Vikos Gorge

Friday 13 September 2024

The sandals have been packed away for a while and the hiking boots have come out. We’re in the Zagori region of northern Greece, home to the Vikos Gorge - reputed to be the deepest canyon in the world in proportion to its width (1997 Guinness World Record).

The region is very much off the beaten track and little visited by tourists. Having your own transport is essential to be able to explore the area fully as the gorge itself stretches for 32km. From the Beloi (meaning beautiful vista) Viewpoint we looked out across the top of the gorge and peered down to the valley floor below. This isn’t somewhere to linger if you have a fear of heights as there are no railings and a sheer drop of 1350m down to the bottom of the gorge.

Over millions of years the River Voidomatis carved its way through the Pindos Mountains creating a deep and narrow canyon. Many sections of the 12km / 7 hour gorge walk are dry as the river flows underground, beneath the limestone rocks. 

Dotted around the region are 46 stone villages and over a hundred arched stone bridges. Of the ones we saw our favourite was probably Plakidas Bridge which has been nicknamed the ‘moving caterpillar’ due to its unusual design. We’re expecting to see more stone bridges in Albania so I’ll do a round up of ‘The best of …..’ in a couple of weeks!

The region is very remote and unpopulated and has a diverse range of flora and fauna. Many of the native birds, animals and insects seemed quite elusive. We saw a number of birds, lots of colourful butterflies and a European red squirrel that actually had a black coat. What we didn’t see were any Eurasian brown bears which are found in the region. The bee keepers weren’t taking any chances though and were protecting their hives with electric fences!

Central Europe is bracing itself for some awful weather over the coming days. We’ve managed to dodge the worst of the storms whilst in Greece but after a beautiful day yesterday the heavens opened today and thick clouds hung over the area. 

On Saturday we cross the border into Albania which is exciting and scary in equal measures. Even getting a reliable weather forecast for the region in the east that we’re heading for first seems impossible. At least, like this huge snail we had to drive around, we have our mobile home and can change course whenever we want.