Varvara

Built at an altitude of 550 m., between the rises of Dreveniko and Sougliani, in a forest that covers more than 22,200 acres, is the village of Varvara. The name comes from its patron saint, Agia Varvara, in whose honor the village’s main church was erected in 1875; or, according to the local lore, to an old queen of the region.

Varvara is 20 km. from Arnaia and 91 km from Thessaloniki. Visitors will be enchanted by the lively neighborhoods with the narrow cobblestoned streets, the many streams and fountains, and the two waterfalls inside the forest, towards Olympiada. It is an ideal destination at any time of year, with amazing snowy landscapes in the winter and verdant green mountains providing cooling shade in the summer. The village also offers excellent views of Mount Strymoniko and Lake Volvi.

Every year on the last weekend in July or the first of August, the village is inundated with people who come to attend the “Varvara Festival”. It is a volunteer effort by the local residents already in its 20th year, that offers visitors the opportunity to see their favorite artists and to rediscover life in nature by taking long hikes on unique routes through the forest – and for the bravest among them, by free camping in nature’s vast kingdom.