PLASTIRAS LAKE - As If It Had Always Been There

Gazing upon it, you'd think it had always been there. Everything blends so beautifully and harmoniously: the water, the dense vegetation, the picturesque villages, the wild mountains, and their reflections on the still, liquid surface. It's a place that constantly transforms with the seasons, yet always remains enchanting! It is many places in one, each more beautiful than the last! And yet, the lake wasn't always there!

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The Land of Deer

For thousands, for millions of years, it was a "simple" plateau, that of Nevropoli, where deer once roamed ("nevros" means fawn, or the young of the deer), and which patiently awaited its "destiny"! In between, it experienced moments of glory during World War II, when for a year (1943-1944) it served as an Allied airfield, right under the noses of the Nazis. During the day it was covered with "portable" (!) trees, and at night torches lit the landing strip. For the Nevropoli plateau, the fullness of time came when the idea of the lake formed in the mind of a visionary, who came from a nearby village, Morfovouni. As early as the 1920s, the "Black Rider," General and political leader, Nikolaos Plastiras had imagined the lake that would later bear his name. Unfortunately, he did not live to see it, as he died in 1953, six years before the completion of the dam.

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The "Birth" of the Lake

The dam was completed in 1959. The waters flowing down from the surrounding mountains, torrents, streams, and springs that formed the Megdovas River (or Tavropos), began to collect in the Nevropoli basin, until the glistening lake was formed. The locals did not "see" the beauty of the new landscape; they only "saw" the fields they had lost. Most, after mourning their livelihoods, with the compensation money warm in their pockets, headed down to the plains of Karditsa or to Athens. Those who remained continued with their old occupations and sometimes drowned in the lake, mountain people, unfamiliar with the wiles of the water. For about three decades, the place seemed to have sunk into a sweet lethargy.

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The Tourist Boom

Until, timidly, the first visitors began to appear. In the early 1990s, the area's first guesthouse made its appearance, and the rest, more or less, is history. One guesthouse followed another, and a new tavern sprang up in every village, and there it is today, Lake Plastiras, one of the most sought-after travel destinations in the country. It deserves it 100%! An ideal place for those who love the mountains, but also for those who love the water. For those who want moments of relaxation and tranquility, who want to laze on the shores with a fishing rod and daydream for hours. For adventure lovers and sports enthusiasts, those who want to test their endurance in the water, on land, and even in the air. For foodies, for those who love meat, but also for those who love fish. In short, for everyone!