![Grammos peaks with melting snow](https://travellingslow.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/grammos-peaks-with-snow.jpg)
Grammos: The Last Stronghold
Kastoria to Kefalochori
“The village mostly survived the Italian and then the German occupation, although the neighbouring village was burnt to the ground and we had to flee into the mountains. But what came later during the Civil War was worse. The village was bombed, the church destroyed, and minefields laid all around. The children were evacuated first, over the border to Albania, and finally the rest of the population fled.”
We spent the night in Slimnitsa, talking to two of those who had fled as children.
As we walked on to Grammos through the deserted and peaceful mountains, it was hard to imagine the terror and despair of those times. From Grammos village, we climbed up to the Dragon Lake among the peaks, and realised our planned route was still snowbound. Thanassis, another child of the left wing diaspora, led us out along an alternative route, looking like an Old Testament prophet with his staff and dogs.
Route: Kastoria, Dipotamia, Slimnitsa, Grammos, Aetomilitsa, Kefalochori
![Gentle rolling hills and villages: easy walking on Dipotamia road](https://travellingslow.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/1-Dipotamia-1024x768.jpg)
Kefalochori 440 15, Greece
![Dog roses and green fields on the road to Dipotamia, like an English spring](https://travellingslow.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2-Dipotamia-1024x768.jpg)
![Veryan and Alan beside the Aliakmonos river](https://travellingslow.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/5-Dipotamia-to-Slimnitsa-1024x768.jpg)
![Large bear print in the mud](https://travellingslow.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/4-bear-print-1024x768.jpg)
![Handful of houses at Slimnitsa hamlet](https://travellingslow.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/6-Dipotamia-to-Slimnitsa-1024x768.jpg)
![Old stone church with traditional slate roof, Slimnitsa](https://travellingslow.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/8-Slimnitsa-1024x768.jpg)
![Track through deserted forest and Grammos foothills](https://travellingslow.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/9-Slimnitsa-to-Grammos-1024x768.jpg)
![Blossom and tall trees along beautiful track from Slimnitsa](https://travellingslow.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/slimnitsa-to-grammos-track-1-768x1024.jpg)
![Deep turquoise dragon lake below Grammos snowy peaks](https://travellingslow.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/14-Dragon-Lake-Grammos-1024x768.jpg)
![Thanassis, our guide on the path from Grammos to Aetomilitsa](https://travellingslow.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/15-Grammos-Thanassis-1024x768.jpg)
![Snow covered path, Grammos, with scree above and below. Hard to cross.](https://travellingslow.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/17-Grammos-to-Aetomilitsa-1024x768.jpg)
![Easy walking through alpine meadows of Kiafa pass, avoiding deep snow of Grammos peaks](https://travellingslow.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/18-Grammos-to-Aetomilitsa-1-1024x768.jpg)
![Summer village of Aetomilitsa below Grammos mountains](https://travellingslow.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/19-Aetomilitsa-1024x768.jpg)
Travelling Slow
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