How to Plan an International Trip: Travel Tales and Tips : Greece Trip Report Day 4: Central Zagori: Vikos Gorge, Stone Forest, Oxia viewpoint, Historic Bridges

DAY 4, Nov 12, 2018, Monday:

Our next destination was Monodendri in the Zagori region.

Zagori (Greek: Ζαγόρι), is a region in the Pindus mountains in Epirus, in northwestern Greece The name “Zagori” is Slavic and means “beyond the mountains”. A cluster of 48 traditional picturesque villages in this region were interconnected by mountain roads and traditional arched stone bridges until modern roads were opened in the 1950s.

These were the places we covered in our 2 day stay in this beautiful mountainous region.
https://goo.gl/maps/LhziwUh9LL42

From Meteora we had an early start and had a drive of 133 km to Hotel Matzato in Monodendri. It took a while as these are windy roads.

We had conflicting directions from our hotel and the people in the town. We were asked to go through Kalabaka but we did not. We topped up the car's gas tank as there are no gas pumps in the Zagori area. [No ATMs either, so carry cash.]

We chose Monodendri as our base out of the 40 plus villages as it's central, small and picturesque and easy to cover rest of the area from.

It was foggy, but the weather cleared as we approached our destination. The sky in the Zagori region was a startling bright blue with not even a whiff of cloud. It stayed that way the entire 2 days. The appropriate caption for our Zagori stay would be....

BRIGHT BLUE SKIES, BLAZING SUN, BITING COLD BREEZE AND BEAUTIFUL VIEWS

Hotel Matato, Monodendri:

Had an early check in at our hotel. It is up a flight of steps. Spacious room with kitchen facilities and a balcony with lovely views.

Vikos Gorge:

We started our drive toward the north to the oxia view point to enjoy the famous Vikos canyon.

Vikos Gorge is located in the province of Epirus in the region known as Zagorochoria. It is recorded as the world’s deepest canyon 900 meters deep in Guinness book of records in 1997. The Vikos Gorge is a 20 km long gorge between the villages of Monodendri and Vikos. The average depth of the gorge is 700 meters but its highest point is 1600 meters. Its width varies from 450 meters to just a few meters; indeed the deepest canyon in proportion to its width.

The Vikos Gorge is at 990 m deep near Monodendri and 1350 m near its end. The Vikos Gorge is also a site of major scientific interest, because it is in almost virgin condition.

Stone forest (Petrodasos):

On the way to Oxia a viewpoint of Vikos gorge, we passed the stone forest (Petrodasos), which is a natural monument with rocky formations with horizontal layers of stone.

Stone forest (Petrino dasos) competes with the oak and maple forest. It’s an area of impressively developed karstic field at an altitude of 1,500 meters. Thin layers of Eocene limestone are carved by water and the wind, having as guides the cracks opened by the rectangular fault system.

We were really impressed with the geometric precision of these stone formations.

Cows walked by with their calves, bells tinkling. Lovely pastoral scene.

Oxia Viewpoint:

Finally we reached the panoramic view from Oxia to Vikos and Megas Lakkos Canyons. At this site limestone dates back to 35 million years and at the base of the Canyon limestone dates back to 160 million years. A gigantic slash ran deep into the limestones which rise up perpendicularly as if they were about to lean.

Nice sight.

Villages:

We then retraced our way back to Monodendri and went south to enjoy the other villages. First was Vitsa. Lovely views which have not translated even a bit in our pics/videos.

There are many roadside monuments like this... probably for accident victims??

Historical bridges

Until the fifties of the 20th century the stone-arched bridges that criss-cross the Zagori region played a vital role in linking communities. Today, many of these bridges, which date from the 18th and 19th centuries, can be seen from the modern roadside.

More than 160 arched bridges were built in the greater area of Zagori, many of which still stand helping travelers to cross the countless rivers and streams of the region. They were mostly built during the 18th and 19th centuries by local master craftsmen who used the local stone as material.

These bridges usually have one to three arches called "kamares" in Greek. The stone arched bridges were built by benefactions from expatriate merchants in the 18th century and replaced older wooden bridges.

Kokkori Or Noutsos Bridge:

The most iconic is the three arched bridge of Plakidas Kalogeriko just outside the village of Kipi.

Vradeto stairs (Skala tou Vardetou):

The famous Stairs of Vradeto connected the village Vradeto with Kapesovo and the rest of the world until the 70s. The total distance between Vradeto and Kapesovo, near where the stairs lead is approximately 3.5 km. More than 1,000 cobblestone stairs smoothly covering an altitude difference of 250 m...A stone construction using “indigenous” stone with which renowned craftsmen built and linked the two villages! It took 20 years to build in early 18th century. Three lanes, one for animals with black stones and two for people with white ones, measured width calculated exactly so that the animals are able to swivel.

It is now a great hiking trail.

We reached Kapesovo and saw the signboard.