Aegean, Nature and Hiking for Island Hoppers

Description:

The Aegean – the island world of the Greeks – is a source of particular fascination: sun and sea, natural environment and culture, entertainment and Greek hospitality. Over the last few years the number of people who go hiking on the Aegean islands has grown steadily. Kalderimia and Monopatia are increasingly being designated as hiking paths and the volume of literature about them is increasing. A hiking holiday in the Aegean is particularly attractive when it involves ‘island-hopping’; this offers the opportunity to get to know the islands, each of them stamped with its own unique character, and to enjoy their infinite variety. This roaming lifestyle is the subject of “Aegean – Nature and hiking for island-hoppers”, which describes a total of 48 selected routes on 16 Aegean islands. The main purpose of this book is to draw the attention to the diversity of plants and animals. The biodiversity of the Aegean islands is particularly rich: circum-mediterranean representatives meet with species which originate from the Balkans and the Near East, and their number is further enhanced through numerous endemic species which developed in isolation after the Ice Age. However, only a small fraction of the several thousands of these species can be introduced through illustrations and notes. Ecological cohesions in typical Mediterranean habitats, the interesting behaviour of animals, the importance of some plants for Man, and traces of old agricultural practices constitute the reading material for a holiday of discovery, hiking or walking through the natural landscape