If you have been around Kicking Back the Pebbles a while, you know we are currently exploring (part of) the region of Epirus and the regional unit of Ioannina, in northwestern Greece. We deployed the city of Ioannina as our center of “operations” and that gave us the ability to launch in a number of different directions around the region and take daily road-trips to places of interest: After we visited Metsovo, the next day we set off for the Vikos–Aoös National Park and the glorious Voidomatis River. You need about an hour to reach the river at the National Park—after 33 miles— near the village of Vikos, through the National Road EO20 (called “Ioanninon-Kozanis”) and then through the provincial road from Kalpaki to Papigo.
The Vikos–Aoös National Park
The park is named after the two major gorges of the area and includes 31,135 acres/12,600 hectares of mountainous terrain with numerous rivers, lakes, caves, deep canyons, and dense coniferous and deciduous forests, while it spans an elevation range of 1,804 to 8,192 ft/550 to 2,497 m. It was declared a national park in 1973. It’s currently part of the Natura 2000 Network and one of UNESCO’s Global Geoparks.
Vikos Village
Vikos (in Greek: Βίκος), also known as Vitsiko, belongs to the village complex of the municipality of Zagori. It is a traditional settlement (declared in 1978) lying at the northern end of the Vikos Gorge and it offers an excellent designated viewpoint to the gorge and a path that leads from the village to the Voidomatis Springs inside the gorge.
The Vikos Gorge
The Vikos Gorge (in Greek: Φαράγγι του Βίκου) lies on the southern slopes of Mount Tymfi (part of the Pindus mountain range), with a length of about 12 mi/20 km. It has been listed as the deepest canyon in the world in proportion to its width, in the 1997 Guinness Book of Records—its walls range up to 2,952 ft/900 m in depth at a point where it is 3,609 ft/1,100 m wide (which means that its depth reaches its width by 98%).
The Astraka peak–not its highest–of Mt. Tymphe.
Voidomatis River
Voidomatis [in Greek: Βοϊδομάτης] is a tributary of the Aoös river. Its main current sources are located under the village of Vikos. Along its path it converges with other water currents originating from the banks of the Vikos Gorge. The river has a total length of 9.3 mi/15 kilometers. The name Voidomatis—meaning “the eye of the ox”—derives from the fact that oxen have clear blue eyes, like the waters of this river. There is also the Slavic etymology bode-mat which stands for “good water”. You can brave a dive into its ice-cold waters during summer, but be warned, it’s not for the fainthearted.
You will need about 30 minutes to drive from Voidomatis to Papigo (9.6 miles) through the provincial road of Kalpaki. The drive from Megalo to Mikro Papigo is an additional 7 minutes but under good weather it is also a very easy and pleasant hike.
Papigo Village
Papigo is one of the 46 villages of the municipality of Zagori, the famous Zagorohoria (also spelled Zagorochoria). It is separated in two districts (mahalades), the Big/Megalo & the Small/Mikro, built at the foot of Astráka (one of Mt. Tymphe’s summits). Megalo Papigo sits at an altitude of 2,952 ft/900 m and Mikro Papigo at 3,215 ft/980 m. The distance between them is roughly 1,5 miles.
Megalo Papigo has a handful of cute & quaint little cafés
7 λόγοι για να πας Ζαγοροχώρια
1. Οι ταβέρνες της Αρίστης.
2. Τα πέτρινα τοξοτά γεφύρια του Ζαγορίου. Πολλά από αυτά βρίσκονται σε δύσβατες περιοχές, απομακρυσμένα από χωριά και οδικούς άξονες, αλλά κάποια είναι κοντά σε κεντρικούς δρόμους – όπως το μικρό γεφύρι στο ρέμα Ζαβογιάννη, στο 2ο χιλιόμετρο της επαρχιακής οδού Καλπακίου-Πάπιγκου. Σίγουρα ένα από τα 93(!) θα ταιριάξει στις βόλτες ή στις πεζοπορικές εξορμήσεις σας. Ο ψηφιακός οδηγός Ζαγορίου για τα πέτρινα γεφύρια θα σας βοηθήσει να επιλέξετε.
3. Τα κρυσταλλένια νερά του Βοϊδομάτη που θεωρείται ένας από τους καθαρότερους ποταμούς της Ευρώπης. Αν είστε φαν, η εξόρμηση για ράφτινγκ είναι απαραίτητη.
4. Οι «οβίρες», τα φυσικά δηλαδή βυθίσματα γεμάτα με νερό –γνωστά και ως κολυμπήθρες– κατά μήκος της κοίτης του ρέματος Ρογκοβό, ανάμεσα στο Μεγάλο και το Μικρό Πάπιγκο.
5. Η θέα από το κιόσκι του χωριού Βίκου προς την ομώνυμη χαράδρα.
6. Η ορειβατική διαδρομή της Αστράκας με αφετηρία το Μικρό Πάπιγκο (3 ώρες).
7. Η βουτιά στη Δρακόλιμνη της Τύμφης, μία ώρα από το καταφύγιο της Αστράκας, σε υψόμετρο 2.050 μέτρων, για να συναντήσετε τα «δρακάκια», δηλαδή τους αλπικούς τρίτωνες.
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