At a distance of 13 km from Aridaia are Loutra, a paradise of natural beauty in the center of which is the Paleontological-Physiographic and Folklore Museum of Almopia.
Of the 15 caves and caverns recorded and investigated in the area of Loutra, the richest in finds are caves A΄ and B΄ as they were named, as well as a spectacular 50-meter-deep pedestal, at the bottom of which a human skeleton of unknown age was found. The find from cave shelter Z is considered important, which is the upper jaw, with the left canine, from a fossilized part of the skull of the gigantic Cave Bear (Ursus spelaeus) dating from the Pleistocene era, i.e. from 120,000 to 10,000 years ago.
Fossils were also found in the cave complex studied by the Geology - Paleontology laboratory of the University of Athens. Which found that these are corals of the genus CUCLOSERIS dating from the Cretaceous period and their age possibly reaches 70 million years.
Most of the interesting findings of the complex of caves and caverns are exhibited in the Paleontological Museum of Almopia, located in Loutra, next to the Almopia Cave Park.
Editor: Fotini Anastasopoulou