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| Morning in Vikos Gorge |
Vikos gorge is located in the Vikos-Aoös National Park, in the heart of the Zagori region of Northwestern Greece. It is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the deepest canyon in the world in proportion to its width. While some folks contest this claim, Vikos Gorge is a monster of a canyon, and beautiful. It begins near the village of Monodendri, where we were staying.
From our village, the descent into the gorge is about 490 meters, or 1,600 feet. Prior to setting out, we fueled up on a huge Greek brekkie. I was laughing about the sign at our hotel: "Immer mit Frühstück" for the German-Speaking guests: Always with Breakfast. Good advice for those setting out on a long canyon hike. Originally the sign had read "Zimmer mit Frühstück" but the Zed had faded away. I will leave you to figure out the joke.
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| Modern Ikons |
Tramping the stone lanes of the village, we stopped to fill our packs with many litres of water, and an assortment of tasty hiking treats. I was surprised to see the Honda Speedy Woodpecker adorning one of the stone walls outside our chosen shop. The same ikon adorned my little race moto for many years.
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| The Cool Green of Morning |
Leaving the stone walls of the village, we began the descent into Vikos Gorge. The side canyon we climbed down was in deep shade, exuding the refrigerator coolness of rock slabs chilled during the night. It was a coolness that would not last, not a bit of it.
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| The sun finds Vikos Gorge |
Emerging from the forest shadows, we found ourselves on the dry, boulder-strewn river bed at the bottom of the canyon. The river is seasonal. By the end of summer, the upper end of the canyon is a dry river bed except for hidden pools carved deeply into the rock. The sun was bright and already hot, a promise of the sweaty hike to come.
As it happened, we had missed the turning of the trail just above the bottom of the canyon. After perusing our map, and a few false starts, we got ourselves oriented and headed down the canyon. Several hundred meters of boulder-hopping brought us to a side trail. We scrambled up the steep goat path until we regained the main trail. After that, the way was clear and obvious.
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| Pockets of Coolness |
The first lie I told prior to the hike went something like this: "Since we are hiking downriver in the canyon, it should be downhill the whole way." Yes, well, that is true if one takes the long view. There is indeed an elevation drop from the Monodendri end of the canyon (the upper end) down to the Vikos section of the canyon. The thing is, the trail happily ignores the elevation drop. Instead, it climbs up and down like a drunken goat, climbs over rock outcroppings, cliffs, whatever it feels like climbing. It is a trail that seems to say "Hey, let's go up there, that looks pretty."
The second lie I told was that the canyon would be relatively shady. Good idea, yes, a shady canyon hike on a hot, sunny day. The truth, however, is that once the sun reaches the point of its mid-morning arc, the canyon is bathed in an intense Greek light. Yes, nice and toasty, sheltered from the wind. Remember that bit about carrying many litres of water? Good advice.
Uphill, downhill, hot or not, Vikos Gorge is stunningly beautiful. Look up, and there are rocky vistas soaring above ones head. Look across, and the boulder-choked river bed is full of pure, white light reflected on stone. Look down, and there are exotic flowers, mosses, and ferns enough to stop all forward progress.
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| Aging Ikons |
In one shaded patch of mossy trees, a stone pillar rose beside the rocky trail. The pillar was worse for the years of wear, leaning a bit. A niche in the pillar held these Ikons; small blessing to travelers on the trail.
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| Rest for the Weary |
Hiking the canyon between Monodendri and Vikos takes abut six hours; more if one stops to linger. We chose to linger, or rather, the canyon compelled us to linger. It is eighteen kilometers of strenuous hiking, and eighteen kilometers of bliss. The light, flooding the canyon, illuminating the rock cliffs, creating deep shadows in the tangled forests that line the canyon floor; the light alone was worth the hike.
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| The Full Heat of the Day |
Leaving our lunch stop, the canyon widened, embracing the full sun of a hot late-summer day. We were sweating through the straps on our rucksacks, sweating through our shirts, and pounding down the water to stay hydrated. Everything glistened in the sun, the shimmering pools of water hidden behind boulders, the sheer rock cliffs, and the ribbon of the rocky trail. There were brief respites as the trail climbed a into a forest glade, or through labyrinths of spit rock. Then came the sun once more, baking us as we walked.
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| Wider Vistas |
As we descended, the canyon opened up, affording wider vistas of the rugged landscape above us. We were dwarfed by huge rock pillars rising into the azure sky. The biggest danger of the trail is paying attention to where one is walking. There is always another view, another rock spire, another massive cathedral of stone puling ones eye from the trail.
As the afternoon drew on, we came to a fork in the trail. This was where we must begin our climb out of the canyon, snaking up under the rock faces to the top of the canyon. The village of Vikos was where we would meet our ride back to Monodendri, but it lay hundreds of meters above us. It was time to climb. The switchbacks leading out of the canyon were fully exposed to the afternoon sun. The sun, reflected off the grey stone walls, and the white stone trail, made the climb more than a bit warm.
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| The Last Vikos Vistas |
Eventually, more than a little footsore, we emerged at the top of the canyon. There was the tiny village of Vikos, and there was a café. We phoned for our ride and settled in for a well-earned round of Greek coffees.
We shared our table with an Australian couple, comparing notes of the day's hiking adventure. It was agreed that this was it, the gem of Zagori, an incomparable hike that was worth every sore muscle and sweaty step.
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| Late-Afternoon Goodbye |
One of the brothers from our host family arrived in a ratty pickup truck. By this time, our party had grown to six, all tired and ready for the return to Monodendri. The women sat in the cab, and we menfolk piled into the bed. The forty-minute ride back to Monodendri was a lurching trip over narrow, one-lane roads. We dropped into deep valleys, climbing back up steep switchbacks. By the time we arrived at the hotel, my butt was happy to disembark.
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| Goat: It's What's for Dinner |
The sweat was showered away, clean clothes donned, and then our attention turned to food. Food, and lots of it. The repast for the evening was a huge Greek salad, a basket of fresh bread, and a delicious bowl of stewed goat meat. Heaven, it was heaven. There was not a crumb left when we finally pushed back from the table.
The planets shown brilliantly, visible even with an almost full moon. Jupiter and Mars were both in the sky, Venus dipping to the black of the horizon. The village dogs barked, the moon lit the rocks a ghostly silver, and the chill of the night washed over us.
We had found our spot, there was no doubt. Plans were laid for extending our time here in Monodendri. There were more trails to explore, more villages to see, more than enough to hold us here.
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