Orini Nafpaktia - Mountains, Jazz, and Chestnuts | Greece Travels
Orini Nafpaktia is the mountainous area behind the coastal town of Nafpaktos in Greece. It is an ideal place to visit for outdoor lovers, with boundless opportunities for hiking, mountain biking, kayaking and more. My recent visit was a little more sedate though - I went chestnut picking! Read on to find out more.
Key takeaways
- Orini Nafpaktia: green mountain area behind Nafpaktos, ideal for hiking, mountain biking, kayaking.
- Month-long autumn festival: jazz bands play in chestnut forests every Saturday in October.
- Chestnut picking season peaks in October; try the local chestnut soup at festival food stalls.
- Crystal Mountain Hotel and local businesses organise the festival with horse rides and activities.
- Worth adding to a Greek mainland road trip; car hire available in Nafpaktos town.
Checking out the view of the mountains from Ta Petrina.
A Taste of Orini Nafpaktia
On a recent weekend break in Nafpaktos organised by Go Nafpaktia, we spent a day driving through the mountainous Orini Nafpaktia area. You can check out more in things to do in Nafpaktos.
This area is quite unique, mainly due to how green it seemed, especially in autumn. Many people head here to take part in outdoor activities.
This wasn't on our agenda, although driving through the area, I made a mental note to plan a cycling trip in the future.
I also added it as one of the places you should include during a road trip in Greece.
And I found this weird looking mushroom on the way. Any idea what it is?
Orini Nafpaktia is also well known for its abundance of chestnut trees. Our visit coincided quite nicely with not only the ideal time to pick chestnuts, but also a chestnut picking festival, involving jazz music and awesome local food. Sounds good? It was! Let me share some of it below.
Jazz and Chestnuts in Orini Nafpaktia
I am led to believe that each year, Crystal Mountain Hotel and several other hotels and businesses in Orini Nafpaktia organise a month long festival. On each Saturday in October, different musical acts will play at different venues, and numerous activities take place.
During my visit, a jazz band were playing in the setting of a chestnut forest. Listening to the talented band play jazz versions of popular music, whilst people enjoyed horse rides and picked chestnuts was pretty special!
There was also a selection of traditional food to choose from. The chestnut soup was incredible!
Picking chestnuts in the forest. No, these are not my nails!
Thank you once again Go Nafpaktia for organising the trip, and also to Avance Car Rental in Nafpaktos for providing transport during our stay. I look forward to returning to Orini Nafpaktia soon, and exploring more of the area on my bicycle!
Further Reading
- Best time to visit Greece
- Planning a winter road trip in Greece
- 9 Reasons Why Long Term Travel Is Cheaper Than Regular Vacations
- How to plan a Workation – Tips For Perfecting Work Life Balance
- Armchair Travel: How To Virtually Explore The World
- Athens (The city I live in!)
- The Greek Islands (Over 230 inhabited, and thousands of smaller ones!)
- 10 Largest Greek islands
- The Peloponnese (An area rich in beauty, history and culture)
- Meteora (Such a fascinating landscape!)
- Thessaloniki – (The second biggest city in Greece)
Dave is a UK travel writer living in Athens since 2015. With 20 years of firsthand travel experience and over 80,000 km of bicycle touring across six continents, he's been blogging at Dave's Travel Pages since 2005. Every guide is based on places he's actually been.
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