Discover the remnants of an ancient ecosystem that once flourished on Lesvos and now constitutes one of the largest petrified forests in the world.

The mind boggles at the age of the Petrified Forest of Lesvos. Frozen in time after volcanic ash rained down on this part of the North Aegean up to 20 million years ago are the remnants of the trunks, branches, roots, leaves, seeds and even some animals that once flourished within an ancient forest and have now been fossilized in what today constitutes a veritable monument of nature. It’s been called “the Pompeii of the plant world” and is part of UNESCO’s World Geoparks Network.

Central to understanding this astonishing legacy is to visit the forest’s excellent Natural History Museum, just outside the town of Sigri. The museum is literally built around a number of fossilised tree trunks, lying exactly where they fell millions of years ago.

From here you can explore further afield, with a newfound appreciation for these relics of nature, whose colours (red, yellow, green and chestnut) are so striking against the volcanic ash-coloured rocks around them.
source : https://www.discovergreece.com/