Lake Kaiafa

This lake is south of Pyrgos on the west coast of the Peloponnese. Fed by hot springs, it has quite extensive sand dunes with patches of pine woods, and a river mouth nearby. One of the most unspoilt large beaches in Greece is just to the north of it along the Kiparissiakos Gulf, north of Zakharo. There are many flowers in the limestone cliffs above the lake; the water from the hot springs (on the east side) are good habitat for many invertebrates and also a feeding area for bats that roost in nearby caves. Rock nuthatches nest on the cliff, and other birds, including the blue rock thrush, breed in the scrub and rocks higher up. The lake has some reed beds, but is mostly open water, with dragonflies, frogs, various kinds of warblers, little grebe, mallard, coot, and other birds and ducks. Golden orioles are among the passage birds here, and hoopoes breed nearby. Therre are dunes and sandy beach west of the road and railway tracks. The beach has a good range of flowers on the dunes; the pines include both Aleppo and umbrella pine. There are more birds, reptiles and amphibians at the river estuary. There are butterflies, but no unusual species.