Well, there are pine forests, spruce forests and surprisingly there are… petrified forests! The magnificent, unworldly Petrified Forest of Lesvos can be explained as the remains of a wicked witch’s spell cast over the island of Lesvos. Scientists, however, have come up with a different explanation; it is the witness of the volcanic activity that took place on the island some 20 million years ago, at a time when hot lava covered the forested regions, transforming all organic plant matter into stone.

One of the most fascinating and rare monuments of geological heritage in the world, the Petrified Forest is a vast area featuring hundreds of lying and standing fossilized tree trunks. All fossils are in an excellent state of preservation, adding to the site’s immense geological and paleontological value. The unique displays of Protopinaceae, ancestors of the modern-day pine tree, are simply enthralling. Most of the fossilized trunks belong to the Taxodiaceae, forerunners of the present-day Californian sequoia tree. The largest lying coniferous trunk (longer than 20 meters) and the large standing sequoia trunks make size almost as impressive as age.

The trails carved on the entire mountainside allow visitors to explore and discover the incredible fossils scattered all over the place. As one wanders around this peculiar park, he or she embarks on a unique journey into the uttermost past. The question of time inevitably crosses one’s mind; our lives seem so trivial and ephemeral compared to the endless sense of time that’s infused in the air…

By: Tina Kontogiannopoulos