Ainos

Ainos National Park was established in 1962 on the island of Kefalonia, in the Ionian archipelago, and protects some 29 km² around Mount Ainos, the highest summit in the Ionian Islands at about 1,628 metres. From its top, on clear days, Ithaca, Lefkada, Zakynthos and the north-west of the Peloponnese can be seen.

Its raison d'être is botanical: the massif holds the most extensive and representative forest of Cephalonian fir (Abies cephalonica) in existence. It is a species endemic to Greece that here forms pure stands of a very dark shade, to the point that the Venetians called the mountain Monte Negro. It is accompanied by black pine and a Mediterranean understorey with species endemic to the island.

The wildlife includes a population of semi-wild horses that graze on the south-eastern flank of the mountain and have become one of the park's attractions, as well as martens, other mustelids and a community of birds of prey. The massif is crossed by several paths, among them the Digaleto trail, and it preserves seasonal pools and caves. As in other Greek parks of that generation, telecommunications towers were installed inside the protected area without an environmental impact assessment.