Unique Epirus
Get to know Epirus, the untouched paradise of the mainland.
Travel to the North West section of Greece between the mountains of Pindos and the Ionian Sea and get to know Epirus, an area which combines impressively the mountain landscapes with the charming beaches. The virgin mountains of Pindos with the vast forests, the dreamlike Dragonlakes and the wild slops of the mountains, offer themselves for many various activities such as climbing, trekking, and skiing and others, all of them while you take in the breathtaking views. While the rivers of Epirus Arachthos and Voidomatis set up the ideal scenery for many extreme sports such as kayaking, rafting, canoeing etc.
This exquisite natural environment “hosts” special archeological sites, beautiful castles, ancient theaters, monasteries, churches and traditional villages. You can visit the beautiful and well known Zagorochoria, which in 2023 were added to the World Heritage Designation of UNESCO as a cultural landscape. It’s a complex comprised of 46 villages, built in an amphitheatric way on the mountains of Tymphe, Pindos and Mitsikeli. In a close distance you can find and walk through the Gorge of Vikos, the second deepest in the world, home to 1,700 species of flora and 182 species of fauna. You can also walk through the historic stone bridges of Epirus, where the legends and the local traditions have left their mark on these architectural wonders. You can visit Dodoni, the famous oracle with its well-known theatre, the biggest one in ancient times. Also, you can’t leave out trying the excellent tastes of Epirus in the form of pies and special kinds of cheese.
While visiting the ancient town of Dodoni you will notice that the landscape is impressive, you will enjoy its beauty all the while you walk through the space. The oracle was built in a fertile green valley in between the mountain Tomaros (Olitsikas) and Megali Rahi; and of course the area hadn’t been selected in random. Imagine that for centuries, the monuments were under the earth covered from meadows, small hills and swamps, until the ruins started to get out in the light at the year 1875 and during the whole of the 20th century. In Dodoni there was one of the most holy places in Greece, a religious and cultural center since antiquity. It had been well known since Omer was alive and it was mentioned by Herodotus as “the oldest oracle in Greece.” Herodotus also wrote the beautiful myth which refers to the way that Dodoni was built. One day two black pigeons flew from Thebes to Egypt. One of them landed in Libya and the other one in Dodoni. In Libya the temple of Ammona Zeus was founded. In Dodoni, the bird on an ancient oak tree, the holy tree of the father of Gods. Then it spoke like a human and dictated that this was the place where the oracle should be built.
