Walking and Trekking in Zagori: Walking routes in Greece's wild and beautiful northern Pindos mountains

By Aris Leontaritis

A guidebook to 30 day walks, plus 3 mini-treks, in the Zagori region of north-western Greece. Taking in both the stunning mountain scenery of the Pindos and the region’s historic architecture, the graded routes range from easy strolls on clear waymarked paths to strenuous mountain hikes calling for good fitness, route-finding skills and experience in high mountain terrain.

The day walks vary from 3 to 24km (2–15 miles) and can be enjoyed in 1–8 hours; the treks span 2–3 days. Routes are split between five geographical areas covering central Zagori; Vikos Gorge; Mount Timfi; Konitsa and Mount Smolikas; and Valia Calda National Park and Metsovo.

• Clear route description illustrated with 1:50,000 mapping
• GPX files available for download
• Local points of interest, plus history, geology, plants and wildlife
• Includes the Drakolimni ‘Dragonlakes’ and ascents of Mount Smolikas (Greece’s second highest mountain) and Mount Timfi
• Sized to easily fit in a jacket pocket

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cicerone Press
• Release date: Jan 16, 2019
• ISBN: 9781783626946

Aris Leontaritis

Aris Leontaritis is a Phd candidate in the glacial geomorphology of the mountains of Greece. He was born in Athens, where he studied and worked as a mechanical engineer for a few years before his love for the mountains and their nature inspired him to change direction. Already connected with the region of Epirus as a visitor, he moved to Metsovo to participate in a postgraduate program on the development prospects of mountainous regions, with respect to the preservation of local identity, culture and environment.

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The view of the Aoos Gorge from the natural balcony at the Stomiou Monastery (Walks 24 and 25)

INTRODUCTION

Impressive views of the saw-toothed northern crest of Mt Timfi pop out briefly through gaps in the trees on Walk 20

A first visit to Greece’s Zagori region will linger long in memory. Setting off from the basin of Ioannina, you climb over Mt Mitsikeli to enter this fantastic world. Thick forests and stunning mountain scenery welcome you, with rocky canyons and impassable ravines gracefully bridged by the ubiquitous stone arch bridges. How many locals, travellers and merchants must have crossed these bridges over the years, carrying wealth, fresh ideas, good or unexpected news, hopes and fears?

Today, walking over these same bridges and along the well-preserved network of paths, it is possible to reach most of the villages of the region on foot. You can admire their stupendous architecture and rich history, the cobbled alleys and beautiful stone mansions, then enjoy the atmosphere in a traditional local café, usually located in the village square under the shade of a vast plane tree.

A first view of the dramatic Vikos Gorge or daunting northern crags of Mt Timfi; an encounter with a brown bear in the mystical forests of Valia Calda; rewarding hikes to the alpine tarns of Drakolimni (Dragonlakes) and the barren peaks of Mt Timfi and Mt Smolikas with their endless views – these are just some of the magical experiences awaiting you in Zagori. Such indescribable beauty cannot fail to generate awe and wonder and is bound to leave a lasting impression.

Zagori: a historical and cultural overview

Zagori in Slavic means the place beyond the mountain, which is exactly what it is. It consists of 44 isolated villages scattered over a wild mountainous area just behind Mt Mitsikelli, as seen from Ioannina, the largest city of Epirus and historically its economic and cultural capital. In the ancient times, Epirus was inhabited by the Molossians and other Greek tribes and was renowned for the prestigious sanctuary of Dodona, the oldest ancient Greek oracle. Unified into a powerful single state and under the reign of King Pyrrhus (290

BC

), the Epirotes warred against Rome and even though they did reach its outskirts they eventually had to retreat. Epirus subsequently fell to Rome in 167

BC

, which was followed by the Byzantine Empire and the Ottoman Empire.

During the Ottoman times, Zagori enjoyed a special autonomous status with certain economic benefits in exchange for a number of obligations. From the 16th to the late 19th century Zagori went through a glorious period, when many Zagorians prospered all around the world as merchants, entrepreneurs or even serving the army and the court. At first they migrated to Constantinople (Istanbul) but later they spread all around the Balkan Peninsula and the Black Sea as well as to Asia Minor and central Europe, aiming for the regional commercial centres of the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia. At one point in the mid 18th century, migration was so strong that almost the entire male population sojourned or lived abroad.

As the wealthy expatriates sent generous remittances back home, the basic agrarian economy supported by small-scale stock farming and forestry gave way to a more prolific economic and social life in Zagori. The expatriates built private stone mansions for their families and, at the same time, sponsored the construction of public buildings such as churches, schools and libraries. Naturally they also financed the construction of cobbled tracks, winding staircases and bridges in a bid to tame this wild mountainous region and improve accessibility to the outer world. The network of paths dating back to that period is now ideal for hiking between the picturesque villages with the superb Zagorian architecture. As a result of their wealth, the fresh ideas brought back from their travels, the Ottoman influence, and the available materials along with local traditions, a uniquely beautiful architectural style developed here. Inevitably, the builders kept honing their skills and the stone masons of Epirus became so famous that their services were in demand as far away as Romania, Egypt and Persia.

However, as the villages grew, nature retreated; all these people needed to keep themselves warm and they would chop trees down in the nearby forests. They needed food and so they expanded their fields and pasturelands. Most of the alpine grasslands in the high mountains were used as pasture for literally hundreds of thousands of sheep and goats. A wide network of paths was used by the shepherds and many of those paths are still used by both shepherds and hikers today. So, how is it possible for Zagori to be one of the wildest areas of present day Greece, with such diverse wildlife and flora?

A look at the modern history of the wider area explains why it is so well preserved in terms of both natural and architectural environment. The gradual fall of the Ottoman Empire during the 19th and early 20th centuries and the parallel creation of the new national states brought about drastic changes in the human geography of the wider Balkan area. Flourishing financial centres all of a sudden lost their importance, as a result of the constant insecurity caused by wars and conflicts. Settlements that had traditionally been located upon strategic crossroads faced gradual isolation and decline once the new national borders were demarcated. These changes during the centuries also affected life and the once thriving economic activity in Zagori, while World War 2 and the following civil war were the final acts in devastating the area socially and economically and drastically transforming its character and demography.

The beautiful Kontodimos Bridge over the Vikaki stream is a sensational start for Walk 3

During World War 2, many Greeks took to their mountains to form one of Europe’s biggest partisan resistance movements. A total of 15 villages of East Zagori were burnt down to the ground by the retreating German troops at the end of the war as retaliation to partisan action in the region and therefore most of them are no longer interesting from an architectural point of view.

During the tragic Greek Civil War (1944–1949) the area suffered more. According to some sources the whole region was evacuated by the official Greek government as it was suspected that its residents were supporting the communist partisans; according to others, people just fled the war scene. In any case, the result is that after the war Zagori never recovered its former glory and population. In the following years, some of the residents returned to their homes but most of them moved to bigger cities like Ioannina and Larissa or migrated to the United States, Canada, Germany and other countries in search of a better future. The census of 2001 counted 5,500 inhabitants when in 1870 it had been estimated that about 30,000 people were living in the region. Never forgetting their homeland though, the expatriate Zagorians would send money in order to preserve their properties and their villages. Luckily, their interest and efforts were not in vain and in the latter part of the 1970s a series of unusually strict, by Greek standards, planning and building regulations were implemented in the region, in order to protect its particular physiognomy from the devastating consequences of modern development.

Today, it is an almost untouched and isolated provincial mountainous area, which in reality has remained excluded from the post-war national developmental model and quite far from the new administrative and economic centres that emerged in recent decades. In the meantime, nature has fast reclaimed its lost space. The old fields are now covered in forests and the mountains have recovered their solidity. Wild animals followed and nowadays even the shy wolves dare to come out of the shadows and appear close to inhabited areas during the day. Bears, wild boars, reindeer and chamois are also commonly encountered in the area.

A glance at the local architecture

By Stefanos Petrou, architect

Despite differences between individual villages and areas, the settlements of Zagori are characterised by the homogeneity, clarity and minimalistic design of their buildings. Zagori was dominated by harsh rocky terrain and strict social forms, and this is reflected in the shape of the buildings: these are simple forms, perfectly integrated into and blended with the surrounding landscape. The main characteristics of local architecture are the predominance of the stone and the uniformity of methods of construction, which have come about as a result of Zagori’s unique situation and continue to shape the character and recognisable aesthetics of the villages of the area.

The 18th-century church of Ayios Ioannis in Rogovo Monastery; a jewel of Zagorian architecture (Walk 6)

When selecting the location of a new settlement, settlers would take into account the topography of the area, the orientation and view (sheltered, south-facing slopes were preferred), the ease of connection with other neighbouring settlements, the possibility of visual communication, security (settlements needed to be concealed from the paths of bandits and the Turks), and finally the availability of pastures and water. Visual communication between villages was extremely important for the local communities, since in mountainous areas the harsh environment and conditions intensify the sense of isolation.

The settlements’ construction is dense, with a defensive character. They usually have a single centre (mesohori) where the main square is located, around which the houses of the different neighbourhoods are built. All public structures – the church, the school, the café, the walled spring – are concentrated in the central square, which is the site of social gatherings and trade. The wealthiest Zagorians would reside around the centre.

Over time, a network of pedestrian streets developed, crossing the various neighbourhoods and leading to workplaces, fields, forests and vineyards. These streets were paved in local stone. At intersections and beside the entrances of houses, the streets widened and various structures – such as small terraces and stairs or sitting areas – were created. They were places of informal social interaction, places to meet and converse.

Dilofo (Walk 2) is arguably one of the most beautiful villages in the region, backed by the snow-capped southern peaks of Mt Timfi

The houses have courtyards, which are enclosed by high stone walls. As well as fulfilling a protective role, these walls form a strict boundary between private and public life. Although the minimalistic exterior of the houses does not necessarily reveal the status of the owner, interior decoration varies according to taste and financial means. The somewhat strict external form of Zagorian architecture belies its rich interior.

What we admire today in the area is not the result of sophisticated design or artistic experimentation, but the aesthetics of everyday life, the result of these communities’ need to adapt to the prevailing conditions of their locality. The structural forms of Zagorian architecture are largely the outcome of intelligent use of existing natural resources, and reflect the social, economic and cultural trends and conditions prevailing in the region over the previous centuries.

Geography and geology

This guide covers a wide section of the northern part of the Pindos mountain range, the spine of mainland Greece. Mt Timfi (2497 m), with the famous Vikos Gorge and the Drakolimni Lake (Dragonlake) along with the Zagori region on its southern and western flanks, and the town of Konitsa right at its north-west foot, is the centrepiece of the selected routes. Just across the Aoos Gorge to the north is Mt Trapezitsa and a bit further lies Mt Smolikas at 2637m. Mt Smolikas is the tallest mountain of the Pindos range and the second highest in Greece after Mt Olympus (2918m). The Valia Calda National Park is east and slightly southwards from Mt Timfi, with the town of Metsovo and the Egnatia Highway further south. These mountains comprise the North Pindos National Park, one of the most important, beautiful and spectacular protected regions in Greece. At the same time, this region has been proclaimed a geopark by UNESCO due to the great interest from a geological point of view (Vikos – Aoos Geopark).

All this land was once the oceanic floor of the western Tethys Sea, which covered a great part of what is today Central and Eastern Europe. Some 65 million years ago, the collision of the African and Eurasian plates closed over the Tethys Ocean and forced oceanic lithosphere northwards beneath the Eurasian Plate, leaving behind what we now know as the Mediterranean Sea. It was this process (which took place 65–2 million years ago) that formed most of the mountain ranges around the Mediterranean including the Atlas, the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Apennines and the Balkan mountains.

On the oceanic crust at the bottom of the Tethys Ocean, the accumulation and compression of sediment derived from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral, foraminifera and molluscs created thick limestone rock formations. On top of that, erosion of existing land provided non-organic sediments (clay and sands), forming a layer of younger flysch rocks (slate, sandstones) above the limestone. These rock complexes were subsequently lifted as techtonic plates collided, and comprise a great part of the Pindos Mountains like central Zagori, Mt Timfi and Mt Trapezitsa.

Limestone pavement karst landform on Mt Timfi (Walk 19)

As limestone is a highly soluble rock, it favours the formation of karstic features, which are evident throughout the area. Deep gorges like the Vikos Gorge (Walk 9), abyssal sinkholes and chasms like Ligeri sinkhole (Walk 19), as well as extensive underground cave systems and karstic springs such as the Voidomatis springs (Walk 9, Walk 11) are well-developed all over the mountains, and it is here on Mt Timfi that the deepest known cave in mainland Greece can be found – the Vulture’s Hole (Tripa tou Orniou), 584m deep.

The geology of Mt Smolikas and the Valia Calda region, on the other hand, is completely different from that of Mt Timfi since these mountains have been formed on ophiolitic rocks. Ophiolite complexes are remnants of ancient oceanic crust and underlying mantle, which have been embedded in the continental crust in the course of orogeny (upward displacement of the earth’s crust). Walking in these regions offers a rare opportunity to see oceanic lithosphere not in a geology textbook but right there in front of you, and this awareness gives an amazing feeling of exploration.

The mountains and their environs took the forms we witness today as a result of the destructive force of former glaciers 400,000 years ago that carved out smooth U-shaped valleys, moraines and daunting arête ridges, as well as glacial lakes sitting in well-developed cirques. In turn, the melting of the glaciers 350,000 years ago released enormous amounts of water that further developed the karstic features mentioned above.

Plants and wildlife

The North Pindos National Park is characterised by tremendous biodiversity thanks to its complex relief and the variety of habitats within this region. Altitude, varying from 400m to more than 2600m, plays a decisive role for vegetation and thus for habitats while rivers, lakes and remote gorges or valleys are somewhat distinct ecosystems with specific features.

Vegetation

The lower altitudes (400–800m) are dominated