Oak Forest

On Agios Efstratios, despite the island’s sparse vegetation today, there is one of the largest valonia oak forests in the Aegean, spreading over 1,000 stremmas. The forest, which includes centuries-old trees, starts at Avlakia in the north and reaches as far as Alonitsi Beach to the east, creating a rare habitat where oaks extend right down to the coast, even on cliffs. In the past, the oaks had great economic importance for the island’s inhabitants, as acorns were a significant commercial product and a key raw material for tanning.