topoguide.gr can display 3 map types:

• TopoNavigator Terrain GR (labels are in Greek or Latin depending of the language setting),
• Greek Cadastre Orhtos, και
• Open Street Map

Overmap offers a quick navigation around Greece, by clicking one of the administrative regions.
Clicking on the Updated Maps icon, an updated maps graph is loaded in a new window. Each tile has a 12-color code symbol, corresponding to the month it has been updated.

This tab displays a bitmap with the map key, in the selected language.

topoguide.gr provides a toolbox for data entry (from an existing file or digitizing), data editing, and exporting. All commmon geometry types (points, lines, polygons) are covered. You can import existing files of points, lines and polygons in KML, GPX, TML (Toponavigator 6 files) & PLT (Ozi Explorer track file) formats. You can create your own points, lines and polygons through a simple and efficient way. You can edit or update existing or newly created files, change symbol or properties. You can export your points, lines or polygons in KML, GPX and TML formats.
You can create points, lines and polygons by the method described bellow. While digitizing you can move the map by draging the mouse. Data entries are listed to the relevant table and newer entries are added to the end of the list. The visibility osf each record is associated to its checkbox status. The three buttons on top of the table are controlling the visibility, the display of labels and the deleting of all records, and the exporting of all records to a file as well.

POINTS

LINES

POLYGONS

POINT EDITING

You can edit your points either via the table or the map. While you move the mouse on the table records, the relevant point is highlighted on the map. By clicking the icons on the right side of any records you can launch the following actions:

• Open the point properties form,
• Center the map at the point location,
• Delete the point,
• Assign a point as a routing start or destination point.

When the mouse hovers above a point on the map (the mouse pointer then is a "pointer"), you can access the point editing menu, which has two options, by right-clicking:

• Name of the point: open the Properties form.
• Move: allows you to replace the point with the help of a leader line.

LINE EDITING

You can select and edit one line from the table. Available actions include:

• Open the line properties form .
• Create the elevation profile of the line.
• Center the map at the line extent.
• Delete the line.

POLYGON EDITING

You can select and edit one polygon from the table. Available actions include:

• Open the polygon properties form.
• Center the map at the polygon extent.
• Delete the polygon.

• Fastest route,
• Sortest route,
• route for SUV,
• route for 4x4 vehivles,
• διαδρομή Extreme 4x4,
• hiking route.

Finding the location of the location of a monument, a village or an activity is supported by a powerful search engine, accessing the Topoguide private data base through a multi-criteria request system.

SEARCH BY NAME

SEARCH BY RADIUS

THEMATIC SEARCH

The most powerful is the thematic search: the request of all locations that correspond to a precise activity or service. The following thematic groups are available:

• Photos. Topoguide.gr has access to an important data base of geotaged images, structured in thematic groups. Pictures can be filtered through 11 categories (Landscapes, Monuments, Architecture and buildings, Geoforms, Volcanos, Caves, Birds, Mammals, Repltiles, Flora, Mushrooms). All relevant records will be listed in the table. Click on each record to move to the corresponding location and view the picture.
• Culture. Many thousands of places of cultural interest have been grouped in 11 categories (Fortifications, Ancient cities, Temples, Ancient theatres, Towers, Byzantine monasteries, Byzantine churches, Stone bridges).
• Sea. Some thousands of sea-related places or activities have been grouped in 4 categories (Beaches, kitesurfing areas, windsurfing areas, lighthouses).
• Mountain activities. Hundreds of mountain refuges and climbing areas of Greece can be listed.
• Services. Some thousands of public serveices have been grouped in 4 categories (Hospitals, Health Centers, Airports, Heliports).

Photo-Points are organized in 8 categories and displayed by the relevant icons:

• Landscapes
• Monuments
• Architecture and buildings
• Mammals
• Birds
• Reptiles
• Flora
• Mushrooms

By clicking on each Adventure record you can access to more detailed information and measurements, such as

• length,
• maximum and minimum elevation,
• total ascent elevation,
• total descent elevation,
• time (forward),
• time (backward)

FILTERING THE ADVENTURES

Criteria can be qualitative, quantitative or spacial.

QUALITATIVE CRITERIA

The user can filter the Adventures by the following qualitative criteria:

• Their difficulty level (5 levels),
• The back-to-start possibility (one-way or loop route)
• If the Adventure follows one of the European or National Trails of Greece (Ε4, Ε6, Ο1, Ο2, Ο22, Ο31, Ο32, Ο33).

QUANTITATIVE CRITERIA

The user can filter the Adventures by the following quantitative criteria:

• Length (6 classes available).

SPACIAL CRITERIA

The user can filter the Adventures by the following spacial criteria:

• The Adventure is near a location (enter in the input box the name of a town, place-name etc),
• The Adventure is inside a known region (select a geographic region - only regions containing Adventures are listed),
• More than half of the Adventure length runs in one of the pre-set elevation zones, Lowland (<600m), Midland (600-1500m) Highland (>1500m).

ACTIVITY TYPES

DIFFICULTY LEVELS

topoguide Adventures are categorized into 5 difficulty levels, which are reflected by the icon color.
Easy: this route is for everybody, no equipment is needed, no special orientation or map reading abilities are requested.
Fairly easy: the route calls for some basic map reading abilities or there might be some local orientation problems. Some basic equipemt is necessary.
Difficult: the route has some local difficult passages and calls for a good knowledge of the terrain and the activity. A good level of equipment and some food/water are necessary.
Very difficult: Several difficult passages. A deep experience and a complete outdoor equipment are necessary. Insofar the route is not obvious, you will need a navigation assistant (1:25.000 map, or a GPS).
For experts only: Continuous difficult passages, an unstable terrain with unpredictable obstacles. A special equipment and bivouac material, a map or a GPS are absolutely necessary.

AESTHETIC VALUE

topoguide Adventures are categorized according to the aesthetic value of the surrounding area. Aesthetic value is expressed by a number of stars, from 1 to 5. One star means that the route has nothing interesting or particular, five stars denote a route of unique aesthetic value.

METHODOLOGICAL TOPICS

The forward or backward time of an Adventures has been calculated in function of 4 parameters:

• Activity type. For each relevant activity (hiking, MTB etc) a nominative pace has been set, reflecting the mean speed of a young man without load.
• Difficulty. For hiking, MTB etc, the nominative pace is set for the easiest level of the acitivity. The more difficult is the route, the lower pace is, as the user faces more load from the equipment, the weather conditions, the length of the route etc.
• Grade. For hiking, MTB etc, the grade of the trail influences heavily the pace. Grade is calculated for each single local segment using a linear regression method and is proven to be quite accurate. Nine grade classes are recognised and for each class a look up table precise the its influence to each activity type (a biker can multiply his speed by a factor of 10 on a gentle downhill road, while a hiker can only increase his speed by a factor of 1.5 along the most convenient trail).
The 9 grade classes are:
• Very steep downhill(< -10)
• Steep downhill (-10 έως -5)
• Downhill (-5 έως -3)
• Gentle downhill (-3 έως -1)
• Level terrain (-1 έως +1)
• Gentle uphill (+1 έως +3)
• Uphill (+3έως +5)
• Steep uphill (+5 έως + 10)
• Very steep uphill (>+10)
• Track category. In most activity types, speed is greatly influenced by the road category (or the condition and the marking for paths). A theoretical speed is set for each activity type and this value is adapted to the real condition of each track segment. Thanks to the very detailed classification of the source data, the estimation of the optimal speed for each road/path arc is both precise and accurate.