Marine National Park

The Marine National Park is located along the southern coast of the island of Zakynthos. It is a large park that in its 13,500 hectares contains several beaches, these are: Marathias, Gerakas, Kalamaki, Laganas, the hinterland of Limni Keri, the small islands of Marathonissi and Pelouso and the Strofadi islands. In fact, the park as a whole is mainly composed of sand, rocks and Mediterranean vegetation, which gives the park a lot of greenery.

Think that we are not talking about a simple Marine Park aimed at attracting visitors, but it is the first natural reserve established in Greece which houses the most important Mediterranean site for the reproduction of turtles. So its relevance is not to be underestimated!

The history and purpose of the Marine Park

The purpose of this beautiful Marine Park is to protect the delicate fauna that inhabits these places, allowing them to reproduce in suitable places without the tourist flow hindering their natural process. The animals we are talking about are creatures loved by all of us, these are: the Caretta Caretta turtles, who go to the beaches of the south coast of Zakynthos every year to reproduce in peace, and the Monachus Monachus seals, which unlike the turtles they prefer reproduce on the west coast of the island.

In addition to protection and safeguard, the aim is also to make society integrate these animals without causing them harm by disturbing their peaceful life.

The park was founded in 1999 and in addition to protecting seals and turtles, it protects the life of many other species, such as: birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals. Of all these, the best known are: flamingos and swans, iguanas, porcupines and rabbits. They are all animals that we love to observe and it is right therefore also to respect them and let them live in their natural habitat, without disturbing them.

What can I admire inside the Marine Park?

In addition to being able to admire the scenic beauty, the fulcrum of the strong tourist flow that there is in Zakynthos, in the Marine Park you can observe up to 1,300 nifidication sites of turtles that are created every year and provide benefits from an environmental and wildlife point of view.
Just think that this species is on the verge of extinction throughout the Mediterranean, especially in the Italian seas. Seeing them so safe, free to enjoy their quiet life, makes every visitor who observes them feel a strong emotion; a mixture of joy, satisfaction and sadness, which leaves a strong mark.

But the park also offers more, if you move to the bay of Laganas you can fall in love with the nice and sweet seals. Unfortunately, they too are endangered all over the world. But here you can watch them play together and doze on the beach or on the rocks, a simple natural wonder!

This park allows a peaceful coexistence of protected species and tourism, which, even if occasionally does some damage, still allows significant economic income, especially in an island like Zakynthos. All this is made possible by the hard work of the staff, who carry out the profession with great seriousness, always keeping in mind the delicacy of the matter. The most important thing to do is to ensure that all visitors to the park respect the simple current rules, to make you understand the ease of these we report one of them: it is absolutely forbidden, at night, to go to the beaches that host the nests of the animals .

With these principles you can safely continue to observe the species and at the same time the same species will be able to observe you and continue to live their day without being threatened by the terrible extinction!