Zagorochoria Hiking / Photography 3 days

Friday 5 November
• 15:00: Meeting at the hostel "Archontiko Zarkada", in the village of Monodendri in Central Zagori.
Arranging in double rooms, checking and preparing our equipment and information about the program of the trip.
• 16:00: Departure for Oxia
We photograph the dusk in Oxia, after first making a short stop in the Stone Forest.
• 19:00: Dinner at Monodendri (In Riza)

Saturday 6 November
• 07:00: Breakfast at the hostel
• 08:00: Departure
We leave with our cars for the village of Kipoi, from where the hiking and our photographic tour on the bridges of Central Zagori will start. The route lasts about 4 hours (walkable walk with stops for photos) starts from the Gardens and passes through the village of Koukouli, where we can visit the Museum of Flora and Fauna. Here are exhibited medicinal plants and herbs from the area of ​​Zagori, which were used by the well-known "vikiatrists". These are doctors from Zagori who made therapeutic manzounia from the plants of the wider area of ​​Vikos.

We continue our route photographing the Bridge of Missios, which connects the banks of Xiropotamos. It was built in 1748 at the expense of the homonymous family and has two arches, a main and an auxiliary, while unlike others, its trunk takes a sudden turn before reaching the opposite bank.
The stone bridges of the area are important in many ways: architecturally they are of great interest, while they are intertwined with the folk tradition of Epirus. They were made with the effort and passion of thousands of craftsmen and students, without any technical means. The difficulties of their construction - they were built during the day, they were demolished at night - led to myths and legends, with murders, vendettas and sacrifices accompanying their history.

Next is the bridge of Kokkori or Noutsos, one of the most famous in Zagori, with a length of 24 meters and a height of 13. It was built in 1750 and the name Noutsos was taken from its benefactor as Noutsos Kontodimos from the village of Vradeto financed the construction of that bridge the season. However, it is also called the bridge of Kokkoris (or Kokkoros) as Kokkoros from the village of Koukouli, which had a mill there, allocated money in 1910 for its repair. Next to it stands an imposing monolith while below it flows the crystal clear river. A makeshift wooden bridge had been built near the bridge, through which the women of Pindos, loaded with ammunition and supplies, passed during World War II.
From here we will return at a leisurely pace to Kipi and we will head to the village of Dilofo for food and tour / photography in the narrow alleys, before returning to our hostel for rest.

Sunday 7 November
• 07:30: Breakfast
• 08:30: Check-out
Today we will head to West Zagori and initially to the village of Vikos, from where we will photograph the unique, imposing gorge of the same name. Vikos gorge is one of the most famous in Greece. It is located 30 kilometers northwest of Ioannina and is the deepest gorge, in length-width-height ratio worldwide, according to the Guinness Book. It is the core of the Vikos-Aoos National Park, in the area of ​​which a large variety of rare species of flora and fauna finds refuge. The gorge is about 11 kilometers long and in many places the depth exceeds 1,000 meters. The tributary of the Aoos, Voidomatis, which runs through it, has water all seasons. The gorge was created after intense geological rearrangements during the geological seasons. The first traces of human activity in the area that have been identified, date back to 40,000 BC. The flora found in the gorge area is very diverse. Typically, until the beginning of the 20th century, the herbs of the gorge were used by practitioners, the so-called "vikiatrists", for therapeutic purposes (source: Wikipedia).
We will spend time photographing the gorge, from the Observatory but also higher (!), While later we will have the opportunity to be by the river.
• 12:00: Departure for Papigo
Who has not heard, seen, read about Papigo? The wild natural landscape of the area is especially beautifully dressed in the autumn colors - both the cobbled streets of the village and the magnificent Towers of Astraka in Tymfi invite us to admire and photograph them. We will spend time here for both photos and coffee or a light (or even heavier!) Meal, before starting for the last destination of our excursion, the banks of the river Voidomatis.
• 16:00: End of the excursion
Next to the river we will complete our autumn walk in Central and West Zagori, leaving for our homes loaded with beautiful images for the coming winter.

Canon Photographer: Babis Giritziotis.

Kilometer distances
Contact us if you do not have a means of transportation.
Athens - Monodendri: 451 km
Thessaloniki - Monodendri: 301 km

photo credits: Vangelis Matsikas

Indicative Photographic Equipment
Optionally
DSLR or mirrorless camera.
At least one 24mm photographic lens.
A light tripod.
At least 2 extra batteries.
Memory cards (one at least 16GB).

Previous experience
Requires good physical condition, mountaineering equipment, fully functional photographic equipment and good mood!

Conditions for participation
burden his health, as well as to ensure that he does not endanger his physical integrity or that of the other participants. Recognizes and accepts that the weather phenomena in the mountain are changeable and unpredictable, for this reason the organizer is not responsible for cancellation of the trip or change of design for this reason.
The participant is responsible and accountable for the honest statement of his health status, acknowledges and accepts that the organizer is not responsible for injuries or health problems that pre-existed in him, as well as for any burden that may be suffered by his health condition, from his participation in the activity. In case the participant due to false or insufficient declaration of health status or unavailability (due to his fault) of the equipment required so that he can not cope with the planning of the trip / activity, the organizer has the possibility to remove the participant from the activity , with the sole obligation to ensure safety and call for formal rescue assistance, if and when needed. The cost of the rescue is borne solely by the participant, as well as in case it puts the whole team or another member in danger, due to false or insufficient statement of health status or problems, is solely responsible for any financial claim or any legal decision taken.

In case of cancellation of participation the following apply:

• For cancellations up to 30 days before the activity, there is the right to a 100% refund
• For cancellations in the period from 30 to 7 days before the activity, there is a refund of 50%
• If canceled up to 7 days before date of return, no fee will be charged, and all excursions will be deducted.
• The excursion will take place only if the minimum number of people is reached (7). In case the minimum number of participants is not completed, the date will be changed and will be announced in the future.