Γεωπάρκο Κεφαλονιάς - Ιθάκης

Kefalonia-Ithaca UNESCO Global Geopark

The Kefalonia-Ithaca UNESCO Global Geopark is located on the islands Kefalonia and Ithaca, which are part of the Heptanese or Ionic islands. The main topic of this geopark is the karst on both islands.

Due to the subduction of the African Plate under the Eurasian Plate there are numerous tectonic influences on the area of the Mediterranean. The main movement is obviously the formation of the Alps, but also the Dinarides and other mountain ridges. Here is the mountain chain named the Hellenic arc, because it is shaped like an arc. The colliding plates, in this cave Ionian zone and the Pre-Apulian zone, caused a zone of intense tectonic activity. The Upper Cretaceous limestones are heavily fractured which allowed meteoric water to enter the cracks and is the reason for the heavy karstification.

The geopark is managed by the Natural Environment and Climate Change Agency (N.E.C.C.A.). They also manage the Εθνικού Δρυμού Αίνου (Aenos National Park), the smallest National Park in Greece with an area of 28,620 ha. It was created in 1962 with the main purpose to protect the forest of the Kefalonian Fir (Abies cephalonica Loudon). The Kefalonian Fir was first described by the English Botanist John Claudius Loudon in 1838.

The main center of the geopark is the Περιβαλλοντικό Κέντρο Αίνου (Aenos Environmental Center) which is located in the core of the National Park, on a hill about 5 km east of Kefalonia. From Keafalonia follow E050, turn right on the road to Pyrgi, on the pass there is a small chapel, turn right on a single lane road. This road leads to various buildings on hills, like a satellite station and the Eudoxus Observatory. The museum is one of those buildings. The road follows the mountain ridge at a height of about 1,400 m asl, and finally descends on the eastern end to Valerianos.