Lefteris Tsouris is Chief Map Maker at Geopsis Maps & Guides. He loves the vast and unspoiled forests of the Rodopi Mountains in Greece. Perhaps this love of the largely unexplored area is what inspired Lefteris to begin making maps 12 years ago. Today, Lefteris travels all over Greece capturing the wonders of Greek mountainous areas in maps and photography. The team at Geopsis makes printed guides and maps, as well as digital maps, using a variety of techniques including drone photography.

Mountain mapping is a laborious process in which it is easy to miss important features while walking and collecting data. 'We use drones to ensure that we are able to make detailed and accurate maps,' says Lefteris. With drones, the Geopsis team can create a high-resolution aerial photo set from which they extract the position of each rock. 'That's not to say that drones replace the traditional terrestrial method - I walk and record as much as possible, ' he adds. 'But drone photography allows us to reduce the chance of something escaping. It is incredible how different one sees a path he has just walked, from above.'

Geopsis' mission to provide the most accurate and up to date maps of the numerous, mountainous attractions of Greece aligned well with the concept of using maps on mobile devices, in digital format. While mobile maps will never replace the need for paper maps, there are some distinct advantages that make mobile maps useful and well-suited to the highly detailed Geopsis maps. 'We want to inspire a sustainable way of hiking and traveling to one's destination.' says Lefteris. 'An ecological, sustainable way of being a visitor to another country and culture' The Avenza Map Store is a simple way for us to deliver our digital maps.’     

With all of the natural wonders of Greece to explore, Lefteris has another location in mind for one that he would love to map someday. 'I would love an opportunity to map the Himalayas' Why? ‘Because the Himalayas have always been the symbol of one of humanity’s greatest needs, the need to achieve, the need to surpass our own limits.’

Find the collection of Geopsis maps in the Avenza Map Store and on their website at geopsis.com