Konitsa to Vikos

It was a dangerously precipitous spot on the steep trail up through the Timfi crags, with barely enough room to pitch the tent. And there was no water. Yet although we were exhausted and starting to stumble, we could see no possible route up through the high cliffs above.

Yet dawn high among the peaks, next day, was magic, one of those memories to be treasured for a lifetime. Irises and wild cranesbills tumbled down the mountainside, and in the distance we could see two deer grazing.

We carried doggedly on, cliffs above, precipices below, until the waymarks led us up a little rocky stream to sunshine and the Sound of Music meadows above.

And so we reached the Astrakas refuge, the only refuge we ever found open, and found our way down to the villages of the Zagoria, and a luxury cappuccino at Megalo Papingo.

Route: Konitsa, Stomiou Monastery, Astrakas refuge, Papingo, Vikos.