Varnous or Varnoundas (, also called ''Peristeri'') is a mountain in northern
Florina regional unit,
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, situated between the town of
Florina
Florina (, ''Flórina''; known also by some alternative names) is a town and municipality in the mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'.
The town of Florina is the capital of the Florina regional uni ...
and
Lake Prespa
The Lake Prespa is located on the tripoint of North Macedonia, Albania and Greece. It is a system of two lakes separated by an isthmus: the Great Prespa Lake, divided between the three countries, and the Little Prespa Lake, mostly within Greec ...
, and just south of the border with
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
. Its highest peak, named ''Gkarvani'', is 2,334 m.
[ It is part of the same massif that continues northwards into the Baba mountains in North Macedonia with Mount Pelister (2,601 m) as its highest peak.
Other mountaintops includes Belavoda (''Μπελαβόδα'' - meaning 'white water' in the local Slavic language) at 2,179 m, Kirko (''Κίρκο'') at 2,155 m, Kotsyfa or Potistres (''Κότσυφα'' or ''Ποτίστρες'') at 2,065 m and more.
]
Trails
The E6 European long distance path
The E6 European long distance path or E6 path is one of the European long-distance paths from the northwest tip of Finland through Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Austria to the Adriatic coast in Slovenia. A second section starts again in Greece to ...
passes over the Varnous mountain, leading through Agios Germanos
Agios Germanos, (), is a village in the Prespes Municipality in Western Macedonia, Greece. The village has traditional architecture of stone houses, Byzantine churches and forests. Agios Germanos is close to both Prespa Lakes and located in a vall ...
and Vigla Pisoderiou.[E6 path at Oreivatein.com]
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Ecology
The mountain is largely forested with spruce, it has an upper alpine vegetation in the highest points of the mountain. It features large animals including bears, wolves, roebucks, wild boars and wild goats. The western part of the mountain is part of Prespa Park.
References
External links
Greek Mountain FloraArktouros, Varnous
Two-thousanders of Greece
Landforms of Florina (regional unit)
Mountains of Western Macedonia
{{WMacedonia-geo-stub
el:Βαρνούντας