Parnitha

Parnitha National Park was established in 1961 and protects some 38 km² of the massif of the same name, the highest mountain in Attica, barely an hour north of Athens. That proximity makes it the reference natural area for the capital's population and one of the most visited Greek parks.

The vegetation combines Cephalonian fir woods at the higher altitudes with pine woods and Mediterranean scrub below, and the massif is riddled with several cave systems, among them the Cave of Pan and the Cave of the Nymphs, both with ritual use documented in antiquity. It is also a destination for walking, climbing, cycling and canyoning.

Its most emblematic animal is the red deer, whose Attic population, considered of special genetic value, has its last stronghold here. In June 2007 a great fire destroyed much of the park's fir wood, around a third of its forest area, in one of the most remembered environmental disasters in Greece; the recovery of the fir is slow and restoration is still under way. As in other Greek parks of its generation, telecommunications towers were installed inside the protected area without an environmental impact assessment.