Diagram by Greece Trips. Free to reuse with credit - CC BY 4.0.
It looks nothing like the rest of Greece and it is the best walking country in the country.
The Vikos gorge
The Vikos gorge cuts through the middle of it: a limestone canyon whose depth relative to its width has it cited as one of the deepest in the world. The river at the bottom runs dry for much of the year and appears again at the springs of Voidomatis, which is the coldest water most visitors will ever swim in.
Two ways to experience it:
- The viewpoints. Oxya and Beloi, above the villages of Monodendri and Vradeto, both look straight down into it. Short walks from parking.
- The through-walk, Monodendri to Vikos village, roughly six hours across rough ground with a serious descent and ascent. It is a mountain route, not a stroll, and people are helicoptered out of it every season.
We describe the ground rather than certify it: this is remote terrain with no phone signal in the bottom of the canyon.
The villages
Papingo and Mikro Papingo, under the Astraka towers, are the best known and the busiest. Monodendri, Vitsa, Dilofo, Kapesovo, Vradeto and Tsepelovo are the others people name, and the pleasure of Zagori is that they are all worth an hour.
Between them run the old kalderimia, stone-paved mule paths, and the stone bridges that are the region’s emblem: single, double and triple-arched packhorse bridges built by emigrant benefactors, several of them within a short walk of the road.
The Vradeto steps, a zigzag stone staircase up a cliff that was the only way into that village until the 1970s, are the single most impressive piece of engineering here.
Getting there and how long
Zagori is reached from Ioannina, half an hour to the nearest villages and more to the far ones. A car is essential, the roads are narrow and winding, and in winter they can be snowbound.
Three nights minimum. People who walk stay a week.
Last checked August 2026. Mountain road and trail conditions change with season - see our editorial policy.
Common questions
What is Zagori?
A region of forty-six stone-built villages in the Pindus mountains of Epirus, north of Ioannina, linked by old paved paths and arched stone bridges.
How deep is the Vikos gorge?
It is cited as one of the deepest in the world by the ratio of its depth to its width. The viewpoints at Oxya and Beloi look directly down into it.
Can you walk through the Vikos gorge?
Yes, Monodendri to Vikos village takes roughly six hours over rough ground with serious descent and ascent. It is a mountain route with no phone signal at the bottom.
What are the stone bridges of Zagori?
Arched packhorse bridges, some single and some multi-arched, built by emigrant benefactors. Several are a short walk from the road.
Do you need a car in Zagori?
Yes. The villages are scattered across mountain roads that are narrow, winding and sometimes snowbound in winter.
Plan by category
The Zagori guides
2 guides, each scoped to a decision you actually have to make.
AttractionsThings to do
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HotelsWhere to stay
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