For those who enjoy tranquillity and a wide range of landscapes, Skopelos is an idyll. It is criss- crossed by a network of mule tracks and goat paths, which pass through dense pine forests, through olive groves where herds of goats graze, and tiny hamlets with picturesque country cottages. Along the way there are numerous wayside springs where you can quench your thirst.
For those interested in botany, the island boasts a huge range of flowers, trees and shrubs- around 700 species in total -providing colour and wonderful scents throughout the year. Around 67% of the island is covered by woodland: unlike the Cycladic islands, the Sporades are extremely green islands. Skopelos has vast tracts of pine forests, whose scent fills the air, and whose resin is collected and used to flavour one of Greece's most famous products, retsina. The island has orchards of plum, almond and pear trees, olive and citrus groves, and small vineyards which still produce the once famous and abundant local wine.
If you are interested in wildflowers, its well worth visiting in April and early May as you will see a wide variety, including poppies, anemones, irises, convulvulus, freesias, and gladioli.
Skopelos also has a wide variety of fauna, including around 66 species of wild birds, native and migratory. There are several kinds of birds of prey: most common are the Eleonora Falcons, and the Scops owl, but you may also be lucky enough to see kestrels, eagles, vultures and buzzards. Along the coastlines, you can see herons, kingfishers, cormorants and gulls. Apart from birds, there are a large variety of butterflies, lizards, frogs, hares, ferrets, tortoises, hedgehogs, bats and snakes. Most of the snakes are not poisonous; only the viper poses a real danger-but as with most snakes, this is only when it is disturbed or provoked.
