Zakynthos
Zakynthos is a national park in Greece, founded in 1999 on an area of 407 km2 on the Ionian island of Zakynthos. It is believed that the name of the island means “Levantine flower”; according to another version, the name comes from the name of the son of Dardanus, who in turn was the son of Zeus. The Zakynthos park itself was organized to save the turtles that lay eggs on the island.
On the territory of Zakynthos there are many plantations with olives, grapes, and citrus fruits. Agriculture is very important for the island, but tourism brings the most income to the island, because there are many beaches around the island, and historical monuments in the interior of the island. In the village of Volimes, a Venetian tower with ancient churches, the walls of which are decorated with frescoes painted in the 11th-14th centuries, has survived to this day. In the island's capital, Zakynthos, you can find a defensive fortress, which was also built by the Venetians. But what attracts tourists most of all is the stunningly beautiful Navageo Bay. In the sea you can see turtles, dolphins, on land there are iguanas and many birds.
There is a legend that the gods Apollo and Artemis chose the island of Zakynthos for a joint holiday. And it was not for nothing that they chose the island. Zakynthos has a mild climate, lush vegetation, blue sea, and amazing caves. In ancient times, the island was part of the kingdom of Odysseus. The island is famous as the birthplace of the Greek poets Dionysus Solomos, Ungo Foskolos, Xenopoulos.
Tourists have something to do in their free time; they can go diving, fishing, windsurfing, ride a bicycle or ride a jeep. In the southern parts of the island of Zakynthos there is the main part of the nightlife and restaurants where you can taste the local cuisine.
It is worth considering that the national park has its own rules of conduct on the beach, aimed at preserving turtles. At night, it is prohibited to make fires on the beaches, a resting place must be placed no further than 10 meters from the shore, then there may be clutches of turtle eggs, for the same reason it is forbidden to drive cars and bicycles on the beach, you can only build sand castles near the water.
