The northern Pindos is one of the finest wilderness areas in the Balkans and indeed in the whole of Europe. The landscape is on a grand scale with peaks of limestone and serpentine rock rising to 2636m (8650ft) from an extensive region of natural beech and pine forest at the headwaters of the Voidomatis and Aoos rivers. Limestone gorges, such as the Vikos, are up to 1000m deep. The stone-built villages of the Zagoria region are not dissimilar to those of the English Lake District - but they receive far fewer visitors. Although the climate is warm in summer, the Pindos Mountains remain green long after the winter snows have thawed. In spring and early summer meadows are ablaze with alpine and other wild flowers, including an abundance and variety of orchids. Towards autumn, as the leaves begin to turn, just as colourful are the forests of beech and hornbeam. Overall, perhaps the greatest attraction of the Pindos mountains is that one can find a greater solitude here than in many other mountainous areas of Europe. Our route on this part of the trek is designed to follow shepherds' and muleteers' footpaths, ancient tracks and some newer Forestry Service access roads. We rise high up onto Astraka Mountain,and we pass between Astraka peak (2436 m/ 8038ft) and Gamilla peak(2497m / 8240ft), having visited Dragon Lake (2100m) the previous day.

On the second part of the tour, we head for Mt. Olympus (2,917m/9,570ft), a National Park, the highest mountain in Greece and the second highest in the whole of the Balkans, it rises abruptly from the coastal plain south of Thessaloniki. Standing alone and isolated from the Pindos range, its summit region capped with snow for most of the year, Olympus is an irresistible magnet for climbers and walkers - and for botanists, as here is one of the greatest treasure stores of endemics in Europe. As seen from the east and north, immense precipices of pale limestone rise above a zone of dark coniferous forest. We make our ascent from this scenic direction. We stay overnight in a Hellenic Alpine Club Refuge (with all facilities and permanent warden) we are well placed for our next day ascent of Skolio (2911m) the walkers' subsidiary summit, for which no rock scrambling ability or special equipment is needed. We may also have time to walk the delightfully forest of Mavrolongos, with its attractive footpath and tumbling river.

In May and June we are likely to encounter patches of snow on Mts Gamila, Smolikas and Olympus.
 

The dates for the 8-day tour are:

GPP01    Sun 1 June     -       Sun 8 June

GPP29    Sun 29 June    -       Sun 6 July

GPP07    Sun 7 Sept      -      Sun 14 Sept

The dates for the 15-day tour are:

GPP01    Sun 1 June     -       Sun 15 June

GPP29    Sun 29 June    -       Sun 13 July

GPP07    Sun 7 Sept      -       Sun 21 Sept

Grade: Moderate - Challenging

There are some strenuous ascents, descents and a couple of long days; temperatures can range from hot to cold.

Qualifications

This trek is designed for those who are in good physical condition, take regular exercise and enjoy hill walking. It will be necessary to carry usual day-sack contents, and some food.

Equipment & Clothing

If you are already a hill walker you will probably have all the clothing and equipment you need.  The climate is warm at low altitude and light clothing should be brought, as well as warm, and storm proof clothing for high-level walking. A detailed list of recommended clothing and equipment will be supplied with confirmation of reservation. A sheet liner is needed for the nights in the huts. 

How the Trekking is Organised

On several evenings accommodation is in small villages and we take our evening meal in the local taverna.  We stay in a fully equipped mountain huts (refuges) for 2 nights. This will necessitate carrying a sheet sleeping bag, and basic personal equipment for the relevant days.  If you plan carefully you can expect to carry a maximum of 10 kgs. /22lbs.  On most other days it will be possible to keep well below this weight.

Food & Accommodation

All your accommodation and most of your meals are included in the tour price. You will have to purchase lunch on 4 days and dinner on two.

Food included:  Breakfast: every day except day 1.  Lunch: picnic style on all walking days (i.e. not on days 1, 6, 14, 15).  Dinner: each night except nights 13 (Litochoro) and 14 (Ioannina).

We suggest you budget around £50 for extra meals and an additional allowance for drinks and refreshments - most people get through about £5 to £14 per day.       

Accommodation: mountain refuges on night 4 & 12; small hotel on nights 9, 11, 13 & 14; pensions (village guesthouses) on the other nights.   Accommodation in the villages is simple but clean and comfortable.  Rooms in village guesthouses and in hotels on this tour all have bath/shower and usually WC, except for night 8 at Vrissohori where facilities are shared.  The hut (night 12 on Olympus) has indoor toilets and wash-hand basins (cold running water only) but the showers (also cold running water) are not always available.  Blankets are provided but it is necessary to carry your own sheet-bag. The Astraka refuge has been renovated and enlarged. It has indoors toilets, wash-hand basins and a couple of showers (cold water only). 

Books & Maps

Books: Patrick Leigh Fermor's Roumeli, travelogue/ ethnography is set in the mountains of northern Greece (Faber & Faber).  WWII memoirs relevant to our trekking area are Eleni: Nicholas Gage (Collins 1983), and The Flight of Ikaros: Kevin Andrews (Penguin 1984).  An anthropological study of the Sarakatsani shepherd community (Gamila area) before its decline is Honour, Family, Patronage: H.K.D. Campbell (Oxford Univ. Press 1964).  With the shepherds of Samarina - Tim Salmon's The Unwritten Places 1995 Lycabettos Press (Stanfords). For general information Trekking in Greece: Marc Dubin/Michael Cullen (Lonely Planet 1993).  Still useful is George Sfikas' Mountains of Greece: English version published in Greece 1979) Flowers of Greece and the Aegean. Hogarth Press l989).  For really full coverage of flowers and related geology consult Oleg Polunin's Flowers of Greece and the Balkans (O.U.P 1987.)

Of the many general guides to Greece, The Blue Guide is a standard on cultural aspects and The Rough Guide to Greece, for general information, are worth consulting.

Maps:  Good maps are difficult to obtain, as there is no equivalent to our O.S series available to the public either here or in Greece.  Greek mountaineers make do with maps published in their journal ‘Korfes’ adapted from the 1:50,000 "Y.I.S" military series. Sheets 55-60 cover the northern Pindos.   Place names are in Greek script.   These maps may be available from Stanfords, Long Acre, London WC2, Tel: 0207 -836 1321.  Books on Greece are also stocked by The Hellenic Book service, 91 Fortess Road, London NW5, Tel: 0207-267 9499.

What's Included

Return flights London/Preveza (air travel clients only); airport taxes; all transportation as specified; all accommodation; meals as specified (breakfast each day, lunch on all except 4 days, dinner on all except 2 days); services of leader.  Land-only customers must make their own way to and from Ioannina (airport code IOA; 2 flights daily from Athens).

Not Included: Passport, insurance, personal equipment and expenditure, some meals (allow approx. £50), drinks and refreshments, personal tipping.

Further Information

For more information about Epirus, Pindos and Olympus: the National Tourist Organisation of Greece (in London): tel:020 7 495 9300.

Outline Itinerary

The following itinerary is intended as a working guide only, and is subject to variation as a result of weather conditions, local factors and group progress.

We reserve the right to alter (lengthen or shorten) any walk at any time if necessary. 1000m = 3281ft. Local time = GMT plus 2 hrs.

q       Day 1.  Morning flights from UK Gatwick to Preveza airport (air travel clients only), on the Greek mainland west coast, for convenient two hour transfer by road to Ioannina.  We continue on to the mountains of central Zagoria and the villages of Vitsa and Monodendri, arriving in the afternoon/early evening. There may be time to explore the two villages before dinner.

q       Day 2. Vitsa  - Vikos Village. Early in the morning we descend the old Vitsa stairs, a steep but well-made path, into the spectacular Vikos gorge (sometimes called the Greek Grand Canyon). 12km long, 1,350m deep and 980m wide. Traversing the ravine we can admire the numerous wild animals, birds and flowers which find protection within its rocky walls.  We ascend to Vikos village where we stay overnight. (7 hours walking).

q       Day 3. Vikos  - Papingo:  We cross the Voidomatis River and take footpaths uphill to Mikro Papingo.  Above are the great limestone buttresses; the "Towers of Papingo" which contain the deepest vertical cave in Europe. At the natural swimming pool near the village we can enjoy a swim and a rest, before arriving at our traditional pension (4 hours of walking.)

q       Day 4. Papingo – Dragon Lake – Astraka hut.  We climb uphill onto Mount Astraka, and reach the Astraka hut at 1950m for a break. Later we continue up to the beautiful “Dragon Lake” (2100m) before returning and overnighting at the Astraka Hut  (6 hours walking).

q       Day 5.  Astraka hut –  Tsepelovo.

Today we  make an early start from the refuge, and we pass from between the Astraka peak (2436m / 8038ft) and Gamilla peak (2497m/8240ft). We move onto crossing the mountains following shepherds' trails and mule tracks over high pastures before making a fairly steep descent to the village of Tsepelevo (6.5 hours walking). We are reunited with our main baggage.

q       Day 6. Walk from Tsepelovo to visit the beautiful bridges at the village of Kipi. It is a short distance hike today, taking about 3 hours. Return to Tsepelovo for an overnight at the pension.

q       Day 7. Rest day in Tsepelovo,

NB : clients doing the 8-day itinerary will be transferred to Ioannina.

q       Day 8. Walk over the high Tsouka Rossa pass (2 350m) and descend through black pine and beech forest to remote Vissihori overlooking the wild and forested Aoos valley. (7-8 hours walking).   Overnight Vrissohori.

NB : clients doing the 8-day itinerary will be transferred to Preveza  airport for their  flight home.

q       Day 9.   We continue our walk by crossing the Aoos River.  It is then a fairly easy climb up through woodland to the village of Pades  (4 - 5 hours walking).

q       Day 10.  An early start today as we continue our ascent of Mt Smolikas, the second highest mountain in Greece at 2637m/8650ft.  Through pine forest initially, and by tumbling mountain streams, the final ascent to the summit is over rock of red serpentine.  We follow the mountain ridges east before making our descent to Samarina, summer village of the Vlach community. (6-7 hours walking.)  

q       Day 11.  From Samarina we have a long drive across northern Greece to Litochoro at the foot of Mount Olympus.  En route there will be an opportunity for a brief visit to the famous monasteries of Meteora near Kalambaka. During and after the 11-12^th C Byzantine monks built a remarkable series of monasteries in easily defensible positions atop these immense pinnacles of conglomerate rock.   Several of the monasteries are open to the public and attract large crowds in season.  Overnight Litochoro Hotel.

q       Day 12. From Litochoro, 30mn drive to Prionia. Walk up to Spilios Agapitos hut where you spend the night.  4 hours walking.

q       Day 13.  An   opportunity to reach one of the summits of Mount Olympus (the highest peak involves scrambling).  Our experienced and well-qualified guide will make the most of the opportunity to scale summits and admire views.  Back down to the refuge where you collect your overnight gear and descend to Prionia. Minibus from Prionia to Litochoro.  Overnight Litochoro.

q       Day 14.  We transfer by road back across the Pindos range, with an opportunity for lunch (not included) en route at Metsovo to Ioannina, where we are transferred to our accommodation – normally at a hotel in the area of the old castle. The rest of the day is free to explore the town of Ioannina and its old neighbourhoods as well as the island, which has shops with silverware products, a bakery and several taverns specializing in trout from the lake. On the island there are several ancient churches to see.  It was also the last retreat of the Cl9th despot, Ali Pasha, who once received Lord Byron at his court.

The following optional excursions are possible:  (i) across the lake, 4km from Ioannina, at Perama, is a huge cave system (guided and lit) which is well worth a visit; (ii) the town of Ioannina, capital of Epiros, has long been famous for the manufacture of filigree silver jewellery. A walk through the old town’s narrow streets and citadel is well worthwhile; (iii) by taxi (or occasional bus, but bus does not run on Saturdays) to the famous oracle site and ancient theatre of Dodoni, 15km from Ioannina.   Whole afternoon needed for this excursion.

q       Day 15.   We transfer by road to Preveza airport for our flight home.