This tour is designed for hiking enthusiasts and takes you to two of the most impressive places of the Vikos Aoos National Park.
On the Zagori Highlights tour, will cross the legendary Vikos Gorge, the deepest canyon worldwide in proportion to its width. Definitely a spectacular sight! It is accessible from several points, including the gravity-defying cliff-face monastery of Agia Paraskevi at its southern end and the ridge-top village of Vikos at the other. The landscape of the 20 km long gorge is extremely diverse and is characterized by abrupt changes in altitude. The Vikos Gorge has been carved over millions of years by the Voidomatis River, a tributary of the Aoös River. As it splits the mountain in half, its slopes expose rock formations of limestone and dolomite, dating back to 150 million years . Its vertical cliffs rise up to a height of 1700 meters.
Our second spectacular hike is from Mikro Papingo village to the mountain hut “Astraka” at 1.950 m. and to a fascinating alpine lake. Enveloped in myth and local tales about strange creatures, this blue gem decorates the alpine meadows just below the peak of Mt. Tymphi (2.497 m). The stunning alpine lake called by locals dragon lake (drakolimni in Greek), is believed to be a remnant of the Ice Age. According to Greek mythology however, it was home to two dragons who were caught in an endless fight against each other. Legend says that the rocks they threw against each other are the ones scattered around the lake to this day.
