20/11/2006
Arkoudorema bridge

Nikolaos Th. Kokkas

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It is a single bow bridge on a beautiful setting, the Arkoudorema of Drama?s prefecture, between Dipotama and Trachoni. The bridge?s deck is 10.50 m and the width is 2.50 m. The arch of the bridge has 8 m length and 5.50 m height. You can reach this bridge by driving for 18 kms from Paranesti to Dipotama and then walking on a 200 m pathway.
Drama?s Arkoudorema is a biotope of exceptional beauty that was full of life. Nowadays, most of the mountainous villages of the Arkoudorema village are abandoned. Trachoni, that was also called Balaban, had 434 inhabitants in 1920 and 219 in 1928. At the north side of Trachoni, we meet the Fraktos wood, a preservable natural monument for its great ecological value. It is virgin forest were many different kinds of broadleaf and coniferous trees coexist, such as firs, pine trees, beeches, box elders and birches. The area?s fauna is also remarkable: more than 100 bird species and 32 rare mammals, like the bear or the reindeer, exist.