Pindo Mountain Range in Epirus
I don’t think I’m alone in this. When I passed on my two confessions to Dimitra from Greece Tourism, she sighed and said All people think about is beaches and islands when they think of Greece, and there’s so much more.
After spending several days exploring North Pindos National Park, I’m torn between wanting to keep the secret to myself and wanting to shout from the rooftops Go to Greece for AMAZING hiking!!!!! I’ll settle for somewhere in between by writing a blog post.
Stone Forest, with the Pindo Mountain Range in the background.
Even when you’re not hiking among ancient Greek ruins, you’re still following historical paths. North Pindos National Park is famous for its arch bridges. At one time there were 125, today there are approximately 75. Besides looking pretty, they served the important role of connecting villages both to each other and to the outside world, long before there were roads.
One of the many arch bridges to be found in Epirus.
Today, the villages are connected with roads, but hikers can still retrace the ancient steps of merchants and craftsmen by hiking from village to village, over the stone arch bridges. Travel tip: Be sure to ask the locals the legends of each bridge – each one has a secret story!
This bridge was one of my favourites in Epirus!
There are literally hundreds of day hikes you could choose from – 2000km of trails to be exact! I plan to return at some point and hike through Vikos Gorge, the deepest gorge in the world at 120 – 490m! It takes approximately 7 hours to hike the 20km long trail and it’s best done in summer or early fall when the river is shallow.
Vikos Gorge, the deepest gorge in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
Besides, the gorge, the village-to-village hiking really caught my attention. My motto is adventure seeker by day, luxury seeker by night. Hiking all day and then retreating to a nice hotel in a historic village enjoying some delicious Greek food and wine is my ideal trip!
Kipi, one of the centuries old villages to be found in Epirus.
And with 46 villages within the park, there’s no shortage of villages to choose from. I stopped for coffee in Kipi, a small hillside village with buildings made of stone and heavy slate roofs and spent an hour walking around Kallartyes, a village with 15 people, and no that wasn’t a typo, 15 people.
Village of Kallartyes, home to 15 people!
If you’re seeking something a bit more populous try Metsovo, which is also home to Katogi Averott Hotel & Winery, Greece’s only winery hotel. It also happens to be the coolest wine cellar tour I’ve ever done with art installations built into the cellar!
One of the art installations at Katogi Averott Hotel & Winery in Metsovo.
But perhaps even a bigger secret than the fantastic hiking opportunities in North Pindos National Park are……THERE ARE BEARS! And no not ones that lived in Greece long ago, but ones that live in the present.
Just ask Maria from the Katogi Averott Hotel & Winery who told me:
Bears are the best consumers. They eat 20% of the grapes, starting with the white, then moving on to the red.
That knocked my socks off! I had NO idea there were bears in Greece – so a warning if you’re hiking, be careful to store your food properly! Unfortunately, I didn’t see one…yet another reason to return to Epirus…and discover more secrets!
Travel Tips for Epirus, Greece:
- It’s ~ a 6 hour drive to Ioannina from Athens. I highly recommend stopping at Meteora along the way and spending a day there checking out the monasteries on cliffs.
- Ioannina makes a great base for a couple of days if you’re doing day trips, but I would also recommend staying in the smaller villages as well like Metsovo.
- This is a really remote part of Greece with limited public transportation options if you want to easily visit villages and hike, so I would recommend renting a car for getting around.
- Check out VisitGreece.gr for further information.
Disclosure: I was a guest of VisitGreece.gr. As always all opinions are my own.