Following a gentle walking signposted path, from the entrance of the Holiday Villas Petrified Forest Guesthouse, one encounters a beautiful natural monument. The fossilized forest of Lefkimi, up to 40 million years old, is of rare beauty and the only one in Europe, whose fossils are scattered in a lush dense forest. The walk will compensate you many times over.
The Petrified Forest of Evros is considered by Greek and foreign scientists as a unique and unrepeatable geological monument and collects rare scientific data. According to recent scientific data, this is the oldest fossil forest in the country, which dates back to 35 to 40 million years with rare Jocain fossils, which add new scientific data on the geohistorical evolution of plants of the past. The appearance of this old flora for the first time in the region, ie in a southern part of the Balkans is of particular interest to the whole of Europe. The uniqueness of the Petrified Forest is characterized by a rare old flora of Spermatophytes, Gymnosperms and Angiosperms trees.
To date, many genera and species have been found that characterize the ancient environment and the climate of the wider area. The most important genera and species that characterize the subtropical zone and are characteristic of the age of 35 to 40 million years are: pteridophytes (fern) and the species Rumohra recentior with a unique appearance in Europe. Ferns indicate swampy environments.
Barefoot conifers, such as pine (Pinus), calochedrus (Calocedrus), Seguoia, Taxodium etc.
Monocotyledonous angiosperms, such as palm trees (Sabal Major, Sabal raphifolia, Dicotyledonous angiosperms, such as the ancestral form of Oak (Eotricobalanus), Sclerotia (Alnus) Beeches (Fagus) Laurels, mainly cinnamon leaves space (Ampelopsis), Maple (Acer) as well as many other species that make up the subtropical flora that grew in the wider area of Evros 35 million years ago.