
No reliable information
Tips
The lagoon is about 8 km north of Pylos, and birdwatchers have two closed hides, one on the way to the lagoon and one at Voidokilia, and a high open-air one in the lagoon. September to May is the best period, with autumn and spring for migrants and winter for eagles, herons and bitterns. You can walk around the lagoon, about 6–7 km, past Voidokilia beach, though the riverside path can be partly flooded.
Voidokilia is a nearly semicircular beach of fine pale sand, free to enter; the last approach is a sandy dirt road where low cars can get stuck near the dunes, and in summer you should arrive early. Paleokastro, the old Navarino castle, looks over the lagoon and beach, and the Cave of Nestor is reached by a hiking trail.
Nearby lakes
Show on mapPhoto: Huskarl2000 · Public domain
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Sources & data
- Greece's 2022 Water Framework Directive reporting to the EEA: lake (LW) and transitional (TW) water bodies, field cArea, European Environment Agency (WISE WFD), reported by Greece, 2022
- OpenStreetMap: Λιμνοθάλασσα Γιάλοβας (way 146968279), OpenStreetMap contributors
- English Wikipedia: Gialova Lagoon, Wikimedia Foundation
- Wikidata: Gialova Lagoon (Q24910881), Wikimedia Foundation
- Gialova Lagoon, Visit Peloponnese
- Birding places: Gialova Lagoon, Birdingplaces.eu
- Where the wetland meets one of the most beautiful beaches in Greece, Greek National Tourism Organisation
- Gialova Lagoon, All Over Greece