Pindos Mountains Greece Trekking

Igoumenitsa is the capital of the north west region of Greece and is the start of our trek to the Pindos Mountains. This is where you catch the bus for Ioannina beside Lake Mazia, which has a wooded island in the lake that has no cars and at the tavernas you can eat the local crayfish and eels. Catch a bus from Ioannina through mountainous limestone ridges to the village of Aristi, then descend down to the valley of the Vikos River with its wild gorge. The Vikos Gorge, between Mount Gamila and MOunt Stouros is the land of the Zagori people who fiercely hang onto their customs and way of life. Get a local dish, a cheese pie, from the taverna in Monodrendi then go out to the viewing platform and see the amazing gorge.

Then head off to Papingo at the other end of the Vikos Gorge and sleep in Zagori peasant houses that are built of stone with roofs of gray slate. Behing Papingo is the Towers of Papingo, three awesome pillars of sheer rock in the magnificent Pindos Mountains. Then get on the walking boots and trek off to Mount Gamila at 8,819 feet high. The Mount Gamila trek is an easy walk and the path is well marked. The hostel lies between the peaks of Astraka and Koutsomitros and on the way you will only see the occasional climber of a herd of wild goats. The mountain hut has cooking facilities and room for about thiry people. From the hut as a base you can make climbs to the Astraka peak or the Mount Gamila peaks. Otherwise you can walk to the Drakolimni Lakes.

Then you can leave MOunt Gamila and walk down grassy slopes to Tsepelevon and stay at the inn of Alexis Gouris. Then take a bus to Brousohori and walk among the steep grey crags of the Pindos Range and start to climb Mount Smolikas, the second highest mountain in Greece in the Pindos Mountains at 8,700 feet. Mount Smolikas cannot be climbed in one day so you will have to camp above the village of Pades for a night and then climb for another six or seven hours to the summit and then sleep at Samarina on the other side of Mount Smolikas.

Continue to walk through a forest and climb to Vasilitsa at 6,140 feet. From Vasilitsa descend to a valley and stay at a hotel in Perivoli, then off to Avgo and cross the Aoos River, then sleep at the village of Vouvousa and enjoy a delicious meal of kebabs. You can then climb up to Mount Tsoumerka and then trek down to the village of Neraidd, and set off for a walk down the Axeloos River valley. Make sure you explore the Agrapha region. This wild area was the refuge for the partisans during World War II. Also have a look at the Agraphiotis Ravine in the Pindos Mountains.

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