Visitors may find it difficult to separate myth from experience during a trek in the plateau of Pholoe-Kapeli; the setting of the forest is so atmospheric that the Ancient Greeks came up with the myth of the Dryads, fairies who inhabited the trees and gave them life.
The density and variety of vegetation, combined with the difficulty of access to many of its parts, make the forest an ideal habitat for numerous animal species. The abundance of fallen acorns sustains substantial populations of small mammals, like squirrels and hedgehogs, which are a rather common sight among the ferns and asphodels adorning the oak trunks.
Animal breeding is the main occupation in the areas bordering the forest; the wealth of local flora results in top-quality meat and milk, used by small dairy farms to produce a variety of delicious white cheeses.Thecomposition of the soil isgreat for cherry and walnut trees, as well as vines. Local honey, enriched with the aromas of chestnut and oak flower pollen, has a particularly full flavour and a bright brown colour.
