Koula’s beach back in the ’90s (Giannis Petridis archive)
Until the 1990s the hot spot for swimming in Western Macedonia was the beach of Koula in Great Prespa lake. Although the road was not easy, young and old people from towns and villages came to this beach with the long coastline and the tourist kiosk to swim and have a vacation on hot summer days.
Towards the end of the 1990s, along with the level of the lake, the traffic on the beach of Koula began to fall. The water withdrawned and a vast meadow of low vegetation took its place.
Local people and Prespa enthusiasts however, found an alternative place to swim right in the river mouth of Agios Germanos river. With a beach length of about 500m, the beach is cleared of grass and thorns by the Municipality in the beginning of the summer period revealing a fine and soft sand. The lake at this point is shallow, which makes it particularly child-friendly, especially as the lake water is ‘heavier’ than the sea water and may worry some would-be bathers.
Those who prefer the coolness of the altitude and cannot stand the high temperatures of the sea during summertime will find refuge in this beautiful corner of Prespa, which is also ideal for long afternoon walks in the riparian forest.
Youngsters of Prespa have set up a beach volleyball net in the sand and when the beach is crowded it looks like it sprang out of a postcard promoting the Greek islands!
As there is no signposting for the route to the beach, click on the link for the pin on the map so you don’t get lost in the dirt roads of the fields.
