Mavrosouvalas Public Forest (Markopoulou – Oropou – Kalamou)

The forest of Mavrosouvala is located in a hilly area, at the entrance of a small canyon, north of Malakasa on the borders of the Municipalities of Markopoulos-Mesogaia and Oropos. It has an average altitude of 170m and is about 42 km from Athens. It used to be a dense pine forest, part of the forest of the wider area of Oropos. But the fires of recent years destroyed most of it, depriving the area of a natural paradise. Of course, nature knows how to cope and a fairly large part of the burned areas has been reforested. An area of 905 hectares is protected as a wildlife sanctuary. South of the settlement and in a fairly wooded area, in a small canyon with a NW direction, there is a corroded semi-cave formation, of impressive size, the ""Red Cliff"". This particular rock was ""discovered"" relatively recently and is used as a sport climbing field, of great importance to the climbing community. It is characterized by its relatively high height, its reddish color, the texture and purity of the rock and its negative slope. More than 20 routes have been opened, ranging from high to very high difficulty, meaning it is a field suitable for climbers capable of performing routes of a corresponding level. In the same area further north, Lake Mavrosouvala is a literal paradise on earth less than 1 hour from the center of Athens. A small natural lake of truly amazing natural beauty (one of the two natural lakes of Attica along with that of Vouliagmeni) that could easily be described as Alpine beauty, literally changes the map of Attica as it is another attraction and destination in the country. The area is suitable not only for climbing enthusiasts but also for hiking.