Just Natural Life...
...Greece's only natural flora and fauna park open to visitors...
Located on the northern part of the Ionian island of Zakynthos, “Askos Stone Park” is the place where about 200,000 self-sown plants, bushes and trees, still grow in the same location where they were originally placed by Mother Nature.
Hundreds of animals live free in their natural habitats, including wild hawks, many mammals, various species of birds, amphibians, insects and several species of the local fauna population, including squirrels, chinchillas, small-bodied goats and sheep from Africa, raccoon from North America and many more.
As experience accumulates over time, many trees not native to Zakynthos have been planted in the Park, including apple trees, peach trees etc., which have perfectly adapted to the climatic and geological conditions of the island.
The park area contains several stone structures, including approximately 400 stone walls, old stone-built stables and warehouses, centuries-old basins cut into the rock for water collection and a lot of construction combining stone and wood material, in harmony with the natural environment.
Since it first opened to the public in March 2002, the Park has developed into a carefully protected biotope, where the local fauna finds refuge, with the entire park area enclosed by fences and fully supervised, barring all access to hunters. Due to the lack of running waters in the northern part of Zakynthos, many wild animals find water in the Park during the hot summer months. In the winter, when food becomes scarce for the animal kingdom, many birds are fed along with the park’s resident bird population.
It is with great pleasure and pride that the staff has succeeded in breeding the endangered deer species “platonia” that move about freely about the Park for visitors to watch and enjoy.
Noisy activities, such as taverns with music, are prohibited on the park’s premises, leaving the animals free of interference in their daily life. Fertilizers or other chemicals are not used inside the Park, except for the organic material of the animals themselves, exactly in the way it used to be many years ago.