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Home » Travel Services » Petralona Cave & Chalkidiki – Enjoy the Natural Beauties of Chalkidiki and Explore the Magnificent Cave of Petralona

Petralona Cave & Chalkidiki - Enjoy the Natural Beauties of Chalkidiki and Explore the Magnificent Cave of Petralona

Up to 50 guests

8Hours

Description

We offer an 8-hour day private tour to Petralona Cave and Chalkidiki from Thessaloniki with an (optional) English speaking guide. We suggest departing from Thessaloniki at 9:00 am and our first stop is at Petralona Cave, with the most prominent fossil specimen, since known among paleoanthropologists as the "Petralona Skull".

After leaving Petralona Cave, we will visit spectacular Chalkidiki with its three peninsulas (Kassandra, Sithonia, Mount Athos), which is situated south-east of Thessaloniki and constitutes a very popular tourist destination for thousands of visitors each year. Lush green vegetation, wide beaches, crystal clear waters, delicious coins with traditional plates, idyllic small bays and islands, fantastic archaeological sites and vivid nightlife, are only some of the sceneries which compose the picture of this peninsula.

We can visit Sani Resort and have a coffee at its magnificent yacht marine with a view to mountain Olympus. After leaving luxurious Sani Resort we can go to the traditional village of Afitos with its cobblestone alleyways, its stone built houses and a magnificent balcony view to Toronaios Gulf. You can enjoy local cuisine in one of the restaurants in Afitos before taking our way back to Thessaloniki.

Book your day private tour with us and visit Petralona cave and Chalkidiki.

Extra information

Petralona cave: What to expect

Petralona Cave is situated 50 Km from Thessaloniki. The cave was randomly discovered by locals of the Petralona Village, while looking for groundwater. In 1960, a skull of a man between 25-35 years old was discovered, a very old man for the standards of the primitive era. The skull belongs to a type of archanthropus (that is of a standing man) in a transitional form between Homo erectus to Homo sapiens neandertalensis.

The fossilized skull is a finding of utmost significance from an anthropological aspect, yet has not been finally classified unanimously according to the experts. According to paleoanthropologist Aris Poulianos, the skull is considered to have belonged to a man who had lived 700.000 years ago, whereas the fire traces are 700.000 - 1.000.000 years old and are the most ancient traces ever to have been discovered on earth up to nowadays.

Many tools made of stone and bones were also unearthed, along with fire traces which he used to warm up and bake his food. The settlements of the Cave must have been used as places to refuge when the Ice Age began. Finally, in the tourist itinerary of 2 Km. long, visitors can admire stalagmites and stalactites of a rare beauty, of different colorization and shapes, while in the cave’s halls models of archanthropus have been placed.

Meeting point & duration