Lailias
The forest of Lailias, located 25 km from the city of Serres, in the Vrondous mountain range, is a magnificent location with a high aesthetics and a unique natural beauty. It is a tall forest of beech and pine trees with an area of 33,000 acres. It is a mountainous complex with a higher peak of 1850 meters, with a forest cover of 83% and a road network of about 110 kilometers.
The Lailias forest is linked to a thousand traditions and stories. For the first time the name “Lailias”, which is a paraphrase of the Turkish word Yiailias, is referred in the “Chronicle of the Pope-Synodinos” in 1603-1604. The meaning of the name Yiailias was a place of revelry, recreation and holiday. Although the existing historical data on the Vrondous mountain complex, which includes the Lailias forest, are not able to highlight the complete historical development of the area, they testify that this area was not an independent mountainous part cut off from the human activities of the neighboring valley of Serres, which was particularly intense from ancient times.
It is reported that during the Ottoman domination there were summer residences in this area where the Turkish Beys sent their harems for holidays.
Shortly afterwards, the citizens of Serres created a picturesque village in Lailia, making it a remarkable resort. The World War II, however, despised everything. Visitors’ greatest interest is the huge cliff of Katingka located on the edge of a deep gorge and revives the legend of Katingka, the girl who committed suicide by falling off the rock to avoid a marriage with a muslim.
In the interwar period, the citizens of Serres, in the organized resort they had in the mountains, organized the “antamomata“. The nomadic breeders of Vlachs had settled on the lowest and lighter levels of the forest, building a settlement in which the church was distinguished, made with passion and reverence.
Many are the walkers and athletes who visit the forest during the summer months, culminating in the 15th of August, when folk events are organized.
At the top named “Ali-Mpampas” there is a spring, whose water was used for the preparation of “akane” which is still a traditional local confection.
On the northern side of the peak, in a forest of beech and fir trees at an altitude of 1600 meters, lies the ski center of Lailias, created by the Hellenic Mountaineering Association of Serres, one of the most remarkable ski centers in Greece. It has a basic ski track of about 1,000 meters long and 70 meters wide, which is served by a sliding ski lift and there is also a second track with a greater degree of difficulty. With proper lighting on the track there are also night-time downhills. Τhere are Pan-Hellenic, local and regional downhill and endurance races every year.
Lailias also has a modern ski pavilion-loudge.
The bioclima of the area is temperate and it does not belong to the Mediterranean climate but rather to the climate of the Middle Europe.
In the forest of Lailia there are about 515 taxa, species and lower taxonomic units. Vegetation and sub-vegetation are rich. A palaeontological natural museum of forest vegetation is being developed at the site of “Balta-Tsair“. First people was chronologically found in this area. The site is called “Sphagnon“, it is protected by the Ministry of Agriculture and was declared a preserved natural monument.
In this area is also encountered rare species of flora, while research is carried out on the post-fall progression of the forest. Its fauna is rich and important, while the forest is kept as a saving core with the banning of hunting all the time.
Of the herbivorous mammals, the presence of beetles and hares is intense. Οf the omnivorous species, wild boars are the most important population, while the few brown bears find shelter in the northern sloping part of the forest. The presence of the fox is intense and that of the jackal is more or less moderate. Birds were also observed in the area, while the presence of reptiles is very significant both numerically and in a variety of species. Also, there have been recoreded 63 species of ornithus fauna, of which 10 are protected by a relevant directive of the European Union.
The forest of Lailias with its towering trees, steep ravines, steep and huge rocks, walking trails as well as the comforts of the ski resort and the mountaineering retreat are ideal for tourism in every season.