Photo: C messier · CC BY-SA 3.0
Lake Kremasta is the largest artificial lake in Greece. The Kremasta dam, completed in 1965, gathers the waters of four rivers, the Acheloos, Agrafiotis, Tavropos and Trikeriotis, and its power station is the biggest hydroelectric plant in Greece. The lake supplies electricity at times of high demand and keeps the Acheloos from flooding. It lies on the border of Aetolia-Acarnania and Evrytania, where the water has crept up the river beds to form many fjord-like arms and small islands, with bridges at Tatarna and Episkopi.
History
This area was once Evrytania’s only lowland, home to about 2,000 people. The rising water submerged villages, fields and monuments, including the 8th-century Byzantine monastery of Episkopi, and most residents left. The single-arch stone Manolis Bridge of 1659, for three centuries the only link across the Agrafiotis, is partly submerged or fully visible depending on the water level. The 12th-century Tatarna monastery, just north of the lake, is still there to visit.
Nature
The lake is part of the Natura 2000 network, and it is known for its clean water. Herons, cormorants, hawks and golden eagles live around it, with otters along the shore and wolves and wild boar in the mountains. Sturgeon, chub, eels, catfish and carp live in the water.
Gallery
Photo: C messier · CC BY-SA 3.0
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Visit
Swimming
No reliable information
Tips
Karpenisi and Agrinio are less than two hours away by car, and Athens about five. Buses are few, so a car is the usual way. The winding roads around the lake give fine views, and you can cross it by the Episkopi Bridge, about 600 m long, and the Tatarna Bridge. The Monastery of Panagia Prousiotissa, on the cliffs of Prousos, is worth the detour.
Boat tours for groups leave from a dock near Agios Georgios, passing small islands and fjord-like inlets on the way to a waterfall, a plane forest, a trout farm, the dam and old bridges, and there are fishing trips too. Canoes and kayaks are available through local companies. Rooms can be found at Neochori and elsewhere around the lake.
Nearby lakes
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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: Τεχνητή Λίμνη Κρεμαστών (relation 36275), OpenStreetMap contributors
- Wikidata: Kremasta lake (Q926593), Wikimedia Foundation
- English Wikipedia: Kremasta (lake), Wikimedia Foundation
- A watery wonder in the mountains of Evrytania, Visit Greece
- Kremasta Lake, Travelfind Evrytania
- Greece’s largest artificial lake, Islands
- Lake Kremasta tourism innovator revives Greek alpine escape (2026), Greek Reporter